Application of PIXE to the characterization of vitreous dacites from archaeolgical sites in the Atacama region in northern Chile

Geochemical characterization studies using PIXE were carried out on 21 vitreous dacite artifacts from early formative archaeological sites in the Atacama region, in northern Chile, and on 13 samples taken from two potential volcanic sources located within the region. Performing statistical analyses it was possible to obtain elemental concentration patterns for the archaeological samples of this material and match some of these artifacts with the geological source samples.