Polychrome slipped and decorated pottery from Corinth, Greece, developed over two centuries from monochrome, dark brown slips and washes on a calcareous yellow clay body to a wide range of decorative techniques. Once significant experimentation with color variability began, five colors, each with various levels of gloss, were produced. Some slip colors involve multiple-step processing to control glass content and degree of sintering; the control of particle size to produce variable roughness and a matte or semi-matt or glossy appearance. Considerable evidence supports nearly continuous development and engineering of the ceramic slips, although no data support the improvement in composition or processing of the ceramic bodies. For instance, significant macro-porosity consistently is present in the bodies. We present the results of study of 27 sherds with 59 examples of Corinthian polychrome paint layers, measuring 5 to 35 microns in thickness, that were collected by Marie Farnsworth in the late 1950s and 1960s from Greek archaeological sites. Black, red, white, wine red (or purple) and overlying, matte banded slips and paints were studied by optical microscopy, petrographic and scanning-electron microscopy with semi-quantative energy dispersive x-ray analysis, as well as wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe (EPMA) elemental mapping and analysis.

Between the fourth century B.C. and second century A.D., changes in climate, culture and commerce converged to extend networks of influence and intensify social stratification in communities situated along the Silk Road. The horse-riding nomads and agro-pastoralists of what is now Southeastern Kazakhstan were important actors in the unfolding of these events. The settlements and kurgan burials of the Saka and Wusun could be found dotting the alluvial fans north of the Tien Shan Mountains just a short time before Alexander the Great founded outposts in the Ferghana Valley and Chinese emissaries formalized relations with their periphery. In other words, the appearance of Iron Age Saka-Wusun sites anticipated the formation of the Silk Road’s northern branch and subsequently helped mediate long-distance relationships connecting East and West. Historical accounts appear to confirm the presence of the Saka and Wusun in this role, but there is much that remains unknown regarding relationships both within and across their communities. Typological variability in their material culture has fed speculation concerning their position within trade networks, but there has been very little in the way of materials analysis to test the validity of these assumptions.

The ceramics recovered at Tuzusai near Almaty provide an excellent opportunity for examination of the impacts and implications of extended regional contacts throughout the region. Although no Persian or Chinese ceramic imports were identified, an extensive vocabulary of pot forms was locally produced. However, the pottery, particularly pitchers, drinking cups and bowls, and, especially with bright red surface decoration, is found in elaborate burial kurgans. The pottery is coarse, perhaps better called a “rock body” than a clay body, as very little clay is present. The frequency of sherds from the excavation (over 1000) and from surface survey is very low (e.g. 3 surface sherds for one-half days effort) compared with excavations in Southwest Asia or China. Rims are unusually worn. Thus, we suggest pottery was precious and high status, but difficult to make. A local survey of clay resources produced meager results. Tests showed that the finest sediments had perhaps 3% clay-sized particles. Among the adobe houses at Tuzusai is evidence of courtyard work areas for pottery production with fired remains of a possible firing pit or kiln and bone potting tools. Other courtyards were areas for dairying and spinning and some copper alloy and iron metal working. Our aim was to establish the life history, production sequences, status and uses of the pottery. Given our current understanding of local production resources and the technical difficulty associated with the production of thin walled forms using these materials, we suggest that these ceramics were high-status goods, many used in feasting activities, and valued not solely for their function in feasting activities, but for the labor and skill required to produce them. Study of the ceramics, clay sources, production methods, and decoration suggests greater social permeability of Saka-Wusun communities than was previously proposed and allows us to understand the formative dynamics of village along the Silk Road.

The aim of this paper is to show that historical technical archives and complementary physico-chemical studies can be combined to obtain relevant information on the materials and processes used in the manufacturing of a Breguet 765 Sahara airplane. This will be useful both in history of sciences and technology and in the renovation of this more than fifty years old airplane.

The Breguet 765 Sahara plane is the last version of a family of French double-deck transport aircraft produced by Breguet between 1948 and 1960. The gathering of multi-disciplinary information from the literature of the period of production with laboratory investigations has revealed that a “new” aluminum-copper-magnesium alloy was used in the rivets of the Breguet 765. The A-U3G alloy was developed to meet properties requirements of the aeronautical industry for joining sheets of aluminum and was used in the Breguet 765 Sahara to strengthen the joints. Analytical techniques included TEM, EPMA microprobe and metallography.

The Museum of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City holds a collection of several thousands of polished stone artifacts that were excavated and identified as temple offerings. These can stratigraphically be related to the sequential construction stages (II-VII) of the ceremonial area of the Aztec capital from the foundation of the city in 1325 to 1521, when the Spaniards conquered the city. A non-destructive investigation of the elemental and chemical composition of these archaeological artifacts helps us to understand the provenance of these pieces, their use and the specific mineralogical choice for these artifacts as well as more information regarding trade routes relevant to the development of the Aztec empire. A mineralogical analysis of, in total, 450 stone artifacts was carried out using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). From this, eighty-five pieces were selected according to their excavation location, either in the Great Temple itself or in the surrounding buildings, as well as to represent the different construction stages of the area (this is part of a World Heritage Site). The resulting mineralogical and chemical information was related to possible mineral resources that were controlled and used as the empire expanded. Artifacts made from high-status semi-precious minerals, like jadeite and turquoise, are found to be concentrated in the central buildings and in the Great Temple itself, but also in the later construction periods of the area.

