Chemical and spectroscopic study of nephrite artifacts from Transbaikalia, Russia: Geological sources and possible transportation routes

The first results of the complex studies of sources of the nephrite raw material that was used by ancient residents of the Baikal region (Russia) are discussed. Non-destructive chemical and physical spectroscopic methods (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy) were used to determine the chemical and mineral composition and luminescence properties of nephrite aggregates. Possible regions and deposits of nephrite provenance for several Neolithic artifacts are estimated (Khara-Nurskiy massif, Dzhidinsky district and Vitim River localities, Ospinskoye deposit). It was estimated that the ancient transportation routes of nephrite could be exceptionally long (up to several hundreds of kilometers).