Chemical Methods

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Herz ◽  
Ervan G. Garrison
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Change ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Chemical Processes ◽  
Chemical Methods ◽  
Amino Acid Racemization ◽  
Singular Event ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
History Of ◽  
Absolute Age ◽  
Chemical Dating

Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once" (anonymous). Time is a continuum—we sense this continuum as a succession of events. In archaeological matters it is one of the most salient attributes. To determine time accurately the archaeologist must rely on modern dating techniques. Age determination by chemical methods relies on the constancy or predictability of rates of chemical processes. For instance the oxidation of iron—rust—could be used for dating purposes if one could determine a chemical rate, in this case that of oxidation, that applied to more than the singular event. Unfortunately, the rate of the oxidation of iron is highly variable, being affected by temperature, available moisture, and the particular type of iron (mild, cast, stainless, etc.). Another common chemical change is the patination of certain types of glass. Yet here, too, the process is highly variable, making dating impractical. Still, there have been attempts to use patination and rock "varnish" for archaeological dating, as we shall see. In the main, chemical dating is used to determine relative ages since absolute ages require calibration for each sample and its find site using independent dating measures such as radiometric or dendrochronological techniques. We shall first discuss the relative techniques based on the uptake or decrease in fluorine, uranium, and nitrogen found in bone. This is most appropriate because these chemical techniques played a key role in unmasking one of the most famous frauds in the history of science: Piltdown Man. Next we shall examine the two most accepted chemical processes utilized in absolute age determination, which are based, respectively, on amino acid racemization and obsidian hydration. Finally, we shall examine a few techniques that show some promise for the dating of archaeological materials or deposits, such as those using patination ("varnish") and cation ratios. Our points of reference are those events we view as, in some sense, marking a change in the state of things. Stylistic or formal change in an archaeological facies can be a chronological landmark for the archaeologist and allows us to divide the continuum of time into discrete segments or phases.

scholarly journals ARCHAEOLOGY ABOUT THE 17th CENTURY PALACE IN KOLOMENSKOYE: OVERVIEW OF DATA SOURCES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Л.А. Беляев ◽  
С.И. Баранова
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Subsequent Period ◽  
The Future ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
History Of ◽  
Future Task ◽  
Clear Idea

Задача статьи – понять, где, сколько и каких сохранилось археологических материалов по истории наиболее известного из гражданских дворцовых соо­ружений, срубленных из дерева, – дворца в Коломенском. Дворец использовался как летняя государственная резиденция в основном царем Алексеем Михайловичем и его сыновьями, Федором и Петром I (в юности), а позже эпизодически правительницами России XVIII в. После разборки в 1760-х гг. от него сохранились описания, обмеры и даже модели. За столетие (с 1920-х гг.) остатки усадьбы не раз исследовались археологически, материалы фиксации отложились в ряде архивов и музеев, в основном московских. На будущее ставится задача свести эти материалы воедино и заново проанализировать их вместе с другими видами источников. The paper is aimed at shaping a clear idea on what, where, and how much of archaeological materials on the history of the Kolomenskoye Palace, which is the most famous civil palace construction made from logs, has been preserved. The palace was used as a summer state residence, mostly, by tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich and his sons – Fyodor and Peter I (in his childhood), and in the subsequent period in the 18th century from time to time by female rulers of Russia. In the 1760s the palace was dismantled; its descriptions, measurements and even models were preserved. Over a hundred years (since the 1920s), the remains of this estate have been repeatedly excavated, and the records have been stored in a number of archives and museums, mostly, in Moscow. The future task is to consolidate these materials and analyze them along with other types of sources.

scholarly journals Validation of Age Estimation in the Harp Seal, Phoca groenlandica, Using Dentinal Annuli

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 1430-1441 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. D. Bowen ◽  
D. E. Sergeant ◽  
T. Øritsland
Keyword(s):  
Outer Layer ◽  
Age Estimation ◽  
Transverse Section ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Harp Seal ◽  
Growth Layer ◽  
Phoca Groenlandica ◽  
Incremental Growth ◽  
Absolute Age

