Chapter 13: Quantitative Analysis of Archaeological and Historical Brasses Using Handheld X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

This chapter serves as a guide toward developing methodologies for the elemental quantification of archaeological and historical brasses using handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (hhXRF). hhXRF analyses of these objects can contribute to a broad array of research aims centered on questions of an archaeological, historical, or object-centered nature. Although the material idiosyncrasies of archaeological and historical brasses present obstacles to their analysis using hhXRF, quantitative elemental compositions can be derived from these objects under certain conditions and when careful attention is paid to analysis methodology. As such, this chapter reviews contemporary approaches to the quantification of these objects using hhXRF, the limitations that archaeological and historical brasses place on hhXRF analyses, and strategies for mitigating these issues in the pursuit of accurate and reproducible quantitative results. To emphasize the relevance of hhXRF data obtained from archaeological and historical brasses, the compositions, material properties, and historical production of these alloys are also reviewed. The chapter concludes with a case study demonstrating the application of these concepts to the quantitative analysis of brass tinkling cones from the historical site of Fort Albany, located on the shore of Hudson's Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada.