Geochemistry and petrography of basalt grindstones from the Karak Plateau, central Jordan

Seventeen basalt grindstone fragments from central Jordan's Karak Plateau were studied. Most of these artifacts are vesicular or amygdaloidal with calcite as the dominant mineral filling the voids. The major minerals are olivine (with iddingsite rims), plagioclase, clinopyroxene, magnetite, and apatite. Glass is present in some samples. One basalt fragment is quite different in appearance and composition and may have come from flows closer to the Dead Sea. Grindstone fragment compositions plot in the tephrite‐basanite and basalt fields. A plot of the concentrations of niobium, zirconium, and yttrium reveal that the sample compositions plot in the “within‐plate alkali basalt” and “within‐plate tholeiite” fields. The acquisition of basalts for preparing such implements appears to have been random. Some may have been introduced through trade and migration. Archaeological and environmental studies on the Karak Plateau are urgently needed because Jordan's population growth and economic development are destroying many sites and their environmental contexts. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.