Archaeological Chemical Analysis

Abstract

In recent years, archaeology has interacted more and more with the physical sciences. In particular, chemical analysis has been established as a significant contributor to science‐based archaeology. The principal applications include compositional analysis of natural and synthetic materials and residues to ascertain artifact manufacturing processes and use; chemical and isotopic studies of biological remains and identification of plant and animal residues to investigate ancient diet, nutrition, and resource use; the determination of geographical sources of procurement or production of materials to establish long‐distance contact or trade; and the processes governing preservation and decay of materials and scientific investigation in the context of conservation and restoration. This article explores the role of chemical analysis in archaeology and highlights the importance of the findings in contributing to our understanding of the past. In particular, taking examples from the last 200 years, it demonstrates that chemical analysis of archaeological materials is not a routine application but one thatmust be informed by a thorough knowledge of the archaeological context, degradative processes, and material – environment interactions. Case studies span a wide range of elemental, isotopic, and molecular investigations with a bibliography comprising nearly 200 publications.

Going south of the river: A multidisciplinary analysis of ancestry, mobility and diet in a population from Roman Southwark, London

“…In a British context C 4 plants were not cultivated until the post-medieval period, so δ 13 C variations are dominantly used to distinguish between marine and terrestrial food sources (Pollard and Heron, 2008). Within the wider context of the Roman empire there is also the potential for millet and sorghum to contribute to the diet so that migrants to Roman…”

Identidades y ajuares en las necrópolis altomedievales. Estudios isotópicos del cementerio de San Martín de Dulantzi, Álava (siglos VI-X)

“…El estudio de los marcadores isotópicos se emplean en arqueología desde hace decenios, sustancialmente con el fi n de determinar el paleoclima, la dieta o la movilidad de las poblaciones antiguas (DeNiro 1987;Pollard y Heron 2008;Malainey 2010). En el caso del yacimiento de Dulantzi se han analizado los isótopos de nitrógeno y de carbono de 65 individuos para estudiar su dieta, y en 32 esqueletos los de estroncio para determinar si su origen era local o si, en cambio, se trataba de inmigrados 8 .…”

An overview of distal tephrochronology in northern Europe during the last 1000 years

“…It has been suggested that this may be due to the origin of basaltic material from (with a few important exceptions such as the early Holocene Saksunarvatn Tephra) less explosive volcanism (Dugmore et al, 1995). Alternatively, it may be possible that basaltic shards have been affected by post-deposition dissolution (Pollard et al, 2003;Pollard and Heron, 2008). WolffBoenisch et al (2004) showed that rhyolitic glass has an expected lifetime of $10 times longer than basaltic glass at pH 4 and 258C.…”

“…from the eruptions of Katla in AD 1625, 1660 and 1755 (Thorarinsson, 1981). These basaltic eruptions, however, have not left any traces in the sedimentary records outside Iceland possibly due to low concentrations of tephra (Dugmore and Newton, 1998) or as a result of post-depositional dissolution which particularly affects basaltic glass (Pollard et al, 2003;Wolff-Boenisch et al, 2004;Pollard and Heron, 2008). Up until now, only two basaltic tephras from the last 1000 a -Veiðivö tn-1477 and Laki-1783 -have been traced in distal locations.…”