Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) provides a new alternative to destructive methods of raw material characterization, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), neutron activation analysis (NAA), and traditional thin section petrography, although its effectiveness on coarse-grained materials, such as granite, has been questioned. This project addressed this question by determining the effectiveness of pXRF in characterizing granites from Belize and in sourcing granite ground stone tools from Maya sites in Belize. Geochemical fingerprints were defined for three potential source areas (granite plutons in the Maya Mountains of Belize) using outcrop samples. Samples were analyzed using pXRF, XRF, electron microprobe (EMPA), and thin section analyses. PXRF data from archaeological collections of granite ground stone tools from sites in Belize were then compared to the pluton geochemical signatures.
There were two principle results of this research. First, analyses indicated that pXRF can accurately characterize the geochemistry of granites from Belize on a suite of elements. Second, this research demonstrated that the Maya of Belize exploited multiple granite outcrops and participated in different kinds of exchange networks to acquire granite, sometimes acquiring stone from the nearest outcrops and sometimes not. While Mountain Pine Ridge was the dominant source outcrop that was exploited, Cockscomb Basin and Hummingbird Ridge granites were also quarried or scavenged. Sometimes the closest source was used, as is the case at Alabama, who exploited the locally available Cockscomb Basin granite. Through this study it appears that the nearest pluton was not always used. Instead Mountain Pine Ridge granite tools were imported from a greater distance, implying that there were additional factors, such as economic partners and changing political powers, which lead to Mountain Pine Ridge granite being the most pervasive in most archaeological collections within Belize.