Petrography, Mineralogy And Geochemistry Of Jadeite-Rich Artefacts From The Playa Grande Excavation Site, Northern Hispaniola: Evaluation Of Local Provenance From The Rio San Juan Complex

Many archaeological sites with jadeitite artefacts are known in the Caribbean region, but defining the source of the raw material is a major problem because of great mineralogical heterogeneity both in potential sources and in artefacts. The archaeological settlement site of Playa Grande on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic is particularly significant because it yielded evidence of on-site axe manufacture, and lies only 20-30 km NE of a recently discovered potential source area of serpentinite melanges in the nearby Rio San Juan Complex ( RSJC). A suite of nine artefacts was chosen from a collection of over 100 excavated woodworking tools rich in jadeite, as well as two blueschist artefacts. Permission to perform destructive analysis allowed data on petrography, mineral chemistry and bulk-rock chemistry to be obtained. Seven of the nine artefacts are jadeitite sensu stricto (> 90 vol% jadeite), which are identical to material known from the RSJC. Two artefacts are jadeite-lawsonite rocks. These and the two blueschists show only minor differences from corresponding rocks of the RSJC source. With this direct linking of source and site material, it is now possible to better define source discriminators for the Caribbean and to assess sampling bias.