Recent Advances In The Scientific Research On Ancient Glass And Glaze

"The aim of the book is to report the recent research development of ancient glass and glazing technology and the historical–cultural exchange of the East and West along the Silk Road. The contents of this book are dedicated to promote the exchanges between researchers in both social and scientific fields. The scope of this book includes the new archaeological findings of ancient glass and faience in the world, the relationship of glassmaking with glazing technology, the development and application of modern techniques used for the characterization of ancient glass and glaze, compound colorants/opacifiers among ancient glass, the early exchanges of culture and techniques used between China and elsewhere along the Silk Road, and so on."--Provided by publisher.

Worldwide research on ancient glass began in the early 20th century. A consensus has been reached in the community of Archaeology that the first manmade or synthetic glasses, based on archaeological findings, originated in the Middle East during the 5000-3000's BC. By contrast, the manufacturing technology of pottery and ceramics were well developed in ancient China. The earliest pottery and ceramics dates back to the Shang Dynasty - the Zhou Dynasty (1700 BC-770 BC), while the earliest ancient glass artifacts unearthed in China dates back to the Western Han Dynasty. Utilizing the state-of-the art analytical and spectroscopic methods, the recent findings demonstrate that China had already developed its own glassmaking technology at latest since 200 BC. There are two schools of viewpoint on the origin of ancient Chinese glass. The more common one believes that ancient Chinese glass originated from the import of glassmaking technology from the West as a result of Sino-West trade exchanges in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD). The other scientifically demonstrates that homemade ancient Chinese glass with unique domestic formula containing both PbO and BaO were made as early as in the Pre-Qin Period or even the Warring States Period (770 BC-221 BC), known as Yousha or Faience.This English version of the previously published Chinese book entitled Development History of Ancient Chinese Glass Technology is for universities and research institutes where various research and educational activities of ancient glass and history are conducted. With 18 chapters, the scope of this book covers very detailed information on scientifically based findings of ancient Chinese glass development and imports and influence of foreign glass products as well as influence of the foreign glass manufacturing processes through the trade exchanges along the Silk Road(s).

This book provides a comprehensive research on Ancient Indian glass. The contributors include experienced archaeologists of South Asian glass and archaeological chemists with expertise in the chemical analysis of glass, besides, established ethnohistorians and ethnoarchaeologists. It is comprised of five sections, and each section discusses different aspects of glass study: the origin of glass and its evolution, its scientific study and its care, ancient glass in literature and glass ethnography, glass in South Asia and the diffusion of glass in different parts of the world. The topic covered by the different chapters ranges from the development of faience, to the techniques developed for the manufacture of glass beads, glass bangles or glass mirrors at different times in south Asia, a major glass producing region and the regional distribution of key artefacts both within India and outside the region, in Africa, Europe or Southeast Asia. Some chapters also include extended examples of the archaeometry of ancient glasses. It makes an important contribution to archaeological, anthropological and analytical aspects of glass in South Asia. As such, it represents an invaluable resource for students through academic and industry researchers working in archaeological sciences, ancient knowledge system, pyrotechnology, historical archaeology, social archaeology and student of anthropology and history with an interest in glass and the archaeology of South Asia.

Glass beads, both beautiful and portable, have been produced and traded globally for thousands of years. Modern archaeologists study these artifacts through sophisticated methods that analyze the glass composition, a process which can be utilized to trace bead usage through time and across regions. This book publishes open-access compositional data obtained from laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry, from a single analytical laboratory, providing a uniquely comparative data set. The geographic range includes studies of beads produced in Europe and traded widely across North America and beads from South and Southeast Asia traded around the Indian Ocean and beyond. The contributors provide new insight on the timing of interregional interactions, technologies of bead production and patterns of trade and exchange, using glass beads as a window to the past. This volume will be a key reference for glass researchers, archaeologists, and any scholars interested in material culture and exchange; it provides a wide range of case studies in the investigation and interpretation of glass bead composition, production and exchange since ancient times.

