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Dorothy Hosler. Wolf, Violetta (Violetta R.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering 2010-09-03T18:54:15Z 2010-09-03T18:54:15Z 2008 2008 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/58450 630115982 Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2008. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109). Through the identification of phases and their isotopic composition and variability, an assessment of the applicability of uranium decay series dating to El Manchon slags was made. El Manchon is the only Mesoamerican site to exhibit smelting technology. Uranium series dating is typically used on geologically old natural material, but the El Manchon slags were not suitable for other dating techniques. There are four requirements of uranium series dating: measurable presence of appropriate isotopes, cogenetic phases within the material, isotopic fractionation between phases, and the ability to physically separate the phases. This is the first attempt to date archaeological material with the uranium series dating method. Petrographic reflected light microscopy was used to identify the phases in the slags. Electron beam microanalysis was used to identify the chemical composition of the identified phases. Ion beam microanalysis was used to assess the isotopic fractionation between the phases. Electron pulse disaggregation, hand-sorting, and magnetic separations were performed to separate the phases. The slags are composed of four different phases: a silica-melt phase, a quartz-like phase, a copper phase, and a copper-iron-sulfide phase. These four phases are in abundant presence with sufficient isotopic fractionation to make the El Manchon slags suitable for uranium series dating. by Violetta Wolf. S.B. 109 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Materials Science and Engineering. Use of uranium decay series for dating an archaeological smelting site Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="95c1ea84-f9d5-40f0-9a26-26cec72d7f99"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Use of uranium decay series for dating an archaeological smelting site</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2008</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Wolf, Violetta (Violetta R.)</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Materials Science and Engineering.</Keyword> <Abstract>Through the identification of phases and their isotopic composition and variability, an assessment of the applicability of uranium decay series dating to El Manchon slags was made. El Manchon is the only Mesoamerican site to exhibit smelting technology. Uranium series dating is typically used on geologically old natural material, but the El Manchon slags were not suitable for other dating techniques. There are four requirements of uranium series dating: measurable presence of appropriate isotopes, cogenetic phases within the material, isotopic fractionation between phases, and the ability to physically separate the phases. This is the first attempt to date archaeological material with the uranium series dating method. Petrographic reflected light microscopy was used to identify the phases in the slags. Electron beam microanalysis was used to identify the chemical composition of the identified phases. Ion beam microanalysis was used to assess the isotopic fractionation between the phases. Electron pulse disaggregation, hand-sorting, and magnetic separations were performed to separate the phases. The slags are composed of four different phases: a silica-melt phase, a quartz-like phase, a copper phase, and a copper-iron-sulfide phase. These four phases are in abundant presence with sufficient isotopic fractionation to make the El Manchon slags suitable for uranium series dating.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>