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Obsidian hydration dating (OHD) is a geochemical method of determining age in either absolute or relative terms of an artifact made of obsidian.. Obsidian is a volcanic glass that was used by prehistoric people as a raw material in the manufacture of stone tools such as projectile points, knives, or other cutting tools through knapping, or breaking off pieces in a controlled manner, such as ...
The rate at which the obsidian hydration band forms increases with temperature. Second, the rate of hydration and obsidian hydration band formation varies with the geochemistry of the obsidian, including the intrinsic water content, seems to affect the rate of hydration. Finally, water vapor pressure may also affect the rate of obsidian hydration.
Obsidian hydration dating is a method that allows for the absolute or relative dating of an obsidian sample. The degree of hydration (i.e., water absorbed into the material) observed indicates how long it has been since the obsidian surface was exposed (i.e., through flaking). Obsidian hydration dating is at times, however, unreliable.
The findings concluded that based on the thirty-seven radio carbon dates, the seventy-two obsidian hydration readings, the well-dated stratigraphic profile, and the diagnostic style of the artifacts that all data supported the 7 to 12,000-year-old antiquity of CA-SCR-177. [18] Cartier notes in his concluding comments:
[189] [190] It occurs over an area of more than 2,200,000 km 2 (850,000 sq mi), making MEVC obsidian the most widely distributed obsidian in western North America. [ 189 ] [ 191 ] Obsidian from the Hidden Falls archaeological site in Alaska has yielded a hydration date of 10,000 years; this suggests the MEVC was being exploited as an obsidian ...
At another location, a prismatic microblade of obsidian was found in association with a tree trunk radiocarbon dated (uncalibrated) at roughly 24,000 years ago. This obsidian blade has recently been hydration dated by Joaquín García-Bárcena to 22,000 years ago. The hydration results were published in a seminal article that deals with the ...
Chronological dating, or simply dating, is the process of attributing to an object or event a date in the past, allowing such object or event to be located in a previously established chronology.
As the rate of hydration is determined by factors such as moisture content, temperature, and the chemical composition of the obsidian, this method cannot provide absolute dates. However, this method has the major advantage of relying on obsidian flaking as the activating cause in this dating scheme.