Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science Series, Plenum Publishing, New York

Chronometric Dating in Archaeology. Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science, volume 2. 1997. Edited by R. E. Taylor, University of California, Riverside, and Martin J. Aitken, Oxford University, England. ISBN: 0-306-45715-6. 416 pp. (cloth). $95.00 (US and Canada); $114.00 (elsewhere). Text adoption price on orders of six or more copies: $45.00 each.

Since World War II there has been tremendous success in the development of new methods for dating artifacts; the so-called "radiocarbon revolution" was only the first such discovery. The increasing accuracy of the various new techniques has brought about major changes in archaeological research strategies. This important new text compiles the work of some of today's most innovative archaeologists who summarize progress in their respective techniques over the last 30 years -- with an emphasis on developments of the last five -- and the status of current research.

Climatostratigraphy (M.J. Aitken, S. Stokes); Dendrochronology (J.S. Dean); Radiocarbon Dating (R.E. Taylor); Potassium-Argon/Argon-Argon Dating Methods (R.C. Walter); Fission-Track Dating (J. Westgate et al.); Uranium Series Dating (H.P. Schwarcz); Luminescence Dating (M.J. Aitken); Electron Spin Resonance Dating (R. Grun); Protein and Amino Acid Diagenesis Dating (P.E. Hare et al.); Obsidian Hydration Dating (I. Friedman et al.); Archaeomagnetic Dating (R.S. Sternberg); Surface Dating Using Rock Varnish (J.S. Schneider, P.R. Bierman); Index.

Archaeological Obsidian Studies: Method and Theory. Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science, volume 3. Edited by M. Steven Shackley, University of California, Berkeley. 1998. ISBN: 0-306-45804-7. 237 pp. (cloth). $49.50 (US and Canada); $59.40 (elsewhere). Text adoption price on orders of six or more copies: $29.50 each.

The use of obsidian archaeometry has expanded dramatically in the last 20 years, due partly to technological advances and partly to recognition by archaeologists that archaeometrists provide much more information than mere measurement. Since the mid-70s, however, no book has appeared to document the latest advances. Archaeological Obsidian Studies , the only volume of its kind in print, corrects this situation by presenting the current state of the science, from volcanic glass geochemistry to hydration analysis. Archaeologists, museum professionals, geologists, materials scientists, and students will find this volume to be an indispensable guide to modern archaeometric theory and methodology, both in the lab and in the field.

Contents

Current Issues and Future Directions in Archaeological Volcanic Glass Studies: An Introduction (M.S. Schackley); A Systematic Approach to Obsidian Source Characterization (M.D. Glascock et al.); Mediterranean Islands and Multiple Flows: The Sources and Exploitation of Sardinian Obsidian (R.H. Tykot); Intrasource Chemical Variability and Secondary Depositional Processes: Lessons from the American Southwest (M.S. Shackley); Characterization of Archaeological Volcanic Glass from Oceania: The Utility of Three Techniques (M.I. Weisler, D.A. Clague); Application of PIXE-PIGME to Archaeological Analysis of Changing Patterns of Obsidian Use in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea (G.R. Summerhayes et al.); Factors Affecting the Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) Analysis of Archaeological Obsidian (M.K. Davis et al.); Laboratory Obsidian Hydration Rates: Theory, Method, and Application (C.M. Stevenson et al.); Obsidian Hydration Dating at a Recent Age Obsidian Mining Site in Papua, New Guinea (W.R. Ambrose); Perspective in the 1990s on Method and Theory in Archaeological Volcanic Glass Studies (R.C. Green); Index.