50th anniversary issue

the author points out that, in Archaeometry, the number of papers devoted to the analysis of lithic material has increased at least thirty times since 1958 and volume 1. It is suggested that this is a reflection not only of an increase in the number of scholars devoting their time to the archaeometry of stone, but also of increases in the quality and quantity of instrumental technology available to researchers in the field

the review first outlines the extent of the field of archaeometallurgy, defining the main branches and their specific methodological approaches. It then looks at some of the early publications pioneering archaeometallurgical research, to set the scene for the publication pattern of archaeometallurgy in general, and the role that Archaeometry played in publishing archaeometallurgical research. It is argued that the analysis of archaeometallurgy-themed publications in Archaeometry, their change over time and their relationship to the total range of work done in the field indicates that there is a rather narrowly defined and specific type of archaeometallurgy that gets published in Archaeometry, initially with a strong focus on coin and object analysis, often combined with method developments. It is further argued that the more recent developments in isotope-based studies in archaeometallurgy find only a limited representation in the journal, despite the leading role that the Isotrace Laboratory played in this discipline, for some considerable length of time. More recently, an increase of papers on iron and on primary production in general is identified, although it is suggested that these subjects are still much under-represented

luminescence techniques for dating both heated materials (e.g., pottery and burnt stone) and sediments have gone through three phases since 1958. The first twenty-two years, from 1957 to 1979, were devoted to thermoluminescence (TL) techniques applied to heated material. In the next six years, from 1979 to 1985, it was found that TL dating could be applied to sediments. However, the TL signals of both quartz and feldspar grains observed for modern sediments were small, but were not zero, thus making them useful only for older sediments. A new luminescence signal that was totally zeroed by exposure to sunlight for a relatively short period of time, a few hours or less, was found; this led to the development of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques in 1985. Further developments have continued to the present day. 1999 was also a year with major developments. A reliable procedure for single aliquots of quartz that have a rapidly bleached (`fast') OSL component was formalized and an instrument that allowed rapid measurement of equivalent doses for single grains was constructed. These developments have led to OSL becoming a major dating tool in Quaternary geology, at least for the past 100 000 years, and in archaeology, particularly as related to the dispersal of modern humans

the authors applied and refined methods for the determination of bulk hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in modern and archaeological resins. The modern resins have a wide range of isotopic values and vary within the same tree, between individual trees, with species and location. For all isotopes measured, there is a general trend of increasing depletion of the heavier isotope with increasing altitude. There is also a linear trend between depletion of δD and δ113C values with increasing latitude; this trend is less clear for oxygen, but is related to the meteoric water line. Two case studies using archaeological resins known or suspected to have been transported in antiquity were investigated to determine whether isotopic signatures can assist in pinpointing the geographical origin of the resin: Pistacia sp. resin from Canaanite amphorae imported into Egypt from known geographical locations in the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age, and Roman amphorae sherds lined with Pinus sp. resin from sites ranging from Britain to the eastern Mediterranean. These results show separate groupings between the two resin types (pine/pistacia) and between the modern/archaeological resins. Some archaeological samples are distinct from the others and the modern resins show differences between geographical areas. However, there are no clear patterns relating the different Canaanite fabrics or the suggested manufacturing site of the Roman amphorae