This volume presents papers given at the 3rd and 4th scientific editions of the conference “Methodology and Archaeometry” held in 2015 and 2016 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, Croatia. It covers topics in archaeometry and archaeological methodology, which represent an essential part of collecting and processing data, which defines the validity of archaeological interpretation. Contributions explore non-destructive archaeology (geophysics and field survey), different aspects of artifact analysis, and experimental archaeology. The text brings together new research from scientists from various disciplines based on a range of methodological, analytical and theoretical perspectives, thus providing new insights and approaches, as well as new theoretical and methodological frameworks in contemporary archaeological science.

HANDBOOK OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCES A modern and comprehensive introduction to methods and techniques in archaeology In the newly revised Second Edition of the Handbook of Archaeological Sciences, a team of more than 100 researchers delivers a comprehensive and accessible overview of modern methods used in the archaeological sciences. The book covers all relevant approaches to obtaining and analyzing archaeological data, including dating methods, quaternary paleoenvironments, human bioarchaeology, biomolecular archaeology and archaeogenetics, resource exploitation, archaeological prospection, and assessing the decay and conservation of specimens. Overview chapters introduce readers to the relevance of each area, followed by contributions from leading experts that provide detailed technical knowledge and application examples. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to human bioarchaeology, including hominin evolution and paleopathology The use of biomolecular analysis to characterize past environments Novel approaches to the analysis of archaeological materials that shed new light on early human lifestyles and societies In-depth explorations of the statistical and computational methods relevant to archaeology Perfect for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of archaeology, the Handbook of Archaeological Sciences will also earn a prominent place in the libraries of researchers and professionals with an interest in the geological, biological, and genetic basis of archaeological studies.

Before the 1970s, most information concerning the conservation and restoration of paintings, wood, and archaeological artefacts were focused on the history of the artefacts, previous attempts of conservation, and the future use of these artefacts. The technical methods of how the restoration and conservation were made were dealt with only very briefly. Today, sophisticated methods of scientific analysis such as DNA are common place, and this encourages conservators and scientists to work together to work out the development of new methods for analysis and conservation of artefacts. This book focuses on the chemicals used for conservation and restoration of various artefacts in artwork and archaeology, as well as special applications of these materials. Also the methods used, both methods for cleaning, conservation and restoration, as well as methods for the analysis of the state of the respective artefacts. Topics include oil paintings, paper conservation, textiles and dyes for them, archaeological wood, fossils, stones, metals and metallic coins, and glasses, including church windows.

This book addresses the application of Raman spectroscopic techniques to a range of diverse problems which arise in the study, conservation and restoration of artefacts and sites closely related to our cultural heritage as well as in authentication. These themes are naturally wider than what at first might be considered as artworks and archaeological artefacts and the topics include pigments, paintings, ceramics, glass, sculpture and patination / corrosion, textiles, industrial archaeology, the degradation and preservation of biomaterials, mummies and human skeletal remains. An interesting feature is the inclusion of modern case studies which describe specific problems and approaches to the Raman spectral analysis of items important to our cultural heritage. The text is prefaced with an introduction to the important parameters used in nondestructive Raman measurements and also highlights some future applications based upon novel miniaturised instrumentation for in-field studies and potential screening work which will identify specimens which would repay further studies in the laboratory. An attempt is made to give a snapshot of the state-of-the-art evolution since the beginning of the technique (1970s) and to point out potential further development. The book is co-edited by three international experts with many years' experience in the application of Raman spectroscopy to artworks, archaeological artefacts and in the investigation of materials and sites for cultural heritage preservation and each editor has undertaken to write individual chapters and different topics personally. The adopted approach is designed to convey the sort of information which has become available from the adoption of analytical Raman spectroscopy to different problems in the field of cultural heritage preservation through the spectral interrogation of artefacts and how the interpretation of the spectral data can assist museum curators, archaeologists and cultural heritage historians in the preservation and conservation of ancient materials and sites : a particular advantage in this respect is the ability of Raman spectroscopy to determine –generally in a strictly noninvasive procedure - at the laboratory or on-site with mobile instruments, the presence of both organic and inorganic components in a particular specimen together nondestructively without any chemical and mechanical pretreatment being undertaken, which is an essential requirement for rare and valuable samples . An important aside from this work is the means of spectral identification of ongoing biodeterioration and biological colonisation in specimens in storage and the effects of environmental deterioration such as humidity and temperature upon their integrity.