Mineralogical Approaches To Archaeological Materials Technological And Social Insights Daniel Albero Santacreu by Daniel Albero Santacreu, José Cristóbal Carvajal López And Adrián Durán Benito 9783036556772, 303655677X instant download after payment.

Archaeological Materials: Technological and Social

Insights”

Archaeometry is based on the necessary interdisciplinary relationship between diverse branches

of the natural and social sciences. This relationship is essential in archaeology, since, from physical

materials (objects), scholars have to face questions that go beyond the limits of the tangible and

pertain instead to abstract and social concerns. Studies focused on archaeological materials have

been substantially enriched by the application of techniques and methods from the natural sciences

(e.g. physics, chemistry, geology, micropaleontology) and the implementation of chemical, physical

and mineralogical analyses. Currently, archaeometric studies are fundamental to the accurate

classification and characterization of archaeological materials, providing relevant data, among other

aspects, about their production, function and social meaning.

Archaeometric studies have developed significantly since the 1960s and have enhanced the

analytical tools and topics considered in the study of material culture. In this book, we present a set

of papers that show the potential of mineralogical studies (e.g. petrography, mineral geochemistry,

X-ray Diffraction) and multiproxy approaches to characterize the composition of a wide diversity of

archaeological materials such as ceramics, terracotta, tiles, metals, glazes, glass and mortars related to

several periods (Bronze Age, Roman, Middle Age, Modern period). These contributions conducted

most of the archaeometric analyses usually applied in the study of material culture and demonstrate

that the mineralogical characterization of these artifacts is crucial to address aspects related to the

origin of the raw materials used in their manufacture and the technological processes applied by

craftspeople.

In this sense, this book can be of interest for specialized researchers who seek specific case studies

and are mainly concerned with