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Archaeological chemistry is the application of chemical knowledge in order to help solve problems in archaeology. It is, however, much more than a straightforward application of existing techniques to new and interesting questions. Many of the chemical questions posed are unique to archaeology, although, somewhat surprisingly, many other disciplines share, from time to time, similar concerns. Our premise is that archaeological chemistry requires a thorough understanding of the background of both halves of the story, and often mastery of information from related disciplines such as biochemistry and geochemistry. This book is therefore aimed at two groups – chemists who are interested in new applications, and also archaeologists, particularly those on undergraduate and postgraduate courses encompassing aspects of scientific archaeology. It will also be of interest to geochemists, materials scientists and forensic scientists. Perhaps the most important message it contains is the need to tackle fundamental issues of chemical change in archaeological materials if scientific analysis is to make major contributions to the study of the past.

The continued expansion of scientific applications in the study of the past is one reason for writing this book. If the title of the book is not entirely new, then we believe our approach is – the adoption of a thematic structure. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the majority of previous texts in archaeological science have tended to emphasize techniques at the expense of applications. Nowadays, there are so many techniques that such an approach would be unduly laborious, although some of the more important techniques are summarized in Chapter 2. Secondly, through an examination of particular themes, it is possible to document the successes and failures of past applications and assess the impact of scientific analysis on specific archaeological problems. It is also possible to see contemporary debates in terms of competing scientific views and to suggest how these might be resolved from a knowledge of the underlying principles. In Chapter 1, we provide a short historical context and return to general issues and future challenges in the final chapter.

We are aware of a Eurocentric bias in most of the chapters, although the issues raised will be applicable to other contexts. The majority of chapters feature the results of primary research carried out separately by the authors in collaboration with other colleagues. It is not possible to do justice to every application of chemistry to archaeology in a single volume; some of the criteria for inclusion are discussed above and in Chapter 1. As such, this book does not pretend to be a truly balanced review of archaeological chemistry and some readers may feel that some heinous crime of omission has been committed. We hope, however, that there is enough of interest to justify the attempt to adopt a unified approach to archaeological chemistry as a worthwhile area of endeavour in its own right.

Mark Pollard and Carl Heron

Bradford

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