Archaeology

GIANLUCA SOTTILI
GIANLUCA SOTTILI

Consistent with the competencies and objectives of the Study Program, the GEOCHEMISTRY AND ARCHEOLOGY course aims at providing the knowledge and understanding skills that complete and/or strengthen those acquired in the first cycle of studies, in order to allow to students the capability to develop original themes, even in a research context, to formulate critical reviews in a more complex and articulated form, to communicate the knowledge and processes required to their acquisition, to study the topics independently.
The course includes both lectures and practical activities in microanalytical laboratories. The goal is to provide students theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of archaeometric studies of pottery, rock and metal artifacts with applications to origin identification of raw materials (stone rocks, volcanic materials, metals) within the Mediterranean region. The course also includes a focus on the radiometric dating techniques and on the use of isotopic geochemistry in the study of paleodietes.

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Geochemistry in supporting applications to archaeological research. Applications of stable isotope analysis in Archeology: paleoclimatology, provenance studies of minerals, rocks and metals used for the manufacture of artefacts, reconstruction of the human and animal food pattern (palaeodiet). Tephrostratigraphy as a tool to support Archeology. Methods of geochronology of interest in Archeology. Methods based on radioisotope decay: 40Ar-39Ar; U-Th-Pb; radiocarbon, methods based on radioactive disequilibrium.
Archaeometallurgy: historical outline and purpose. Exploitation of the mineralized bodies from Prehistory to the Medieval Age, main mining sites and trade routes. Metallurgical processes, slag, metal alloys and alloying techniques. Metal manufacturing techniques. Chemical analysis of metal products and application to provenance studies.
Archaeometry of ceramics. Notes on production technology and macroscopic parameters. Basic concepts of geochemistry of the supergenic alteration processes of minerals and rocks that originate the minerals of the clays: implications for provenance studies.

Lecture notes and material will be made available to the student (e-learning platform)

Lecture notes and material will be made available to the student (e-learning platform)

The student will be asked some questions about the exam program