Archaeological science

Short description: Application of scientific techniques to archaeology

"Archaeometry" redirects here. For the journal, see Archaeometry (journal).

Archaeological science consists of the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archaeological materials and sites. It is related to methodologies of archaeology. Martinón-Torres and Killick distinguish 'scientific archaeology' (as an epistemology) from 'archaeological science' (the application of specific techniques to archaeological materials).[1] Martinón-Torres and Killick claim that 'archaeological science' has promoted the development of high-level theory in archaeology. However, Smith rejects both concepts of archaeological science because neither emphasize falsification or a search for causality.[2] Marwick demonstrated that archaeologists' publication habits are more like social scientists than hard sciences such as physics.[3]

In the United Kingdom, the Natural and Environmental Research Council provides funding for archaeometry separate from the funding provided for archaeology.[4]

## Contents

* 1 Types of archaeological science
* 1.1 Dating techniques
* 1.2 Artifact studies
* 2 Influence of archaeometry
* 3 Locating archaeological sites
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Types of archaeological science

Archaeological science can be divided into the following areas:[5]

* physical and chemical dating methods which provide archaeologists with absolute and relative chronologies
* artifact studies
* environmental approaches which provide information on past landscapes, climates, flora, and fauna; as well as the diet, nutrition, health, and pathology of people
* mathematical methods for data treatment (including computer-based methods)
* remote-sensing and geophysical-survey techniques for buried features
* conservation sciences, involving the study of decay processes and the development of new methods of conservation

Techniques such as lithic analysis, archaeometallurgy, paleoethnobotany, palynology and zooarchaeology also form sub-disciplines of archaeological science.

### Dating techniques

Archaeological science has particular value when it can provide absolute dates for archaeological strata and artifacts. Some of the most important dating techniques include:

* radiocarbon dating — especially for dating organic materials
* dendrochronology — for dating trees; also very important for calibrating radiocarbon dates
* thermoluminescence dating — for dating inorganic material (including ceramics)
* optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) — for absolutely dating and relatively profiling buried land-surfaces in vertical and horizontal stratigraphic sections, most often by measuring photons discharged from grains of quartz within sedimentary bodies (although this technique can also measure potassium feldspars, complications caused by internally induced dose-rates often favor the use of quartz-based analyzes in archaeological applications)
* electron spin resonance, as used (for example) in dating teeth
* potassium-argon dating — for dating (for example) fossilized hominid remains by association with volcanic sediments (the fossils themselves are not directly dated)

### Artifact studies

Another important subdiscipline of archaeometry is the study of artifacts. Archaeometrists have used a variety of methods to analyze artifacts, either to determine more about their composition, or to determine their provenance. These techniques include:

* X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
* inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
* neutron activation analysis (NAA)
* scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
* laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

Lead, strontium and oxygen isotope analysis can also test human remains to estimate the diets and even the birthplaces of a study's subjects.

Provenance analysis has the potential to determine the original source of the materials used, for example, to make a particular artifact. This can show how far the artifact has traveled and can indicate the existence of systems of exchange.[6]

## Influence of archaeometry

Archaeometry has greatly influenced modern archaeology. Archaeologists can obtain significant additional data and information using these techniques, and archaeometry has the potential to revise the understanding of the past. For example, the "second radiocarbon revolution" significantly re-dated European prehistory in the 1960s, compared to the "first radiocarbon revolution" from 1949.

## Locating archaeological sites

Archaeometry is an important tool in finding potential dig sites. The use of remote sensing has enabled archaeologists to identify many more archaeological sites than they could have otherwise. The use of aerial photography (including satellite imagery and Lidar) remains the most widespread remote-sensing technique. Ground-based geophysical surveys often help to identify and map archaeological features within identified sites.[7]

## See also

* Social:Post-excavation analysis - Processes for studying archaeological materials after an excavation

## References

1. ↑ Marcos Martinón-Torres and David Killick. Archaeological Theories and Archaeological Sciences in "The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory". Oxford University Press.
2. ↑ Smith, Michael E. (4 April 2017). "Social science and archaeological enquiry". Antiquity 91 (356): 520–528. doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.19.
3. ↑ Marwick, Ben (August 2025). "Is archaeology a science? Insights and imperatives from 10,000 articles and a year of reproducibility reviews". Journal of Archaeological Science 180. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2025.106281.
4. ↑ Killick, D; Young, SMM (1997). Archaeology and Archaeometry: From Casual Dating to a Meaningful Relationship?. Antiquity.
5. ↑ Tite, M.S. (1991) Archaeological Science - past achievements and future prospects. Archaeometry 31 139-151.
6. ↑ Lambert, JB (1997). Traces of the Past: Unraveling the Secrets of Archaeology Through Chemistry. Addison-Wesley.
7. ↑ Aitken, MJ (1961). Physics and Archaeology. Interscience Publishers.

