Obsidian hydration dating by SIMS-SS: Surface suitability criteria from atomic force microscopy

Abstract

Obsidian artefacts used by prehistoric people could be dated by the SIMS-SS method. However, the method contains some limitations regarding the degree of smoothness of the surface. The presence of wells, cracks, pits, crystals and/or crests induce errors in the dating. Here, we briefly introduce the SIMS-SS method and provide first images of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) of obsidian surfaces and discuss the impact of AFM results on the SIMS-SS dating. The presented dating is straightforward for flat regular surfaces and problematic for irregular surfaces. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.