Materials, archaeological definition

Mass separator, 74 443 Mass spectrometer, 75 647-648, 650-665 Mass spectrometry (ms, MS), 75 647-670. See also Tandem mass spectrometry applications of, 75 666-669 archaeological materials, 5 743 biochemical, 75 666-668 concepts and definitions related to, 75 647-650... 

Tools are among the most archaeologically valuable artifacts. Their intrinsic value seldom approaches the expense of excavating and conserving them. However, as bearers of information, tools contain and convey information about the nature of the problems they were made to solve. Just as important, tools provide evidences of the definition of those problems and the choice of solutions. The choices we make of methods to accomplish goals and solve problems reflect our society s methods of problem identification and solving, and its attitudes toward materials and the proper ways to deal with them. Tools are excellent reflectors of patterning. 

Figure 2 also underscores the fact that an analyst s primary activities are of a problem-oriented nature, determined largely by the needs of others. The problems themselves, represented here by the outermost circle, might originate almost anywhere within the material world, Analysis can even play a significant role in the very definition of a scientific investigation. Consider the case of archaeology. for example, a considerable part of which is now "archaeometry. simply a specialized type of analysis. 

The chapters that comprise this volume provide a cross section of current research conducted in the area of chemistry applied to archaeological questions. Each presents an example of the chemical analytical investigation of archaeological materials and the use of the analytical data in discerning patterns of human behavior. New developments in dating and compositional analysis are described. Differing views of the definition of nondestructive are presented. 

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