Characterisation of Armenian obsidians: Implications for raw material supply for prehistoric artifacts

Obsidians from occurrences located in Armenia have been analysed using neutron activation analysis, both instrumental and epithermal, in order to enhance the knowledge of characteristics of potential sources of raw material exploited during prehistory. An alternative characterization technique, the fission-track dating method, was also applied. Results contribute to increase the data-set for provenance studies of prehistoric obsidian artifacts in the Mediterranean and adjacent regions.