Identifying the geological and geographical origin of lithic raw materials is critical to effectively address prehistoric forager raw material economies and mobility strategies. Currently, Paleolithic archaeology in Belgium lacks a systematic sourcing strategy to effectively substantiate detailed interpretations of prehistoric hunter-gatherer behavioral change across time and space. This pilot study evaluates the potential to “fingerprint” flint from the Mons Basin, western Belgium, using the laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) technique and a multivariate statistical analysis of 87 geological samples and 39 Gravettian period chipped stone artifacts. We reappraise two hypotheses raised by previous scholars based on visual raw material identification: (1) the Gravettian occupants of Maisières-Canal supplied themselves with “black flint” from one single source; (2) the sites Rhens and Koblenz-Metternich yielded artifacts indicative of long-distance transfer of western Belgian flint into the German Rhineland, ca. 260 km from the primary source area. Our results demonstrate the validity of LA-ICP-MS data with flint and compositional data analysis for fingerprinting discrete geological formations from the Mons Basin. We suggest multiple source provisioning for Maisières-Canal. Geochemical characterization of other potential flint sources is required to validate the long-distance transfer hypothesis of western Belgian “black flint” into the German Rhineland.

Peer Review, International Redaction Board, Impact Factor

Belgium, Geology

Article first published online: 13 April 2016, DOI: 10.002/gea.21564