From Materials to Materiality: Analysis and Interpretation of Archaeological and Historical Artifacts Using Non-destructive and Micro/Nano-sampling Scientific Methods

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "From Materials to Materiality: Analysis and Interpretation of Archaeological and Historical Artifacts Using Non-destructive and Micro/Nano-sampling Scientific Methods," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

An instrumental revolution has taken place in the last decade with the miniaturization of scientific instruments capable of assessing elemental and molecular compositions of ancient artifacts. Portable spectroscopy and spectrometry and micro/nano-sampling have made possible the study of materials in situ and in museum contexts. This is providing detailed information on ancient groups that produced these objects, and we are in a moment in which we are able to offer unique insights into their cultural meanings. The goal of this symposium is to present case studies of applied scientific methods to analyze archaeological, historical, and aesthetic artifacts and attempt to transcend their mere description to propose deeper interpretations exploring meanings and cultural values embodied in them by their makers.

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