Investigating the production and distribution of plain ware pottery in the Samoan archipelago with laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

This paper presents a provenance study of 170 ceramic artifacts and 21 ceramic tiles from three islands in the Samoan archipelago using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Our analyses confirm that LA-ICP-MS can be used to differentiate between clay formations on a single island. We identify different distribution patterns for pottery recovered from lowland and highland sites on Tutuila Island. We also examine evidence for movement of pottery between islands, and find only limited evidence for such movement. Our findings suggest dynamic patterns of prehistoric interaction and site use that need to be evaluated with further data from across the archipelago.

► We demonstrate that laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses can differentiate between different clay sources and archaeological ceramic materials produced from geologically similar volcanic series on the same island in the Samoan archipelago. ► Archaeological pottery recovered from sites on Tutuila Island, American Samoa have different patterns of distribution. ► Pottery was being made on all three Samoan islands examined in this study. ► We found only limited evidence for movement of pottery between islands.