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Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage

Collection care
and management|

* Collecting
* Collection (artwork)
* Collections care
* Collection catalog
* Collections maintenance
* Collections management (museum)
* Collection Management Policy
* Collections management system
* Cultural heritage management
* Cultural resources management
* Deaccessioning (museum)
* Digital repository audit method based on risk assessment
* Display case
* Documentation of cultural property
* Emergency response (museum)
* Exhibition of cultural heritage objects
* Found in collection
* Inherent vice
* Inventory (museum)
* Museum integrated pest management
* Preservation metadata
* Implementation Strategies
* Preservation of meaning
* Preservation survey
* Provenance
* Repatriation
* Restoration (cultural heritage)
* Storage of cultural heritage objects

Roles and
expertise|

* Art handler
* Collection manager
* Conservator-restorer
* Conservation scientist
* Conservation technician
* Curator
* Exhibition designer
* Mount maker
* Objects conservator
* Paintings conservator
* Photograph conservator
* Preservationist
* Registrar (museum)
* Textile conservator

Area specialities|

* Antiques restoration
* Archaeological science
* Archaeology
* Bioarchaeology
* Building restoration
* Conservation science
* Digital photograph restoration
* Digital preservation
* Database preservation
* Film preservation
* Frame conservation
* Heritage science
* Historic preservation
* Media preservation
* Object conservation
* Optical media preservation
* Painting conservation
* Preservation (library and archival science)
* Restoration
* Sustainable preservation
* Web archiving

Techniques|

* Aging (artwork)
* Anastylosis
* Arrested decay
* Architecture
* Cradling (paintings)
* Detachment of wall paintings
* Desmet method
* Historic paint analysis
* Imaging of cultural heritage
* Inpainting
* Kintsugi
* Leafcasting
* Lining of paintings
* Mass deacidification
* Mold control and prevention in libraries
* Overpainting
* Paper splitting
* Radiography of cultural objects
* Reconstruction (architecture)
* Rissverklebung
* Textile stabilization
* Transfer of panel paintings
* UVC-based preservation
* VisualAudio

Topics|

* Archaeological sites
* Ancient Greek pottery
* Automobiles
* Bone, horn, and antler objects
* Books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera
* Ceramic objects
* Clocks
* Copper-based objects
* Feathers
* Film
* Flags and banners
* Frescos
* Fur objects
* Glass objects
* Herbaria
* Historic gardens
* Human remains
* Illuminated manuscripts
* Insect specimens
* Iron and steel objects
* Ivory objects
* Judaica
* Lacquerware
* Leather objects
* Lighthouses
* Metals
* Musical instruments
* Neon objects
* New media art
* Outdoor artworks
* Outdoor bronze objects
* Outdoor murals
* Paintings
* Painting frames
* Panel paintings
* Papyrus
* Parchment
* Performance art
* Photographs
* Photographic plates
* Plastic objects
* Pompeian frescoes
* Shipwreck artifacts
* Silver objects
* South Asian household shrines
* Stained glass
* Taxidermy
* Textiles
* Tibetan thangkas
* Time-based media art
* Totem poles
* Vehicles
* Vinyl discs
* Woodblock prints
* Wooden artifacts
* Wooden furniture

Notable projects|

* Conservation issues of Pompeii and Herculaneum
* Conservation-restoration of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez
* Conservation-restoration of The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins
* Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
* Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin
* Conservation-restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
* Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty
* Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley
* Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative

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Archaeology

History|

* Archaeological sites
* Antiquarianism
* Johann Joachim Winckelmann
* Richard Hoare
* Heinrich Schliemann
* Arthur Evans
* John Lloyd Stephens
* William Henry Holmes
* Augustus Pitt Rivers
* Flinders Petrie
* Mortimer Wheeler
* Dorothy Garrod
* Max Uhle
* Alfred V. Kidder
* George Bass

Method and theory|

* Archaeological theory
* Philosophy of archaeology
* Archaeological diving
* Archaeological ethics
* Conservation and restoration of archaeological sites
* Survey
* geophysical survey
* electrical resistance survey
* Sondage
* Burnt layer
* Excavation
* Lithic analysis
* Post-excavation

Sub-disciplines|

| Chronological|

* Prehistoric
* Protohistoric
* Biblical
* Classical
* Medieval
* Post-Medieval
* Historical
* Contemporary

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Geographic|

* African
* American
* Asian
* Australian
* Oceanian
* Egyptian
* Mesopotamian
* Near Eastern
* Nubian

Methodological|

* Aerial
* Bioarchaeology
* Archaeogenetics
* Medieval
* Near Eastern
* Osteology
* Paleopathology
* Calceology
* Digital
* Archaeogaming
* Computational
* Virtual
* Environmental
* Geoarchaeology
* Paleoethnobotany
* Zooarchaeology
* Experimental
* Underwater

Thematic|

* Archaeoastronomy
* Archaeometry
* Battlefield
* Conflict
* Feminist
* Funerary
* Gender
* Indigenous
* Industrial
* Landscape
* Maritime
* Mortuary
* Music
* Nazi
* Phenomenology
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Queer
* Transgender

Lists|

* Sites
* by country
* Periods
* Archaeologists
* Egyptologists
* Assyriologists
* Hittitologists
* Journals

* Category

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