Hi all,

We are starting the analysis phase of a major excavation on a California
mission site (ca 1780-1840's). We have a number of pieces of obsidian
(debitage and formal artifacts). My consultants are proposing hydration on
25 pieces from the assemblage. We have already sourced all of it (except
pieces that are too small) with our XRF. Sources are the same as what has
been traditionally found in pre-contact sites of the region. My questions
are:

1. What would be gained from dating obsidian from a a site with such a
tight temporal margin, and such a recent one at that? Establishing
calibration markers for comparison for other late period sites??

2. If determined to be a relevant task, would would be a statistically
valid sample from an assemblage of about 200 pieces that includes 20
projectiles? I know that's a hard, if not impossible, question without
knowing more about my site, but any insight would be appreciated. If you'd
like more details about the site to answer my questions, please feel free
to contact me off-line. It's a rich site, and we excavated fifty-six
discrete pit features full of mission trash, which is where all the
obsidian is from.

At this point, I'm not convinced that it will add substantially to our
interpretation of the site.

ANY insight is appreciated.

Linda


*Linda Hylkema*
*Cultural Resources Manager, Santa Clara University*
W: *408-554-4513* | C: *408-219-5748* | F: *408-551-1709* | 500 El Camino
Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053