Jet artifacts from two Neolithic sites on the Dutch coast: An experimental approach

This thesis focusses mainly on Neolithic ornaments made of jet and seeks to interpret these finds by addressing two objectives. The first objective of this thesis is concerned with characterizing the black shiny ornaments of Schipluiden and Ypenburg which have preliminarily been termed jets and to further investigate the possibilities of provenance studies for Dutch Neolithic jet ornaments with the use of XRF. The second objective of this thesis is to investigate the possibility of distinguishing between an intentional polish and use-wear related shine on the basis of macroscopic analysis. For this purpose a series of experiments has been designed involving experimentally made ornamental beads and a rock tumbler. An XRF distinction shows that the finished ornaments of Ypenburg are possibly all true Upper Lias jets. A large amount of the objects under investigation are probably not, however, including all finished ornaments from Schipluiden. It has proven possible to distinguish...Show moreThis thesis focusses mainly on Neolithic ornaments made of jet and seeks to interpret these finds by addressing two objectives. The first objective of this thesis is concerned with characterizing the black shiny ornaments of Schipluiden and Ypenburg which have preliminarily been termed jets and to further investigate the possibilities of provenance studies for Dutch Neolithic jet ornaments with the use of XRF. The second objective of this thesis is to investigate the possibility of distinguishing between an intentional polish and use-wear related shine on the basis of macroscopic analysis. For this purpose a series of experiments has been designed involving experimentally made ornamental beads and a rock tumbler. An XRF distinction shows that the finished ornaments of Ypenburg are possibly all true Upper Lias jets. A large amount of the objects under investigation are probably not, however, including all finished ornaments from Schipluiden. It has proven possible to distinguish between an intentional polish and a use-wear related shine. This experiment, although insightful, is incomplete as it lacks the evidence to conclusively distinguish an intentional polish from a use-wear related shine. Similar experiments could be set up for future research with longer tumbling durations and allow the use of different polish materials.Show less

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Jet artifacts from two Neolithic sites on the Dutch coast: An experimental approach