Glossary Archaeological method and dating
Archaeometry
The use of physical and chemical science to analyse archaeological materials: their date, composition, source and manufacturing technique.
Archaeometry covers laboratory methods borrowed from physics, chemistry and geology, including radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating, petrography, neutron activation, X-ray fluorescence, lead isotope analysis and residue analysis. It answers questions that style alone cannot: where the clay or metal came from, how a pigment was made, what a vessel held.
Archaeometric work has settled several long Cypriot debates. It showed that Black-on-Red ware was made in Cyprus, that some Mycenaean-style pottery was made on the island, and that the Mycenaean-style pottery of the early Philistine settlements was made locally in Canaan with no imports from Cyprus among it. Cypriot limestone sculpture has also been examined for traces of paint (Painted Stone).
Related terms
- Petrographic analysis
Examining a thin slice of pottery or stone under a polarising microscope to identify its minerals and so where its clay or stone came from.
- Neutron activation analysis
A chemical technique that measures dozens of trace elements in a small sample, used above all to group pottery by clay source.
- X-ray fluorescence
A usually non-destructive technique that identifies the chemical elements in a surface, often done with a portable (pXRF) instrument.
- Lead isotope analysis
A method that matches metal objects to ore sources by comparing the ratios of lead isotopes, which differ from one ore deposit to another.
- Residue analysis
Chemical identification of traces of food, drink, oils, resins or drugs absorbed into or left on the inside of ancient vessels.