The Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum: Celebrating 20 Years Serving the Archaeological Community

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "The Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum: Celebrating 20 Years Serving the Archaeological Community " at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2004, the Field Museum (FM) established the Elemental Analysis Facility (EAF), dedicated to studying ancient materials to advance the research on trade and exchange of archaeologists working at this institution and to collaborate with scholars around the country and beyond. The EAF housed minimally destructive and completely non-destructive analytical techniques, including laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF). These instruments are used to investigate FM objects and other artifacts that are part of research conducted by a variety of collaborating institutions. Several avenues of research have been developed over the years, including the circulation of obsidian in Mesoamerica and South America, the provenance of various stones of cultural importance, the exchange of ceramics in Peru, and the trade of glass beads in different parts of the world. During the life of the EAF, large databases have been built, offering comparative data that could be used to address complex questions related to ancient societies. The presentations in this session will present different projects conducted with the help of the EAF.