The Source of Corse Obsidian: Neolithic Exchange in the Western Mediterranean

Robert H. Tykot and Karen Hartshorn

The provenance of several hundred obsidian artifacts from neolithic sites in Corsica has been determined by wavelength-dispersive spectrometry using the electron microprobe. The analysis of 200 samples from 9 stratigraphic levels at Basi (Serra-di-Ferro) represents the largest study ever of obsidian exploitation at any one site in the western Mediterranean, and is singularly important for assessing chronological variation in obsidian exploitation. Our results contradict interpretations based on earlier studies of small numbers of Corsican samples, and indicate that obsidian from five Sardinian sources are represented. Changing procurement mechanisms may account for differences between the Early and Late Neolithic periods.