Archaeometry of fire aided limnosilicite mining in the Avas-Tűzköves (Miskolc, NE-Hungary) Paleolithic silica source

Kristály, Ferenc and Tóth, Zoltán H. and Ringer, Árpád and Török, Béla (2020) Archaeometry of fire aided limnosilicite mining in the Avas-Tűzköves (Miskolc, NE-Hungary) Paleolithic silica source. MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES, 35 (13). pp. 1403-1409. ISSN 1042-6914

Text ArchaeometryoffireaidedlimnosiliciteminingintheAvasTzkvesMiskolcNEHungaryPaleolithicsilicasource.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (1MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

This paper communicates new results on fire aided limnosilicte mining in a Hungarian paleolithic site. The beneficial effect of temperature on material fragmentation and chipping was proved by laboratory experiments, with samples fired at 260°C and 360°C. Mineralogical transformations which lead to fragmentation are triggered by heating and were characterized by analytical methods in detail. The raw material is nanocrystalline quartz dominant silicolite with amorphous silica, moganite and traces of goethite and tridymite, identical to length-fast chalcedony. X-ray diffraction revealed the recrystallization of amorphous silica into quartz, accompanied by H2O loss measured by thermogravimetry. Using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, both H2O and OH content, their loss by heating and recrystallization was evidenced. Scanning electron microscopy on chipped surfaces revealed the disappearance of the fibrous texture, promoting the knappability of the material. The main factors influencing fire-aided mining and/or processing were identified as H2O pressure, amorphous silica crystallization as a result of H2O and OH removal from the silanol groups and change in quartz crystallite morphology.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item