MICROSTRUCTURAL FEATURES OF POWDERED HAEMATITE AS A PROMISING FACTOR IN PROVENANCE STUDIES

New proposition of a fingerprint for ferruginous raw material (haematite, ochre and others) provenance studies is presented. Crystallite size measurement of haematite appears to be a promising factor in determining a geological context (origin and age) of an examined raw material and ascribing it to a, more or less, determined sourcing area. Haematite of natural samples and artefacts from Palaeolithic sites was measured. The proposed method is convenient also for powdery ferruginous artefacts, so far usually undeterminable due to their size. The method allows to discern ferruginous powders and not powdered artefacts and natural samples that are macroscopically identical or similar but differing in origin or/and age. Thus, homogeneity of an assemblage of ferruginous artefacts can also be traced.