Neutron activation analysis of Etruscan pottery
Neutron activation analysis (NAA) has been widely used in archaeology for compositional analysis of pottery samples taken from sites of archaeological importance. Elemental profiles can determine the place of manufacture. At Cornell, samples from an Etruscan site near Siena, Italy, are being studied. The goal of this study is to compile a trace element concentration profile for a large number of samples. These profiles will be matched with an existing data bank in an attempt to understand the place of origin for these samples. The 500 kW TRIGA reactor at the Ward Laboratory is used to collect NAA data for these samples. Experiments were done to set a procedure for the neutron activation analysis with respect to sample preparation, selection of irradiation container, definition of activation and counting parameters and data reduction. Currently, we are able to analyze some 27 elements in samples of mass 500 mg with a single irradiation of 4 hours and two sequences of counting. Our sensitivity for many of the trace elements is better than 1 ppm by weight under the conditions chosen. In this talk, details of our procedure, including quality assurance as measured by NIST standard reference materials, will be discussed. In addition, preliminary results from data treatment using cluster analysis will be presented. (author)
- Research Organization:
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21141183
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09N0020; TOC-24; TRN: US09N0029020820
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 13. U.S. TRIGA users conference, Ithaca, NY (United States), 18-20 May 1992; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); 2 refs, 4 tabs; Related Information: In: 13. U.S. TRIGA users conference: Papers and abstracts, 250 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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