ANALYTICAL RESULTS OF PROTON-INDUCED X-RAY EMISSION (PIXE) PROBE OF YORUBA POTTERY OBJECTS

Abstract

Two hundred and sixteen (216) Yoruba ceramic (pottery) objects in Ita Yemoo Museum collection, Ile-Ife, Nigeria were examined; a sample size of twenty–four (24) pottery objects, ten per cent (10%) of the pottery selected using systematic random sampling to determine their material contents ('chemical fingerprints'). Qualitative, descriptive and evaluative data were collected for analysis. Material compositional information was assessed with the use of Proton-induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) technique; PIXE result returned twenty-three (23) elements that are used as chemical fingerprints for the selected pottery objects. Major, minor and trace elements discovered were expressed in parts per million (ppm). The study concluded that the data similarities, differences, and correlation provided enhanced provenance data generation useful in taxonomic and provenance determination of potteries with the possibility of generating a database to identify Yoruba ceramic objects generally.

Keywords

• yoruba
• pottery
• material composition
• provenance
• pixe analysis
• database