PIMA Spectroscopy PIMA PROJECT

Catlinite Pipe
Timothy K. Perttula, Thomas E. Emerson, and Randall E. Hughes
In: T. Pertulla (ed.) 41HO64/41HO65, Late 17th to Early 18th Century Sites on San Pedro Creek in Houston County, Texas. Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society 75: 96-99, 2004

Dating Gahagan and Its Implications for Understanding Cahokia-Caddo Interactions
Thomas E. Emerson and Jeffrey S. Girard
Southeastern Archaeology 23 (1), Summer 2004: 57-64, 2004

The Interpretation and Sourcing of Cahokian Figurines in the Trans-Mississippi South and Southeast
Thomas E. Emerson, Randall E. Hughes, Mary Hynes, and Sarah Wisseman
American Antiquity 68 (2): 287-313, 2003

Implications of Sourcing Cahokia-style Flint Clay Figures in the American Bottom and the Upper Mississippi River Valley.
Thomas E. Emerson, Randall E. Hughes, Mary R. Hynes, and Sarah U. Wisseman
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 27 (2): 309-338, 2002

Mineralogical Approaches to Sourcing Pipes and Figurines from the Eastern Woodlands, U.S.A.
Sarah U. Wisseman, Duane M. Moore, Randall E. Hughes, Mary R. Hynes, Thomas E. Emerson
Geoarchaeology 17(7): 689-715, 2002

Development of the PIMA-SPTM (portable infrared mineral analyzer) for finding, mining, processing, and
marketing industrial minerals

Randall E. Hughes, Mary R. Hynes, Philip J. DeMaris, Zakaria Lasemi, and Donald G. Mikulic  

Proceedings of the 38th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals, Rept. of Investigations No. 74,
Geological Survey and Resource Assessment Div., Missouri Dept. Nat.Resources, p. 113-126, 2002.

De-Mything the Cahokia Catlinite Trade
Thomas Emerson and Randall Hughes
Plains Anthropologist 46(175):149-161, May 2001

Figurines, flint clay, the Ozark Highlands, and Cahokian acquisition
Emerson, T. E., and R. E. Hughes
American Antiquity 65(1):79-101, January 2000

Revision of Hopewellian trading patterns in midwestern North American based on mineralogical testing
Hughes, R. E., T. E. Berres, D. M. Moore, and K. B. Farnsworth
Geoarchaeology 13(7):709-729, 1998

Analysis Report No.1, Midcontinental Archaeometry Working Group, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. August 2003.
PIMA and Hunter Color Analyses on the Westbrook Cahokia Figurine and Bound Warrior Pipe.
Hughes, Randall E. and Thomas E. Emerson

Analysis Report No.2, Midcontinental Archaeometry Working Group, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. August 2003.
Spurlock Paints Second Report.
Wisseman, Sarah U. and Randall E. Hughes

Analysis Report No.3, Midcontinental Archaeometry Working Group, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

March 2005 (rev. February 2008) .

Illustration of PIMA Spectra of Typical Pipestones

Hughes, Randall E.

Implement Petrology Group International Symposium (York, England, September 2007)
Reinterpreting North American Native exchange patterns through mineralogical analysis
Thomas Emerson, Randall Hughes, Sarah Wisseman, and Kenneth Farnsworth (oral paper)

Implement Petrology Group International Symposium (York, England, September 2007) York Poster
Identifying Implement Source Quarries with Mineralogical Analysis
Randall E. Hughes, Sarah U. Wisseman, Thomas E. Emerson, Kenneth B. Farnsworth (poster)

Society for American Archaeology (San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 2006) (poster) SAA 2006 Poster
Close to Home? Pipestone Resource Utilization in the Midwest
Sarah U. Wisseman, Randall E. Hughes, Thomas E. Emerson, Kenneth B. Farnsworth

Midwest Archaeological Conference (Urbana, IL, October 2006)
The Catlinite Conundrum
Sarah U. Wisseman, Thomas E. Emerson, Randall E. Hughes, Kenneth B. Farnsworth

Midwest Archaeological Conference (Dayton, OH October 2005)
Sourcing Squier and Davis' Mound City Pipe Cache
Thomas E. Emerson, Randall E. Hughes, Kenneth B. Farnsworth, and Sarah U. Wisseman

23rd Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Archaeological Survey, Madison, April 23, 2005
Sourcing Aztalan's Ear Spools
John Richards, Randall E. Hughes, and Thomas E. Emerson

Annual Meeting, Friends of Albany Mounds Foundation, Albany, IL, April 19, 2005
Albany Mounds State Historic Site, Rock River Pipestone, and the Hopewell Interaction Sphere
Thomas E. Emerson

Society of American Archaeology (Salt Lake City, Utah, April, 2005)
Turning the World Upside Down: PIMA Sourcing of Scioto Hopewell Temper Mound Pipes
Thomas E. Emerson, Randall E. Hughes, Kenneth Farnsworth, and Sarah Wisseman

Conventional wisdom links Hopewell sites in the Scioto Valley with the production and distribution of platform pipes made from the local Feurt Hill pipestone. Our ongoing investigations of Hopewell pipestone sources focuses on the large pipe cache at Tremper Mound using PIMA technology. We have determined that while a small number of pipes were made from Minnesota catlinite, Feurt Hills pipestone, and local sedimentary rocks, the majority were crafted from Sterling pipestone from northern Illinois. Based on this information we propose that the Hopewell Tremper occupants focused on accumulating pipes from diverse locales rather than on their production and distribution.

