Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VII

This 2005 book is devoted to presenting interdisciplinary research used to characterize cultural materials; the technologies by which materials are transformed into objects and artifacts and the science underlying their deterioration, preservation and conservation. These studies use materials research to understand degradation and promote long-term preservation of material culture and cultural heritage, e.g., works of art, culturally significant artifacts, and archaeological sites. Preserving cultural heritage extends beyond artifact preservation to developing a critical understanding of how ancient people used technology and craft to solve problems of survival and organization and to make symbols or representations of what was important to them. This book gives evidence of collaborations among researchers in museums, universities and national laboratories, and among fields as disparate as Raman spectroscopy, strontium isotope analysis or the materials and mechanics of mounting photographs. Topics include: conservation science; technical art history; archaeological science; methodology and instrumentation and application innovations.