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The operation of a portable petrographic thin-section laboratory for field studies
Abstract
This article presents a procedure for petrographic and micromorphological thin-section preparation and examination in extra-laboratory and field conditions. Employing basic, frequently-improvised, off-the-shelf equipment, standard petrographic thin sections of rocks, sediments, ceramics, mortars, and plasters can be produced and examined. Use of the newly-introduced Goren portable microscope enables laboratory-grade examination and recording of such materials during field expeditions. Examples are adduced from the field of material analysis in art and archaeology.
... More broadly, a compact all-in-one thin section preparation system is interesting for scientific field exploration on Earth. Goren (2014), for example, proposed a non-automated portable thin section preparation laboratory. Even though this system requires human intervention, it demonstrates the feasibility of making thin sections with a limited amount of material and using small batteries. ...
... Here, we present the LithoSpace project, begun in 2012 and supported by the CNES since 2014 by their Research and Technology program, which adapts the standard laboratory thin section preparation protocol to automated planetary exploration. Based on a different approach, it proposes an alternative system to that envisioned by Dreyer et al. (2013a), Dreyer et al. (2013b) and by Goren (2014). The specifications of these devices are compared to those expected for the LithoSpace system in Table 1. ...
... In order to validate the feasibility of this protocol in the absence of water, cutting tests were undertaken using different types of rock. The power required to cut the rocks and their final surface finish were studied. 1 | Comparison between the envisioned LithoSpace system specifications with those proposed by Dreyer et al. (2013a) (IS-ARTS) and by (Goren, 2014). ...
Optical microscopy analyses using thin sections is one of the most standard techniques in geology. It permits identification of most rock-forming minerals and it is essential for micropaleontology since observation in transmitted light is the only way to observe individual, or colonies of, microfossils in their mineralogical and textural context. Thin sections are also used for other techniques such as Raman spectroscopy. In the framework of exploration of the Martian surface and of the search for potential relics of microbial life, the possibility to observe petrographic thin sections in situ would be revolutionary. Nevertheless, although optical microscopes can be readily designed for space exploration, thin section preparation is not easy to do in situ on extraterrestrial rocky bodies due to the generally harsh environmental conditions and to the difficulty to automate a protocol that normally requires several human interventions. The aim of the LithoSpace project, supported by the French Space Agency (CNES) since 2014, is to work on the development of an automated system permitting preparation of petrographic thin sections on extraterrestrial bodies, such as Mars, the Moon or asteroids. In this paper, we describe the approaches used to study rocks in situ during space missions and compare them to those used on Earth. Then, the relevance of making thin sections during space exploration is highlighted from the description of the data that could be collected from the analysis of these specific samples, using new instruments and instruments already sent to Mars. The standard preparation protocol is described as well as previously envisioned or existing in situ sample preparation systems. We then propose a protocol for automation of the preparation. Particular attention is paid to demonstrating the feasibility of making thin sections in the absence of liquid water and with energy consumption compatible with automated space probes. Tests are then carried out to control the quality of the prepared samples. On the basis of the demonstrated feasibility, an automated system is proposed as a conceptual all-in-one system. Finally, a “proof-of-concept” model developed with the help of students at different educational levels is presented.
... On-site science based methodologies allow collecting and analyzing information in various fields including diagnosis of tropical diseases, mining geology, soil analysis, forensic studies, military medicine, entomology, micropaleontology, and microbiological research (Goren 2014). In archaeology, on-site based methodologies include mineralogical and elemental studies using portable devices such as Fourier Transform Infrared and portable X-Ray ...
... Fluorescence spectrometers Goren et al. 2011). Portable petrographic microscope allows the in-field mineralogical analysis of ceramics and sediments (Goren 2014) and portable UV spectrophotometers allow mapping phosphates in real time ). ...
... Only thin section petrography can be performed without the need to take the specimens to a specialist laboratory. Small, portable and affordable geological microscopes (Quinn, 2013, p. 3;Goren, 2014) can be used to undertake petrographic analysis of prepared thin sections in most locations. ...
... With the exception of human remains, scientific preparations made from moveable cultural artefacts are rarely covered by such legal documents and orders, nor is the subject broached by academic discussion on archaeological law (e.g. Fitz Goren, 2014;Forrest, 2011;Blake, 2015;Pickard, 2016). This ambiguity can lead to quite different interpretations of the same legislation when it comes to thin sections, resin blocks and other samples. ...
