Non-destructive provenance study of chert using infrared reflectance microspectroscopy

► IRRMS is a non-destructive means to source chert artifacts. ► Minor minerals in chert varied among chert types. ► Spectral differences distinguished the 2 cherts in four of five look-alike pairs. ► Intra-sample spectral variation was minimal within hand-sample size specimens. ► The shorter wavelength part of the mid-IR showed the most useful spectral features.