Archeomaterials ed. by Tamara Stech

Abstract

546 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE of materials. A pair of his articles on the history of materials appears in Pergamon’s Encyclopedia ofMaterials Science and Engineering. Archeomaterials. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Fall 1986), no. 2 (Spring 1987); vol. 2, no. 1 (Fall 1987), no. 2 (Spring 1988); vol. 3, no. 1 (Winter 1989). Edited by Tamara Stech. Philadelphia: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania. Pp. 172/211/96; illustrations, tables, references. $45.00 (individual subscription); $60.00 (institution subscription); $60.00 (back vol­ ume) (paper). The journal Archeomaterials is a recent manifestation of the efforts of scholars to spread the printed word across the library shelves faster than the speed of light, but in this case the sacrifice of woodland is justified. The birth of this journal reflects lively activity in the field of archaeometry—the discipline that is concerned with the application of the physical and life sciences to studies of the past. Archaeometric research has grown steadily over the past decades, attracting not only archaeologists who are profiting by the scientific analysis of excavated material, but also practitioners of the “hard” sciences who are interested in the histories of their original disciplines and their relations to cultural development. Furthermore, there are now some archaeometrists who have received formal training in both archaeology and one of the hard sciences. Archaeometric techniques are used for such purposes as dating, prospection (the location and identification of buried structures), the determination of palaeodiet and palaeopathology, the provenancing (sourcing) of materials, and the reconstruction of ancient technolo­ gies. The museums and the universities are of course the institutions most involved in such research. Archeomaterials serves one of the major areas of specialization within this discipline. As the editor, Tamara Stech, states in the debut issue, it “is intended to provide an outlet for scholars studying a broad range of pre-industrial materials and processes. The topics include all materials altered by man in the past—minerals, metals, plant and animal products, clays, vitreous materials—and the ways in which they were manipulated.” The study of materials, ancient and modern, is generally founded on the characterization of their structures, using a spectrum of techniques and equipment. Structure, in this case, means structure at many levels, ranging from the fine-scale atomic, or even subatomic, to macroscopic or coarser levels such as provenance. All levels of structure are important. As W. D. Kingery states in volume 1, number 2, “Each of these levels of structure provides information necessary for complete evaluation and interpretation of the object as it is related to material culture” as well as enhancing our appreciation of the aesthetics of the material. TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 547 This reference to the relationship between object and material culture is of crucial importance in archaeometry. It is vital that the archaeometrist constantly bear in mind the ultimate aim of archaeometric investigations: a better understanding of the past. This is stated clearly in editor Stech’s admonition to prospective contributors to the journal: “The topic of research should always be placed in broader context than the laboratory or site. It is therefore important that the cultural background of each situation be clearly presented and that the relevance of the materials or processes to their social milieu be emphasized. An artifact without proper context has no scientific value and hence should not be the subject of scientific investigation.” While there can be exceptions to this latter statement, in general it is sound. The importance of the human element is stressed in Cyril Stanley Smith’s lead article in the debut issue (and there is no one more appropriate than Smith to provide such leadership). Smith makes the point that sensory and emotional factors, as well as intellectual ones, are at the heart of understanding and interpreting the material record; hence it is necessary to experience the feelings of the assayers and artisans of the past: “It is only if we gain a feeling for the experience of our predecessors while actually manipulating matter to make things that we can aid the archaeologist’s understanding.” It is encouraging to see that this point is reinforced frequently in articles that have appeared to...