Current Analytical Chemistry Procedures in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
This special issue belongs to the section "Analytical Chemistry".
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, selected chemical analysis tools have become an indispensable and crucial part of archaeological and cultural heritage research. The use of latest chemical analysis techniques enables a new perspective on the objects being studied. Given that cultural heritage objects can be composed of various matrices (not only inorganic and organic, but heterogeneous), a properly selected analytical procedure should be multi-technique to enable the simultaneous determination of elements or chemical compounds of varying concentrations in various materials. It should be remembered that the choice of research method must be dictated not only by the specificity of the material, but also by its broadly understood value and the risk of deterioration. The most commonly used non-destructive or microdestructive analytical techniques in archaeology include portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP MS), laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), and Raman spectrometry. Destructive methods, first of all hyphenated techniques, i.e. combination of chromatography and spectrometry (regardless of the their types), also become of a key importance for organic and inorganic analysis. However, each available tool has certain limitations, e.g. resulting from the data recording method. Therefore, any tool imperfections must be considered when establishing the analytical procedure, examining the object, and analyzing the data, as they influence the final conclusions.
Considering the above, we encourage the publication of original scientific articles, reviews, and short communications that present innovative analytical strategies or methodological solutions relevant to archaeological and cultural heritage research, such as multi-technique analytical procedures and in situ investigations, as well as case studies.
Dr. Jędrzej Proch
Guest Editor
Dr. Marta Krzyżanowska
Guest Editor Assistant
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Keywords
- archaeometry
- multi-technique analysis
- in situ analysis
- multielement analysis
- sample preparation
- spectrometric techniques
- chromatographic techniques
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Published Papers
Molecules - ISSN 1420-3049