摘要：Radiolarite is a siliceous rock formed in the bathyal region - deep sea and ocean environment. It is composed of
Radiolaria, unicellular organisms with siliceous skeletal elements. Radiolarians as a taxon have a long range,
they are known since the Palaeozoic till recent times. In rock-forming quantities, however, they are typical of the
Mesozoic period.
As raw material for chipped stone tools, radiolarite is frequently used. On the average, it is the most frequent
component of lithic inventories in Hungary and even more, in Transdanubia. There are macroscopically
separable types among the radiolarites, mainly on the basis of colour and other physical properties. They are
currently named after the most characteristic geological source locality. It remains a question though, how
much the 'raw material types' represent really different sources; how variability within each source is reflected
in the archaeological lithic material and how much we can separate regional varieties, supported by objective
methods of analysis. It is also imperative to know radiolarites from sources outside the present territory of
Hungary that may have played a role in the raw material supply and 'fingerprint' the individual sources and
regions.
One of the basic aims of the current TéT project was to get more information on these issues. The paper
presented will survey current state of art in respect of radiolarite sourcing studies in the Carpathian Basin as a
result of the Croatian-Hungarian collaboration project. As a result, new analytical data and characteristic
major element distributions of radiolarite raw materials from Gerecse, Bakony and Mecsek mountains are
published. By the comparison with chemical data on archaeological radiolarite artefacts from sites in Hungary,
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, preliminary suggestions for the provenance of archaeological radiolarites
are provided. Stone tools of sites in the Gerecse and at Nadap are possibly originated from the Gerecse source.
Radiolarite artefacts of site Vörs may be related to raw material of Bakony. Archaeological finds of Szálka site
have similar chemical character to the Mecsek raw materials. Chert artefacts of Fajsz can not be directly
connected neither to the Mecsek nor to the Gerecse source. Chipped stone tools from Croatia and Bosnia can
not be compared chemically to the radiolarite types of Hungary. However, the carbonate-free Bosnian
radiolarite seems to serve as a potential “new” raw material source. o serve as a potential “new” raw material