Thin sections, resin blocks, pressed pellets, fused beads, milled powders, solutions and digested residues are several key sample formats used in the invasive scientific analysis of ancient ceramics. They are crucial tools that enable researchers to characterise the mineralogical, geochemical, molecular and microstructural composition of pottery and other ceramic artefacts, in order to interpret their raw materials, manufacturing technology, production locations and functions. Despite the importance of such preparations, key issues about their status, such as whether they are still artefacts or not, who owns them and where they should reside after analysis, are rarely addressed in the archaeological or archaeometric literature. These questions have implications for the long-term future of thin sections, resin blocks and other sample formats, as well as their accessibility for future research. The present paper highlights the above problem and assess the roles, perspectives and needs of ceramic analysts, field archaeologists, commercial units, curators, policy makers, professional bodies, special interest groups and funding agencies. Finally, guidelines are put forward that can be taken into account when deciding on the value and research potential of scientific specimens of archaeological ceramics, as well as strategies for their curation.
... On-site science-based methodologies allow collecting and analyzing information in various fields, including diagnosis of tropical diseases, mining geology, soil analysis, forensic studies, military medicine, entomology, micropaleontology, and microbiological research (Goren, 2014). In archaeology, on-site-based methodologies include mineralogical and elemental studies using portable devices such as Fourier Transform Infrared and portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (Weiner, 2010;Goren, Mommsen, & Klinger, 2011). ...
... In archaeology, on-site-based methodologies include mineralogical and elemental studies using portable devices such as Fourier Transform Infrared and portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (Weiner, 2010;Goren, Mommsen, & Klinger, 2011). Portable petrographic microscope allows the in-field mineralogical analysis of ceramics and sediments (Goren, 2014) and portable UV spectrophotometers allow mapping phosphates in real time (Rypkema et al., 2007). ...
This article presents a new method for on-site preparation of large-size micromorphological thin sections. This method is applicable for a broad range of disciplines, including but not unique to sedimentology, soil science, geology, and archaeology. We focus on testing a rapid on-site impregnation using low-viscosity Epoxy resin, a method that cuts short the time that elapses between field sampling, oven drying, and vacuum impregnation in the laboratory. Sediment samples from different sites in the southern Levant were impregnated, and results show that this on-site impregnation method produces high-quality results in terms of stratigraphic intactness, and ability to identify a variety of archaeological materials. The quality of impregnation was better in silty and sandy sediments rather than in clayey sediments. The on-site impregnation method saves weeks to months of laboratory procedures and seems to be useful in Mediterranean and arid environments. We also present one example of grinding and polishing until a rudimentary thin section was produced on-site in a matter of 3 days from sampling to finished thin section. The ability to produce thin micromorpholgical sections in a few days will influence excavation strategies and help answer geoarchaeological questions during the excavation season.
... Poza tym może być także wykonywana w warunkach terenowych, w czasie trwających jeszcze prac wykopaliskowych (As 2004). W ostatnim okresie pojawiają się także mobilne laboratoria, które pozwalają wykonywać próbki i same oznaczenia także w trakcie prac terenowych (Goren 2014). ...
... They are then labelled and are ready to be examined under the polarizing microscope. Goren (2014) describes the process in detail, using a portable petrographic thin-section laboratory for microscopic analysis of archaeological artifacts. The technique for the preparation of thin sections and for petrographic description is included in the EN 12407, 2019 and EN 17187, 2020 standards. ...
Aerial mortars and plasters have been widely used in construction throughout history, and their compatibility with historic mortars and plasters has led to their recent re-adoption. This paper reviews the prominent features of aerial mortars and plasters, their main characteristics and the various characterization methods using both traditional and advanced technology. Several techniques are used in physical, hydric, mechanical, petrographic, mineralogical and chemical characterization. A detailed explanation of microscopic characterization techniques is provided, indicating the information that can be obtained with each. Scientific advances in dating and provenance studies are also described.
... Elemental analyses of pigments were conducted in-situ using pXRF, and thin sections were prepared on site. Micromorphological thin sections were made on-site during the excavation seasons, using a portable laboratory following the protocols advocated by us elsewhere (Asscher and Goren, 2016;Boness and Goren, 2017;Goren, 2013Goren, , 2014. Standard sampling procedures were adjusted, using new technical field procedures in micromorphology, involving locally available materials and transportable equipment. ...
Twelve plaster units and two sediment blocks from the ‘precinct’ structure at the Minoan site of Koumasa, Crete, were sampled for a microarchaeological study, with the aim of examining the technology of their production and pigment production and application techniques, employing micromorphology, pXRF and ESEM/EDS. The results demonstrate that plaster and pigment technologies at the site followed common procedures in contemporaneous regional centers, and in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean cultural sphere. However, certain flexibility and local adaptations of these technologies are also apparent, varying with the plasters' structural function, availability of raw materials and local cultural conventions. In addition, the high utility in preparing thin sections on-site is demonstrated, allowing for the use of thin sections for further study by ESEM/EDS. This, together with the employment of portable equipment at the site allow for a thorough study of ancient archaeological materials and technologies.