We investigated the validity and accuracy of age estimation in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica, using a sample of 155 known-age teeth from seals age 3 mo to 10 yr. Under transmitted light, transverse sections of harp seal canine teeth showed distinct incremental growth layers (IGLs) in the dentine. The first growth-layer group (GLG), representing Ist-year growth, consists of two IGLs: an outer layer of opaque dentine, bounded by the neonatal line, and an inner layer of translucent dentine. Subsequent GLGs, each representing 1 yr of growth, generally consist of three IGLs: an outer layer of interglobular dentine deposited during the annual molt in April, a middle layer of opaque dentine formed during the northward spring migration (May–June), and an inner layer of translucent dentine formed from July to March. We show that dentinal GLGs can be used to estimate the absolute age of harp seals. The accuracy of the method decreases with age. Only 72.4% of estimates of 0-group seals were correct using only transverse sections. These errors were virtually eliminated (99.0% correct age determination) when the tooth root was examined. Based on a single examination of a transverse section, the probabilities of correctly estimating age are 0.983, 0.889, 0.817, and 0.553 at ages 1, 2, 3, and 4 + yr, respectively, when clearly inaccurate tag-tooth associations are omitted. The respective probabilities are only slightly higher when age is based on the average of five blind readings, being 1.0, 0.889, 0.833, and 0.625. Beyond age 3 yr, existing data are insufficient to estimate reliably the accuracy of age determined by counting GLGs.

Metal Mirrors from Altai Sites of the Xiongnu Time

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-375
Author(s):  
Alexey A. Tishkin ◽  
Nikolay N. Seregin
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Metal Alloys ◽  
Visual Examination ◽  
The West ◽  
The Social ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Made In ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Abstract Metal mirrors are important indicators when reconstructing the history of the ancient peoples of Altai on the basis of archaeological materials. Among the latter there are imported products, recorded in the mounds of the Xiongnu time (2nd century BC – 1st century AD). The article gives an overview of the results of a comprehensive study of the mirrors. Only one mirror was found intact, and the rest are represented by fragments. This collection of 19 archaeological items is divided into two groups, reflecting the direction of contacts of the Altai population in this period. The first demonstrates Chinese products that could have entered the region indirectly from the Xiongnu who dominated Inner Asia. Some of them were made in the previous period, but were used for a long time. The analyses of metal alloys from the Yaloman-II site supplements the conclusions made during the visual examination. The second group, through its origin, is associated with the cultures of the so-called Sarmatian circle, whose sites were located to the west of the Altai. A separate section of the article is devoted to a discussion of reconstruction of some aspects of the social history of the nomads and their world.

Archaeological Materials :Rocks and Minerals

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Herz ◽  
Ervan G. Garrison
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Historic Monument ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geological Map ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
A Site

This chapter is only a brief introduction to lithic archaeological materials. Archaeologists with but little knowledge of rocks and rock-forming minerals are urged to learn about them in greater detail than that presented here. Lithic resources are abundant in almost every archaeological site, and lithic artifacts are invariably the best preserved of any remains. Early societies learned how to exploit these resources, and the use and production of lithics go back to the earliest known sites, at least 1.5 million years. In fact, the earliest cultures are distinguished on the basis of their lithic industries and lithic artifacts. Horror stories in misidentification of lithics abound. Not only have misidentified artifacts proven embarrassing to the archaeologist, but also they have made it difficult to make meaningful comparisons of different societies using published descriptions. In addition, conservation strategies for historical monuments cannot be developed without an understanding of the nature of the material used in their construction. Some egregious examples of ignorance of the rocks and minerals from our personal experience include the following: 1. An archaeologist asked if a quartzite scraper was either flint or chert. When told that it was neither, he asked, "Well then, which is it more like?" (answer, still neither). 2. Egyptian basalt statues have been called limestone in publications (and several other rock types). 3. Sources for alabaster were searched to explain a trading link between a site and elsewhere when the geological map showed the site was adjacent to a mountain of gypsum, the mineral component of alabaster (the gypsum may have merely rolled down the hillside to the workshops, where it became the more salable alabaster). 4. Conservators searched for methods to preserve an allegedly granitic historic monument, or so it had been identified. Chemical analysis revealed only abundant Ca, Mg, and carbonate. Fossils were also abundant in the "granite," which dissolved easily in hydrochloric acid (the "granite" was clearly limestone). Petrology is the branch of geology that deals with the occurrence, origin, and history of rocks. Petrography is concerned with descriptions of rocks, their mineralogy, structures, and textures.

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