Authors:
- Specifically targeted at presenting scientific methods to archaeologists with no scientific background
- Comprehensive guide for scientific techniques: how to perform them, which materials to use them on, and what results they will give
- Useful both as a how-to manual, and a graduate level textbook
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique (MATT)
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Table of contents (39 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Applications
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Front Matter
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Materials
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Front Matter
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About this book
Many archaeologists, as primarily social scientists, do not have a background in the natural sciences. This can pose a problem because they need to obtain chemical and physical analyses on samples to perform their research. This manual is an essential source of information for those students without a background in science, but also a comprehensive overview that those with some understanding of archaeological science will find useful. The manual provides readers with the knowledge to use archaeological science methods to the best advantage. It describes and explains the analytical techniques in a manner that the average archaeologist can understand, and outlines clearly the requirements, benefits, and limitations of each possible method of analysis, so that the researcher can make informed choices. The work includes specific information about a variety of dating techniques, provenance studies, isotope analysis as well as the analysis of organic (lipid and protein) residues and ancient DNA. Case studies illustrating applications of these approaches to most types of archaeological materials are presented and the instruments used to perform the analyses are described. Available destructive and non-destructive approaches are presented to help archaeologists select the most effective technique for gaining the target information from the sample. Readers will reach for this manual whenever they need to decide how to best analyze a sample, and how the analysis is performed.
Authors and Affiliations
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Brandon University, Brandon, Canada
Mary E. Malainey
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: A Consumer's Guide to Archaeological Science
Book Subtitle: Analytical Techniques
Authors: Mary E. Malainey
Series Title: Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5704-7
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4419-5703-0Published: 01 October 2010
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-3301-9Published: 23 March 2012
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4419-5704-7Published: 28 September 2010
Series ISSN: 1571-5752
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 603
Number of Illustrations: 135 b/w illustrations
Topics: Archaeology, Characterization and Evaluation of Materials, Ceramics, Glass, Composites, Natural Materials