Dating and Provenance

The typology of pottery styles has been the most reliable dating method for archaeological sites for centuries. Through comparison of characteristic pottery 

A first characterisation of pottery by visual means would include the structure of the fabric (fine or coarse), its colour (red or grey, different layers ) by looking at the core of a freshly broken piece and by looking at the surface (polished or colour coated ). A stylistic approach would note indications of the form, e.g. of the rim, of the pedestal base and the handles. However, identical figure types can be produced in different places or at least from raw materials imported from different sources. 

Therefore, chemical analysis is the key to provenance studies, especially for ceramics with identical or similar figure types, for pottery with an unknown origin or when trade routes are to be investigated. 

The provenance of ceramics can be determined by using major and minor element analysis, obtained mainly by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) or X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Even more common is the interpretation of trace element patterns (concerning elements present at less than 0.1 wt%), for which neutron activation analysis (NAA) and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-AES or ICP-MS) are the most commonly used analytical techniques. 

Different clay sources can be distinguished by absolute concentrations of trace elements, or through the degree of correlation between pairs of elements 

---

Wagner, G. A. (2000), Isotope analysis, dating and provenance methods, in Ciliberto, E. and G. Spoto (eds.), Modern Analytical Methods in Art and Archaeology, Chemical Analysis Series, Vol. 155, Wiley, New York, pp. 445-464. 

Nineteen archaeological pre-Columbian textile specimens from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art were examined. The textiles (Huari/Tiahuanaco, lea, Paracas-Caver-nas, and Paracas-Necropolis) are described. Elemental analyses for archaeological textile and modern wool samples (C, H, N, S, and ash) are reported. Elemental analyses for samples treated with distilled H20 and CClk are compared with analyses of modern wool samples similarly treated. An unambiguous direct correlation between loss of sulfur and embrittlement could not be made. The possibilities of dating and provenance determination by technical means are discussed. 

Date when proven against specification and first off (in order to determine when it was first deemed serviceable)... 

Sequence variation could in principle result in differences in disease pathology, but no such link has been proven to date and the progression of the disease is generally independent of genotype. There is a strong association of particular subtypes with different modes of transmission. The high prevalence genotype lb infection in the developed world is attributed mostly to the use of contaminated blood in transfusions. Subtypes la and 3a currently... 

The first edition of Automatic Chemical Analysis is out of date and clearly the time has come for a new edition. The following is a brief description of my career, which I hope will help readers to understand my approach to automation. The advice offered in this new edition is based on proven practical appHcations which have been in use in the real world for many years. 

Both the ink and paper of a document possess potential value in detecting possible fraud through the use of scientific techniques. Within the Bureau of ATF, the Identification Branch of the Laboratory met the challenge placed on its chemists by the pressing needs of the many enforcement groups for this scientific type of work. These chemists discovered that the application of well established and proven scientific methods of ink analysis ( 1) in conjunction with a well maintained up-to-date standard ink library could lead to the identification and dating of writing inks (2). This accomplishment has proven to be extremely valuable whenever the date of preparation of a document is questioned. Paper analysis, which can provide valuable information in these efforts ( 3), will not be dealt with in this article. 

The collection pieces were examined and classified by dimensions, motifs, yarn construction, weaving technique, selvage, finish line, color, probable date, probable provenance, and presence or absence of metallic threads. After the initial classifications the pieces were taken to the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., for comparison to extant Persian textiles in its collection. Comparisons were also done to pieces in the Hobart and Edward Small Moore Collection located at the Yale University Art Gallery. 

At the Biyan site the main line flow constrictor was installed flush against an isolation valve and a 90° elbow. This was done to establish worst case test conditions. It was expected on theoretical grounds that the operation of the flow separator would be insensitive to upstream flow conditioning of the gas. Test data taken to date has proven this to be the case. 

The fundamental principle is the identification of value from the customer s point of view. Customers shall get the ordered products as desired regarding quality, quantity, delivery date, and place. It has to be proven whether the enterprise interprets the customer value successfully, and therefore the offered products fulfill the customer needs completely. An appropriate concept to prove this is, for example, the quality function deployment. This concept is used to break down and link all characteristics of a product and the corresponding customer needs to find out whether all needs get fulfilled and all product characteristics create a customer value. 

The activities associated with data curation include storing them while we are using them as well as when we are finished with them. The data should be stored on a secure server rather than on a flash drive and should also be described or documented [10]. This description is called metadata and includes components such as title of the research, creator, language, dates, and file formats. The provenance of this data must also be established by appropriate instruments and research methods to produce the data. The purpose of these activities is to add clarity and supportive information to our data so that these can be interpreted by others. If others are using the data, they should be able to identify these for the purpose of citation, for example. Finally, to ensure that the data survive, it is important to archive the related software and hardware in secure repositories. Some repositories can be general, while others are subject based [11]. 

SAM keeps track of all creation and modification of the contents of the safety case. The life history of each part of the safety case is called its provenance, and is kept as a list of session records. Each session record contains the user name, the date and time of logging in, and the declared purpose of the session. 

---