A team of archaeologists and geologists demonstrate how a shoebox-size Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer (PIMA), first used by Australian geologists for mineral exploration, can be applied to provenance and authenticity studies. Good results have been achieved on stone Cahokia "red goddess" figurines and Hopewellian pipes recovered from sites in the Midwestern United States. The data from this totally non-destructive method for determining mineral composition support earlier analyses by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and sequential acid dissolution-inductively coupled plasma (SAD-ICP) and confirm pipestone sources close to the artifact find-spots (Missouri for the figurines and northwestern Illinois for the pipes). The combined results are forcing archaeologists to reevaluate raw material procurement, artifact production, and redistribution for the Middle Mississippian (ca. A.D. 1000-1400) and Middle Woodland (ca. 50 B.C.-A.D. 250) periods. PIMA spectroscopy has also proven useful for characterizing low-fired ceramics containing little or no temper, and distinguishing restoration materials (plaster, shellac, etc.) from original components. The PIMA's advantages (portability, speed, and non-destructiveness) make it a valuable addition to the archaeometrist's arsenal of analytical techniques, most of which are laboratory-based and require some degree of destructive sampling.

A team of archaeologists and geologists has used a Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer (PIMA) to confirm Missouri flint clay as the material used to make Cahokian pipes and figurines. Our current focus is identifying pipestone sources outside of Ohio for Hopewellian pipes and characterizing catlinite used in different periods throughout the Midwest. The shoebox-size PIMA spectrometer is portable, easy to operate, fast (30 seconds per reading), and totally non-destructive. While especially useful in determining the mineral composition of valuable artifacts that cannot be destructively sampled, PIMA spectroscopy is most appropriate as a complement to traditional laboratory techniques such as X-ray diffraction.

In the past scholars have macroscopically identified some of the red pipestone pipes utilized by Middle Woodland peoples as Minnesota catlinite. However, few archaeometric studies have been performed to verify these identifications. A recent XRD study on a small number of Wisconsin Hopewell pipes by Boszhardt and Gundersen definitively demonstrated some were made from catlinite. In this paper we report on an expanded study of Ohio (Tremper Mound), Wisconsin, and Illinois pipes using a new non-destructive PIMA technique. This research confirms the limited use of catlinite by Hopewell peoples in the Midwest.

A team at the University of Illinois is employing a shoebox-size PIMA (Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer) spectrometer in provenance studies of stone Cahokia "red goddess" figurines and Hopewellian pipes recovered from sites in the Midwestern United States. The data from this totally non-destructive method for determining mineral composition support earlier analyses by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and sequential acid dissolution-inductively coupled plasma (SAD-ICP) and confirm pipestone sources close to the artifact find-spots (Missouri for the figurines and northwestern Illinois for the pipes). The combined results are forcing archaeologists to reevaluate raw material procurement, artifact production, and redistribution for the Middle Mississippian (ca. A.D. 1000-1400) and Middle Woodland (ca. 50 B.C.-A.D. 250) periods. PIMA spectroscopy has also proven useful for characterizing low-fired ceramics containing little or no temper, and distinguishing restoration materials (plaster, shellac, etc.) from original components. The PIMA's advantages (portability, speed, and non-destructiveness) make it a valuable addition to the archaeometrist's arsenal of analytical techniques, most of which are laboratory-based and require some degree of destructive sampling.

Twelfth century Cahokia is depicted as the center of an economic network that stretched across the eastern United States. This supposition is largely untested through archaeometric analyses. Red stone figurines are one of the premier art works involved in this exchange. X-ray diffraction and complementary analyses have demonstrated that the specimens in the Cahokia locality were locally produced from Missouri flint clays. Based on these findings we have continued to investigate the sources of other Southeastern red stone effigies. This expanded investigation, using spectroscopic PIMA technology, indicates most of figurines were crafted at Cahokia itself.

The Southeast has long been considered the source of many of the large red stone effigy pipes produced by Mississippian peoples. However, X-ray diffraction and complementary analyses by our research group have demonstrated that the specimens in the Cahokia locality were, in fact, locally produced in the 12th century AD from Missouri flint clays. Based on these findings we have continued our research to investigate the sources of stone used to manufacture other Southeastern red stone effigies. This expanded investigation of museum specimens has been possible through the use of a non-destructive spectroscopic PIMA technology. Our initial analysis suggests that many of these red stone effigies were crafted from Missouri flint clays and were likely produced at Cahokia itself.

