2016/01/01 by Robert H. Tykot · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Conservation Techniques and Studies #Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis
paper · doi:10.1177/0003702815616745
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Elemental analysis is a fundamental method of analysis on archaeological materials to address their overall composition or identify the source of their geological components, yet having access to instrumentation, its often destructive nature, and the time and cost of analyses have limited the number and/or size of archaeological artifacts tested. The development of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) instruments over the past decade, however, has allowed nondestructive analyses to be conducted in museums around the world, on virtually any size artifact, producing data for up to several hundred samples per day. Major issues have been raised, however, about the sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of these devices, and the limitation of performing surface analysis on potentially heterogeneous objects. The advantages and limitations of pXRF are discussed here regarding archaeological studies of obsidian, ceramics, metals, bone, and painted materials.