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Results for trace element:

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trace element

SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: accessory element, guest element
CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: Elements present in a mineral in minor proportions (between 0.1-2.0%) but which are frequently characteristic of the original source of the material. Trace elements occur naturally in minerals in soils and sediment and are not added deliberately to a substance. Minute amounts of chemical elements found in minerals emit characteristic wavelengths of light when heated to incandescence. Quantitative analyses of metal, clay, obsidian, etc. can show the amounts of the trace elements present and may suggest a source. Source identification can lead to further interpretations of trade and economic systems.

trace element analysis

CATEGORY: technique
DEFINITION: The use of quantitative chemical techniques, such as neutron activation analysis or X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, for determining the elements present in a mineral in minor proportions. These methods are widely used in the identification of raw material sources for metal, clay, obsidian, etc. Trace elements emit characteristic wavelengths of light when heated to incandescence.

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energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence

SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: XRF
CATEGORY: geology (and metallurgy)
DEFINITION: A technique that analyzes obsidian's trace elements to "fingerprint" an artifact and trace to its geological source

instrumental neutron activation analysis

CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: A technique that analyzes the trace element composition of the clay used to make a pot and trace the clay to its geological source