... In order to remove the samples, a locally commercial brand of epoxy, Mercola Epoxite Resin 95 Injection, was used. The epoxy, originally intended for building purposes, was first tested on small soil samples and thin sections were made using the methodology presented by Goren (2014) to ensure that it was colorless and isotropic when cured, having a reasonable refractive index and low viscosity to enable diffusion into the sediment. The samples were sometimes impregnated with the epoxy in situ before removing them from the sediment. ...
Here we present the results of a micromorphological study conducted on the recently excavated layers in a tholos tomb - Tholos Beta - at the Minoan site at Koumasa, Crete, during the 2013–2014 excavation seasons. This was also a unique opportunity to conduct a detailed research on in situ unexcavated archaeological layers in a Minoan tholos tomb, applying new and innovative sampling methods in order to enable such research in remote locations. This is the first time a micromorphological study has ever been conducted at a Minoan tholos tomb. The micromorphological analysis of the archaeological layers demonstrates that a single and massive burning event of hundreds of disturbed burials took place throughout the structure. This was followed by sprinkling of burnt lime on top of the burnt bone layer. Later cycles of similar burning events are also implied. These results have significant implications on our understanding of Early Minoan mortuary practices and symbolic world.
Lime-based materials are found in archaeological contexts across many world regions. The earliest evidence of lime production was discovered in the Levant dating to about 16,000 cal BP. Methods for transforming limestone, shells, and corals into slaked lime varied depending on region, culture, and period. Similarly, the use of lime had an extensive variation of applications such as hafting, plastering, mortars, flooring, plastering skulls, decorating, and making frescos. Each step of the lime production process—from raw materials sourcing to the mixing of finished materials—results in specific archaeological assemblages, each capable of delivering critical insight into the knowledge of the people who created them. Here, we review approaches and methodologies used to analyze each production step, and, specifically, those targeting raw materials selection and firing conditions. For investigating effectively raw materials selection and firing conditions of archaeological lime-based materials, we propose a methodological approach based on the integration of petrography and Fourier transform infrared microscopy (mFTIR) that uses chemical and mineralogical reference libraries prepared using experimental lime produced with provenienced raw materials.
This paper presents a vision and a pathway for the future of archaeological practice, in which several fields that are currently considered distinct, including community-based collaborative archaeology, indigenous archaeology, and applied archaeology, could become the norm. Inspired by personal encounters with some exceptionally open and collaborative archaeology projects, as well as by recent advances in archaeological science, which are starting to make it more portable, this paper sets out an agenda for a more open approach to archaeological practice. It advocates a method of producing knowledge about the past that does not privilege one investigator over another, but gives everyone who is interested and wants to participate an opportunity to do. Specific methodological challenges that are discussed include the need to ‘flip’ the public outreach element of research designs, to embed open participation from the outset by nurturing relationships of mutual respect and trust, and to take advantage of, and improve, the portability of archaeological science, so that it can be done in and by local communities. It is argued here that the opening of archaeological research, including the archaeological sciences, to a wider range of participants, is the most ethical approach to archaeological practice in a pan-disciplinary research environment.
In the first edition of this textbook, it was asserted that the most common artifactual material of prehistory is lithological—rocks and/or minerals. This is still the case. Stone is, and was, the most durable of all materials available to early humans and, in most environmental settings, the most readily available. Its durability made it desirable for a multitude of tasks as well as helping insure its survival in archaeological sites. For the archaeologist, the survival of ancient human stone tools and artifacts has been both a blessing and a source of unintentional biases in terms of the reconstruction of past cultural behavior. Even with the earliest of human culture surely, there were other implements other than those of stone, but by their durability, the latter have survived, while other materials have long ago perished from the archaeological record.
This paper describes new applications for an extremely compact, commercially available, microscope currently undergoing modification and testing to render it suitable for field use in both ceramic petrogmphy and microwear analysis of stone and bone tools.
The present article presents a new concept for a light optical field microscope developed after two decades of attempts to find a portable, yet versatile and capable, instrument for extra-laboratory research. Emphasis was put on a portable microscope with polarizing capabilities, yet versatile enough to perform in other configurations. After testing almost every available model made during the last century, the Goren microscope, as it is called now, was developed and tested in various field conditions. The new design, fashioned as two prototypes, is expected to be inexpensive if commercially produced. Still, it can be readily modified to perform as a bright-field, dark-field, phase-contrast, or polarizing instrument. The historical background of field microscopes is briefly presented in context of this new invention.
