Workshop: "FTIR Spectroscopy for the Study of Material Culture"

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a versatile method for chemical analysis of materials. As such, it is a standard technique in the analytical toolkit of any chemist, materials scientist, or conservation scientist. However, in fields related to cultural heritage, many unexploited opportunities remain in which FTIR could help to identify new evidence of past human behavior and to better understand the production, history, and conservation of artifacts. 

This workshop aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge directly useful to practitioners working with cultural heritage materials. The Saturday and Sunday workshop will involve presentations and discussions in the morning, followed in the afternoon by hands-on laboratory activities and demonstrations of new handheld FTIR instruments for field applications. All are welcome, including experienced users of FTIR and those interested in exploring new possibilities for their research.

Spots are limited, please register 

Speakers:

• Matthew Chastain (MIT) / Estimating Ceramic Firing Temperature Using FTIR: Bronze-Casting Molds from Ancient China
• Daniel Fallu (Boston University) / Soil Formation, Taphonomy, and Pastoral Models at Iron Age Nichoria, Greece.
• Xiao Ma (National Gallery of Art) / The Application of FTIR On Ancient Building Materials: A Case Study on Multi-Layered Wall Earthen Plasters from Yuzhen Palace of Ancient Building Complex of Wudang Mountains In China
• Arthur McClelland (Harvard University) / Using Specular Reflection FTIR to Analyze Surface Coatings on Historic Photographs
• Richard Newman (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) / Mopa Mopa: An Unusual South American Resin Used by The Inka
• Ilaria Patania (Boston University) / Palaeolithic Pyrotechnology: Understanding firing temperatures and cooking practices at Yuchanyan cave site, China.
• Georgina Rayner (Harvard Art Museums) / What am I? Using FTIR in the art museum to solve the puzzle
• Dave Schiering (Czitek) / The Application of a New FTIR Microspectroscopy Accessory for Far-IR Analysis of Artists’ Pigments

Instrument demonstrations by:

• Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific