TY - JOUR
T1 - Obsidian from the northern sector of the Main Ethiopian Rift
T2 - implications for archeology
AU - Negash, Agazi
AU - Alene, Mulugeta
AU - Asrat, Asfawossen
AU - Nash, Barbara
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Frank Brown, in recognition of his contributions to obsidian studies in Africa. The research reported here was mainly funded by the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation. Thanks are also due to the Paleontological Scientific Trust (PAST), the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Research and Publication Office (RPO) of Addis Ababa University for partial funding. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, which helped improve the manuscript.
Funding Information:
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Frank Brown, in recognition of his contributions to obsidian studies in Africa. The research reported here was mainly funded by the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation. Thanks are also due to the Paleontological Scientific Trust (PAST), the Wenner‐Gren Foundation, and the Research and Publication Office (RPO) of Addis Ababa University for partial funding. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, which helped improve the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Obsidian is abundant in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). Petrological and geochemical features of obsidian from four volcanic centers in the MER, namely Birenti, Dofen, Fentale and Kone, are presented. Compositional and petrological variability is noted among the Dofen and Fentale obsidian, but not in those from Kone and Birenti where each have separate but uniform elemental composition. The Fentale and Kone obsidian were source materials for the artifacts of a number of Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age/Neolithic sites in the region. We have yet to determine whether Dofen and Birenti were sources for archeological artifacts. The study also shows that volcanic episodes from a single center do not necessarily result in compositional variability.
AB - Obsidian is abundant in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). Petrological and geochemical features of obsidian from four volcanic centers in the MER, namely Birenti, Dofen, Fentale and Kone, are presented. Compositional and petrological variability is noted among the Dofen and Fentale obsidian, but not in those from Kone and Birenti where each have separate but uniform elemental composition. The Fentale and Kone obsidian were source materials for the artifacts of a number of Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age/Neolithic sites in the region. We have yet to determine whether Dofen and Birenti were sources for archeological artifacts. The study also shows that volcanic episodes from a single center do not necessarily result in compositional variability.
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U2 - 10.1002/jqs.3309
DO - 10.1002/jqs.3309
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85103582538
SN - 0267-8179
VL - 36
SP - 664
EP - 671
JO - Journal of Quaternary Science
JF - Journal of Quaternary Science
IS - 4
ER -