Obsidian artifacts are commonly found at prehistoric sites in northern Italy and southern France, but as a very minor portion of most lithic assemblages. The obsidian derives from volcanic sources on the Italian islands of Sardinia, Lipari, Palmarola, and Pantelleria, and occasionally from sources in the Carpathian Mountains of central Europe. These finds represent the transport of small quantities of obsidian to final destinations at least several hundred kilometers, and in a few cases over one thousand kilometers, from their geological source. The presence of island obsidian on mainland sites implicitly demonstrates certain maritime navigational capabilities during the Neolithic period in the central Mediterranean, approximately 6000-3000 BC, while the patterns of obsidian distribution may be used to reconstruct specific trade networks, cultural affiliations, and socioeconomic systems (Tykot 1996).

Recent obsidian studies in this region have emphasized the analysis of large numbers of artifacts in order to obtain statistically significant distribution patterns, using analytical methods minimally destructive to artifacts (Tykot & Ammerman 1997). At the same time, analyses precise enough to identify individual source flows within volcanic island complexes have demonstrated the differential exploitation of specific flows, presumably based on factors including geographic and sociopolitical accessibility, as well as physical characteristics such as size, color, transparency, and fracture properties.

Results are reported for the analysis of obsidian artifacts from a half-dozen sites in northern Italy. In conjunction with existing published and unpublished data, it is evident that earlier interpretations of obsidian trade and use which were based on limited numbers of analyzed samples must be revised. Both the analytical methodologies used and the interpretive mechanisms employed are relevant to provenance studies of other materials including chert, greenstone, and marble.

Tykot, R.H. 1996. Obsidian Procurement and Distribution in the Central and Western Mediterranean. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 9(1): 39-82.

Tykot, R.H. & A.J. Ammerman. 1997. New Directions in Central Mediterranean Obsidian Studies. Antiquity 71(274): 1000-1006.