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.

Other Keywords
Archaeometry & Materials Analysis • Material Culture and Technology • Craft Production • Materiality • Archaeometry & Materials Analysis: XRF/pXRF • contact period • Conservation and Curation • Historic • Highland Mesoamerica: Classic • Highland Mesoamerica: Postclassic

Geographic Keywords
United Mexican States (Country) • North America (Continent) • Colima (State / Territory) • Michoacan (State / Territory) • Jalisco (State / Territory) • Nayarit (State / Territory) • Aguascalientes (State / Territory) • Guanajuato (State / Territory) • Belize (Country) • Hidalgo (State / Territory)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-15 of 15)

  • Documents (15)
Documents
  1. Archaeometric Analysis of Mural Paintings at Pachacamac, Peru (2019)
  2. Archaeometric Characterization of the Lapidary Objects from Teopancazco and Xalla, Teotihuacan (2019)
  3. The Authentication of the Codex Maya of Mexico, Previously Known as the Grolier, through Scientific Analysis (2019)
  4. Characterization Using Raman Spectroscopy of Amazonite and Turquoise of Tomb II, Tingambato, Michoacán, México (2019)
  5. Chemical Indices as a Key to Context: The Use of pXRF to Reassemble Maya Mural Fragments from San Bartolo, Guatemala (2019)
  6. Experimental Investigation of Primary Copper Smelting in Central Michoacan (2019)
  7. The Field Museum’s Colonial Period Polychrome Tiana: A Conservation Study of Materials and Techniques (2019)
  8. Influence and Exchange: A Technical Study of Colonial Period Ivories from the Philippines (2019)
  9. Judging a Vessel by Its Surface: Investigating Production Process in Corinthian Ceramics through Use of Multiple Non-invasive Instruments (2019)
  10. Local Color: The Visual Analysis of a South American Colonial Lacquered Gourd from the Collection of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library (2019)
  11. Microscopic and Spectrometric Techniques Applied to Identify Luxury Materials in a Fifteenth-Century Aztec Shield (2019)
  12. Pigment Composition and Color Structure and Usage in the Lienzos De Chiepetlan, Guerrero, Mexico: A Non-destructive Analysis (2019)
  13. The Technical Study of Two 16th Century Mexican Pictographic Documents in the NMAI Collection (2019)
  14. Tools Fit for a Queen: Interdisciplinary Study of a Set of Ancient Maya Weaving Implements (2019)
  15. Viscacha or Rabbit, Peru or Mexico: Fiber Identification and Cultural Clarification in the Investigation of a 16th C. Colonial Latin American Textile (2019)