New Data of Obsidian Procurement and Mobility of Ancient Humans

Abstract

The issue of the origin and supply of obsidian in prehistoric archaeological sites of the southeastern Black Sea region has been the focus of active study by Georgian and foreign researchers in recent times. The inventory of obsidian discovered in Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements along the Black Sea coast of Adjara has been the subject of scientific study and has been published, and its origin and distribution area have been determined. Conclusions that are pertinent to the subject have been deduced, providing unique information about the movement and mobility of ancient humans. Interesting data was published in 2022 about the obsidian of the village of Kobuleti (G. M. Chkhatarashvili G.). However, for some reason, it impossible to identify a third source of obsidian. The presented work incorporates the most recent data, which was conducted Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Reactor Research (MURR) using the XRF method.
A geochemical analysis of obsidian has yielded insights into the mobility and movement patterns of ancient humans inhabiting the village of Kobuleti. This analysis, supported by newly determined absolute dates, has constrained the temporal framework of these activities to the 10th-9th millennia BC.