The petrographic microscope, designed to observe and measure the optical properties of minerals as a means of identifying them, has provided a foundation for mineralogical and petrological research for more than 120 years. Much of what is known today in these fields is attributable to this instrument, the development of which paralleled an evolution of fundamental optical theory and its correlation with mineral structure and composition. This instrument and its related accessories have evolved through a range of models and designs, which are in themselves distinctive for their scientific function and elegant construction, and are today prized by collectors of scientific instruments.
This paper proposes that studies of the technology, provenance and weathering of ceramics and stone used by ancient man would often benefit from the use of optical petrology in the field, and describes prototype equipment and materials suitable for making thin sections of ceramics and stone in the field.
The aim of this paper is to show how micromorphology is able to furnish information with the degree of precision necessary for analysing site formation processes and traces of activities in a variety of settings. Use of large resin‐impregnated thin sections allows contextual analysis of taphonomy and depositional relationships between sediments and artefact and bioarchaeological remains. We illustrate this by reference to results from a three‐year NERC project which examined depositional sequences in core domestic and ritual contexts in three early urban sites in the Near East in different sociocultural and environmental contexts. We discuss how micromorphology is able to trace different pre‐depositional, depositional and post‐depositional histories of components, before considering its contribution to detecting spatial and temporal variation in uses of space; enabling identification of single depositional episodes within secondary contexts. Together these capacities are providing richly networked data on human activities and behaviour.
Soil micromorphology has been a recognized technique in soil science for some 50 years and experience from pedogenic and palaeosol studies first permitted its use in the investigation of archaeologically buried soils. More recently, the science has expanded to encompass the characterisation of all archeological soils and sediments and has been successful in providing unique cultural and palaeoenvironmental information from a whole range of archaeological sites.
Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) apparatus of the last generation was tested to determine its potential for routine provenance determination of clay cuneiform tablets, which cannot be analyzed by “classical” intrusive methods. A group of tablets from Hattuša (Boğazköy) and from el Amarna, which were previously provenanced using optical mineralogy (OM) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), was analyzed by pXRF and the results were used to establish the grouping according to their elemental concentrations. These groups were compared with the previous results retrieved by OM and INAA in order to confirm their validity. The results corroborate the high potential of the pXRF for non-destructive study of well-defined, ‘closed’ assemblages of clay-derived, delicate artifacts, such as cuneiform tablets, bullae, and fine-ware pottery. Consequently, a group of previously unexamined tablets from Hattuša was analyzed by pXRF and the results are discussed with implications on future research.Research highlights► Revealing the origin of cuneiform tablets sheds new light on the historyof the ancient Near East. ► Scientific provenance studies of clay-derived artifacts in archaeology are often based on intrusive methods. ► Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) apparatus was tested to determine its potential for routine provenance studies of tablets. ► The results corroborate the high potential of the pXRF for non-destructive study of well-defined, ‘closed’ assemblages of clay-derived, delicate artifacts.
Context is an important concept in archaeology, although the term tends to have a variety of meanings to different people. In this brief note we illustrate how context can be considered at a microstratigraphic scale using the technique of soil micromorphology. Examples are given from the sites of Geißenklösterle (Germany), Sibudu (South Africa), and Pech de l'Azé IV (France) to show that micromorphology is an indispensible and robust tool for not only documenting the contextual position of archaeological objects and features within the matrix of the site but also for making accurate interpretations of the archaeological record.
The discovery of a small collection of Darwin manuscripts at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science (University of Cambridge) has allowed a reconsideration of Darwin's interest in and knowledge of microscopy. Concentrating on the years between his return from the Beagle voyage and the publication of the major taxonomic work on barnacles, this paper recovers a number of important aspects of Darwin's intellectual and practical development: on returning from the Beagle voyage he acquainted himself with the work of C. G. Ehrenberg, and this informed both his private and public work; then through the 1840s Darwin transformed himself from a fascinated observer and consumer of others' work into an expert on microscopy. I characterise this move as a piece of clever manoeuvring, and discuss more generally the kind of scientist--gentlemanly and expert--that Darwin was attempting to become.
Book description: Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology provides an invaluable overview of geoarchaeology and how it can be used effectively in the study of archaeological sites and contexts. Taking a pragmatic and functional approach, this book presents: a fundamental, broad-based perspective of the essentials of modern geoarchaeology in order to demonstrate the breadth of the approaches and the depth of the problems that it can tackle. The rapid advances made in the area in recent years, but also gives the reader a firm grasp of conventional approaches. Covers traditional topics with the emphasis on landscapes, as well as anthropogenic site formation processes and their investigation. Provides guidelines for the presentation of field and laboratory methods and the reporting of geoarchaeological results. Essential reading for archaeology undergraduate and graduate students, practicing archaeologists and geoscientists who need to understand and apply geoarchaeological methodologies.
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