IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MAGHEMITE IN CERAMIC ARTIFACTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL BLACK EARTH OF AMAZON REGION.

Soil samples representing the surface A1 (0-10 cm) horizon and small pieces of ceramic artifacts of an archaeological black earth from Iranduba district (Hatara site) near the city of Manaus (Amazonas State, Brazil) were collected. X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy analyses showed that the iron oxides found in the archaeological black earth and in the ceramic artifacts had the same crystalline characteristics, which supported the conclusion that they had the same origin. Maghemite and hematite were found to occur in both ceramic fragments and in the soil, suggesting that the process of ceramic fabrication is important in the formation of this kind of soils.