In the context of the preservation of the cultural heritage, it is important to understand the alteration mechanisms of the materials constituting historical monuments and architecture. Limestone especially is widely used in many French monuments exposed to an urban aggressive atmosphere affecting their durability. To better understand the alteration mechanisms, the first step is to characterize at different scales the stone material properties. In one hand, the pore network that drives the fluids transfer inside the materials was characterized. And on the other hand, the alteration layer formed on several decades aged materials was studied. Results on this fine-scale characterization are discussed.

A characteristic fluorescent tarnish can be observed on some daguerreotypes under shortwave ultraviolet radiation. The fluorescence can be seen in several distinct patterns: edge tarnish, rings, and continuous films. Dispersive Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were applied to characterize and identify the fluorescent compound. Raman spectroscopy identified the characteristic peak for copper cyanide, CuCN, at 2172 cm-1. Elemental k-ratio maps of the SEM analysis indicated an increase in copper, sodium, carbon and nitrogen in the area of fluorescence. XRD confirmed the identification of a copper cyanide compound. Shortwave ultraviolet radiation can be used in a monitoring program of daguerreotypes to further characterize the fluorescent tarnish and its effect on the deterioration of daguerreotypes.

Pores in archaeological ceramics can form in a number of different ways, and reflect both deliberate choices and uncontrollable factors. Characterizing porosity by digital image analysis of thin sections holds a number of advantages as well as limitations. We present the results of experiments aimed at improving this method, focusing on high-resolution scans of entire thin sections. We examine the reproducibility of pore measurements by petrographic image analysis of ceramic thin sections using laboratory-prepared specimens of clay mixed with sand of known amount and size. We outline protocols for measuring Total Optical Porosity, using the Image-Pro Premier software package. We also briefly discuss use of pore size and pore shape (aspect ratio and roundness) in characterizing archaeological ceramics. While discerning reasons for observed amounts, sizes, and shapes of pores is an extremely complex problem, the quantitative analysis of ceramic porosity is one tool for characterizing a ware and comparing a product to others. The methods outlined here are applied to a case study comparing historic bricks from the Read House in New Castle, Delaware; the porosity studies indicate that different construction campaigns used bricks from different sources.

Knowledge of the composition of many cultural heritage objects is limited, resulting in many unanswered questions in regards to the provenance, composition, and production methods. In this paper, our objective is to show that dual beam scanning electron microscope (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) can be used rapidly and non-destructively to determine the surface and bulk metal compositions in small cultural heritage objects. We show, for the first time, that this novel FIB technique can be successfully applied non-destructively to cultural heritage objects by examining three representative silver plated objects (Candelabra, “Century” spoon, and New York World’s Fair spoon) from the Dallas Museum of Art’s unparalleled collection of modern American silver. In each case, we successfully reveal and characterize the bulk metal as well as the Ag-plating, up to ∼80 µm deep and show that there is no visual damage resulting from the milling process of the FIB. This novel characterization technique can be applied, due to its ease of availability and rapid use, to many other problems in addition to silver plated objects, making dual beam SEM/FIB a possible cornerstone technique in the study of cultural heritage objects.

Non-destructive investigation, chemically fingerprinting, and authentication of ceramic cultural artifacts is a challenging analytical problem. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is capable of distinguishing between clays based on the paramagnetic metals present, and firing temperature (TF) based on the complexes of these metals formed at different TF values. Unfortunately, the 9 GHz frequency of conventional X-band EPR restricts sample size to a few mm and limits its applicability to small fragments. Low frequency EPR (LFEPR) is based on an EPR spectrometer operating at a few hundred MHz. LFEPR can utilize larger samples on the order of a few cm, but has a lower sensitivity due to the smaller Boltzmann ratio. Additionally, LFEPR may not be capable of detecting a spectral transition if the LFEPR operating frequency is less then the zero-field splitting of the paramagnetic metal complex. We utilized an LFEPR operating at 300 MHz which scans the applied magnetic field between the local Earth’s magnetic field and 26 mT to determine the feasibility of detecting EPR signals from clays, pigments, and glazes. Various clay samples were studied at 100 < TF < 1200 °C. Spectral differences were seen as a function of both clay type and TF. Differences in the LFEPR spectra of Han, Egyptian, and Ultramarine blue support the ability to distinguish among pigments. Paramagnetic impurities in glass may allow distinction between glaze spectra. We have also explored the utility of LFESR by the use of a radio frequency surface coil rather than an enclosed resonator. Although the active volume of the surface coil is ∼1 cm3, objects as large as 20 cm in diameter might be easily characterized with our spectrometer.