The Caddoan region, especially the area around Spiro, has long been considered the source of many of the large red stone effigy pipes produced in late prehistory. However, X-ray diffraction and complementary analyses by our research group have demonstrated that the specimens in the Cahokia locality were locally produced in the 12th century AD from Missouri flint clays. Based on these findings we have continued our research to investigate the sources of stone used to manufacture Caddoan red stone effigies. This expanded investigation of museum specimens has been possible through the use of a non-destructive spectroscopic PIMA technology. Our initial analysis suggests that many of these Caddoan red stone effigies were crafted from Missouri flint clays and were likely produced at Cahokia itself.

The Southeast has been considered the source of the large red stone effigy pipes produced by Mississippian peoples. X-ray diffraction and complementary analyses by our research group proved that the 12 century AD specimens at Cahokia were produced from Missouri flint clays. Based on these findings we have continued our research to investigate the sources of stone used for Midwestern red stone effigies. This expanded investigation has been performed using a non-destructive spectroscopic PIMA technology. Our analyses indicates a Cahokia source. However, unlike the situation in the Southeast, few large red stone figures seemed to have move out of Cahokia into the UMRV.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies of two Native American pipestones showed: 1) that a nearby Missouri flint clay was used for 900-year-old Cahokia figurines, not an Arkansas or Oklahoma source; 2) that a northwestern Illinois flint clay was quarried for 2000-year-old pipestone artifacts of the Havana Hopewell Culture, not a southern Ohio flint clay; and 3) that mineralogical analyses often provide superior source discriminations and are a best first step before chemical analyses.

A sequential acid dissolution-XRD-inductively coupled plasma (XRD/ICP) spectroscopy method verified the cookeite-like chlorite that is unique to the Missouri flint clay and gave us an accurate formula for berthierine in Illinois flint clay. These analyses detected lithium that fills previously reported octahedral vacancies in the berthierine structure. The method can be used for most geological materials.

The PIMA (portable infrared mineral analyzer) increases analysis speed (and decreases cost) to about one/min., and provides completely portable and nondestructive mineral analyses. Initial PIMA insights include: 1) validation of the Missouri source for Cahokia artifacts; 2) identification of burned and unburned fragments within reassembled Cahokia figurines and debris collections; and 3) corrected sources for catlinite-like artifacts. Because the PIMA sees mineral-structural features that are hidden from XRD, a lab-mounted PIMA is a near-perfect research complement to XRD. The PIMA also is being used to analyze sediment cores, identify and select representative samples from large collections, analyze thin section collections, characterize ceramic source clays, and measure the degree of ceremonial burning or firing of artifacts.

Understanding Our Earth Scientific Seminar, November 12, 2003
Randall Hughes, Emeritus Sr. Geologist, ISGS
Better, Faster, Cheaper, and Friendlier Mineralogy: Status and Future Potential of Our 70+-Year-Old Program

Indiana Geological Survey seminar, February 6, 2003
Randall Hughes, Senior Research Scientist, ISGS
Better, Faster, Cheaper Mineralogy with the PIMA-SPTM (Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer)

ISGS Seminar, Jan 29, 2003
Thomas Emerson, Director, ITARP
Prehistoric Art and Geological Sciences: Inseparable Companions

Anthropology 398 class, April 5 2002
Sarah Wisseman, Director, ATAM
PIMA SP Spectroscopy for Archaeologists

Beckman Institute seminar, UIUC, Feb. 19, 2002
Sarah Wisseman, Director, ATAM
Science in the Art Museum

Materials Research Laboratory seminar, May 22, 2001
Sarah Wisseman, Director, ATAM
Science and Archaeology: Interdisciplinary Research by the ATAM Program

East Central Illinois Archaeological Society, March 14, 2001
Randall E. Hughes, Senior Research Scientist, ISGS
What the Silent Stones say to a Geologist: Applying Mineralogical and Related Geochemical Methods to Archaeology

Imaging Technology Group, University of Illinois, November 2, 2000
Sarah Wisseman, Director, ATAM
Images of the Past: Recent Research by the Program on Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials

ATAM seminar, Oct. 25, 1999
Randall E. Hughes, Senior Research Scientist, ISGS
The New PIMA ((Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer: A New Aid in the Mineralogical "Sourcing" of Stone and Ceramic Artifacts

ISGS Seminar, Sept. 22, 1998
Randall E. Hughes, Senior Research Scientist, ISGS
The New PIMA (Portable Near-Infrared Mineral Analyzer) for Aggregate, Archaeology, Clay Mineral, Fuel, Geochemistry, Mapping, and other ISGS Programs

Copyright 2000-2008. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.