Archaeological Chemistry

653 Pages·2007·9.07 MB·English

by  Zvi Goffer

ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
Second Edition

ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CHEMISTRY
Second Edition
Zvi Goffer, Ph.D.
Retired Senior Scientist
Soreq Nuclear Research Center
Israel
WILEY-INTERSCIENCE
A JOHN WILEY & SONS,INC.,PUBLICATION
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or
otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright
Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through
payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222
Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone], or on the web at
www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the
Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030,
201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their
best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect
to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may
be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and
strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a
professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss
of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental,
consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please
contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at 877-762-2974, outside the
United States at 317-572-3993 or fax [phone].
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in
print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products,
visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Wiley Bicentennial Logo: Richard J. Pacifico
Book cover illustration and line drawings by the author.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData:
Goffer, Zvi.
Archaeological chemistry / Zvi Goffer. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-471-25288-7 (cloth)
1. Archaeological chemistry. I. Title.
CC79.C5G63 2007
930.1028 – dc22
2005028992
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of my parents
Rivka and Moshe

CONTENTS
PREFACE xvii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xxi
1. MINERALS: Rock and Stone: Pigments, Abrasives,
and Gemstones 1
1.1 The Chemical Elements 1
1.2 Minerals and Mineraloids 6
1.3 Rock and Stone 24
1.4 Study of Archaeological Stone 26
1.5 Chemical Analysis of Archaeological Materials 29
Isotopes in Archaeology 39
1.6 Provenance of Archaeological Materials 42
1.7 Chronology of Archaeological Materials 43
Potassium–Argon Dating 50
Argon–Argon Dating 55
Archaeologically Related Rock and Stone 55
1.8 Pigments 62
White Pigments 67
Black Pigments 68
Red Pigments 72
Yellow Pigments 74
Green Pigments 74
Blue Pigments 75
1.9 Abrasives 75
1.10 Gemstones 76
Cutting and Polishing Gemstones 89
Some Archaeological Gemstones 89
vii
viii CONTENTS
2. LITHICS: Flint and Obsidian 93
2.1 Quartz and Flint 93
2.2 Obsidian 99
Dating Obsidian 102
2.3 Use Wear Analysis 109
3. SAND: Glass, Glaze, and Enamel 111
3.1 Glass, Glaze, and Enamel 112
3.2 Glass 115
Soda Glass 115
Sodalime Glass 118
Potash Glass 119
Lead Glass 119
Colored Glass 120
Opaque Glass 122
3.3 Glassmaking 124
3.4 Ancient Glass Studies 128
Some Special Types of Ancient Glass 130
The Provenance of Glass 132
3.5 The Decay of Glass 134
4. SECONDARY ROCKS: Building Stone, Brick, Cement,
and Mortar 139
4.1 Building Stone 139
Gypsum and Alabaster 140
Limestone and Marble 141
4.2 Cement 142
Mud 144
Bitumen 146
Lime and Gypsum Cements 147
4.3 Study of Ancient Cements 152
5. ORES: Metals and Alloys 153
5.1 Native Metals 158
5.2 Metalliferous Ores 159
5.3 Mining 159
5.4 Ore Dressing 160
5.5 Smelting 160
Smelting Fuel and Metal Reduction 163
5.6 Metal Refining 164
5.7 Alloys 165
CONTENTS ix
5.8 The Metals and Alloys of Antiquity 167
Copper 167
Iron 172
Gold 175
Silver 179
Lead 180
Tin 183
Zinc 185
Mercury 186
Platinum 188
5.9 Deterioration of Metals and Alloys – Corrosion 188
Corrosion of Ancient Metals and Alloys 193
5.10 Studies on Archaeological Metals and Alloys 198
Ancient Metallurgy 200
Arsenical Copper 201
Damascus Steel 203
Granulation and Filigree 204
Coins 206
6. SEDIMENTS AND SOILS 209
6.1 Sediments, Oxygen Isotopes, and Ancient Temperatures 214
6.2 Soil 218
Composition and Properties of Soils 221
Archaeological Soils 226
7. CLAY: Pottery and Other Ceramic Materials 231
7.1 Primary Clay 233
7.2 Secondary Clay 234
7.3 Clay and Ceramic Materials 235
7.4 Ceramic Materials 237
Preceramics 239
Components of Ceramic Materials 240
7.5 Making Ceramics 240
Pottery Kilns 243
The Color of Fired Pottery 245
Glazing 245
7.6 Common Ceramic Materials 246
Terracotta 246
Earthenware 248
Stoneware 249
Porcelain 249