Basalt Provenance Triage Toolkit v10.1

Basalt Provenance Triage Toolkit v10.1 — Description

The Basalt Provenance Triage Toolkit v10.1 is an integrated software environment for the geochemical and typological classification of Early Bronze Age I basalt vessels and groundstone artefacts from Egypt and the Levant. It combines pXRF/ICP‑MS trace elements, major elements, isotopes, wall‑thickness metrics, and museum metadata to assign samples to key regional provenance groups, including:

• Egyptian (Haddadin Flow)

• Egyptian (Alkaline / Exotic)

• Sinai Transitional

• Sinai Ophiolitic

• Local Levantine

• Harrat Ash Shaam (Jordanian volcanic fields)

The toolkit performs automated ratio calculations (Zr/Nb, Cr/Ni, Ba/Rb), confidence scoring, alteration warnings, missing‑value triage, and publication‑ready export tables. Both GUI and command‑line modes are supported, enabling rapid batch processing of large datasets.

Important Note and Apology

Version 10.0, released shortly before this update, contained a critical internal error that affected classification logic and plugin loading. This v10.1 release replaces the broken version. This toolkit has grown into a large and complex system, and it is developed entirely by a single researcher. Because of the number of features and the rapid pace of development, not every component could be fully tested. There may still be bugs or unexpected behavior, and feedback, bug reports, and suggestions are warmly welcomed.

Major Additions and Improvements in v10.1

• Complete plugin system with automatic discovery, dependency checking, and safe enable/disable logic

• Plugin Manager with live status indicators and one‑click installation of missing packages

• Metropolitan Museum of Art API connector

• Universal Web Scraper for extracting metadata from any museum website

• Updated geochemical logic and expanded alteration‑warning system

• New GUI themes, tooltips, status‑tips, and improved table responsiveness

• Autosave, expanded undo stack, and stability improvements

• Major‑element normalization and oxide conversion tools

• Mapping and source‑region framework for Haddadin, Sinai, Levantine, and Harrat Ash Shaam sources

Included Files in This Release

Three download options are provided so users can choose the format that best fits their workflow:

• Basalt_Provenance_Triage_Toolkit.py Stand‑alone version of the toolkit without plugins. Suitable for minimal installations or manual plugin management.

• Basalt_Provenance_Triage_Plugins.zip Contains all optional plugins. Extract into the plugins/ directory to enable plugin functionality.

• Basalt Provenance Triage Toolkit – v10.1.zip Complete package including the full toolkit, all plugins, and Windows compilation instructions for users who do not have Python installed.

Screenshots Included in This Release

Four interface snapshots are provided to help users understand the toolkit’s layout and capabilities. They illustrate:

• The statistical summary panel used for reviewing classification‑based geochemical statistics

• The Zr/Nb vs. Cr/Ni discrimination plot with color‑coded provenance groups

• The Plugin Manager showing available analytical and visualization plugins

• The demo dataset loader featuring real museum artefacts from Tel Hazor

These images are included so users can preview the toolkit before installation.

Intended Audience

Archaeologists, geoarchaeologists, geochemists, and museum professionals working with basalt vessels, groundstone tools, and regional provenance studies.

License

Released under CC BY‑NC‑SA 4.0. Free for research and educational use. Commercial use requires written permission.