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X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis for lithic raw material provenance, based on comprehensive geological knowledge, offers indispensable insights into ancient human behavior. Nevertheless, the provenance study of non-obsidian materials is still a challenging field. Within the Setouchi region of southwestern Japan, the sourcing of lithic tools manufactured from glassy andesite and basalt (GAB) has been constrained due to skepticism surrounding the acquisition of compositional data from chemically weathered surfaces. GAB artifacts in Japan have historically been submitted to destructive analysis involving removing surface or sample homogenization, as the skepticism persists despite GAB constituting a substantial portion of lithic raw materials throughout the entirety of ancient occupation in southwestern Japan. This study attempts to overcome this impediment by adopting energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis using a calibration and methodology originally developed for obsidian. Given the understanding of the tectonic processes underpinning GAB formation, our preliminary assessment successfully discriminates nine distinct geochemical sources among four geologic source groups. Examination of archaeological samples from the region's largest Paleolithic site reveals that lithic raw materials primarily originate from sources approximately 73 km to the east and, to a lesser extent, 98 km to the west, which indicate the potential foraging radius and/or exchange networks of the site occupants. Although there is room for statistical enhancement in sourcing methodology and the implementation of the whole-rock chemical composition of geological GAB by NAA, the future accumulation of GAB sourcing data in this region stands to significantly augment our knowledge pertaining to foragers' exploitation radii, settlement structures, subsistence strategies, and social interactions.
Моrisaki et al. (Mon,) studied this question.