A PETROGRAPHIC AND GEOCHEMICAL APPROACH TO PROVENANCING THE EARLIEST POTTERY OF PANAMA (CA. 4500-2800 BP)

Petrographic and geochemical approaches have been successfully adopted in sourcing archaeological pottery in geoarchaelogy. However, in the hot and humid tropics of southern Central America, geoarchaelogical methods have not been commonly adopted to make inferences about ceramic production. By providing multiple lines of evidence based on geoarchaeological methods, the proposed project sources the earliest ceramics of Panama (ca. 4500-2800 BP). Ceramic and raw materials were analyzed via petrographic microscope, x-ray fluorescence (P-XRF), and time of flight laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (TOF-LA-ICP-MS). Mineralogical and geochemical alterations occurring in raw materials, before procurement, and pottery, after the depositions, were taken into consideration while conducting sourcing. As a result, the proposed research provides a successful case of pottery sourcing in the humid tropics of Panama.