Two success stories on the characterization of cultural heritage in Mexico and Chile using accelerator-based techniques will be presented and discussed.
The first case is the determination of the authenticity of the Mayan Codex of Mexico (MCM). The Mesoamerican codices are documents describing pre-Hispanic history and cosmogony. The MCM was unveiled in 1971 during an exhibition at the...
Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious blue stone, used since the VII millennium BCE for the manufacturing of small carved artifacts (e.g. jewels, seals, amulets) in the Ancient Middle East and in part of Central and Southern Asia. The Badakhshan mines in Afghanistan are generally considered the most plausible hypothesis for the origin of the lapis lazuli used in antiquity[1]; however, the limited...
A set of glazed beads was discovered in Lisbon during an archaeological survey performed on an ancient vessel. The archaeological interpretations allow a chronological framework in the period between the last quarter of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Questions arise regarding the provenance of the accounts, as these can provide clues about the route traced by the...
Neutron imaging is one of the advanced tomography techniques similar to X-ray scanning with an outstanding ability to visualize the internal structure, in a non-destructive way. Contrary to X-rays, which interact with the electrons of the atom, neutrons dominantly interact with the nucleus of the atom since neutrons are electrically neutral. Therefore, neutrons have a remarkable penetrating...
Neutron imaging is a non-destructive testing method working along similar principles as the more common X-ray imaging methods. Due to different interaction behaviour with matter it provides different and partially complementary results. Contrary to X-rays, neutrons can penetrate many metals and heavy elements relatively easy, while they show at the same time high sensitivity for some light...
Muonic X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (µXES) is a rather novel technique based upon the interaction of a negative muon beam with matter. This process leads to the production of high energy x-rays (from ~20 keV of Lithium up to ~6500 keV of Uranium), that are characteristic of the emitting atom and can be used for elemental characterization. Over the last few decades, the technique has been...
ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier-Transform InfraRed) spectroscopy is widely used to characterize the complex composition of layers in cross-sections extracted from painted works of art. However, some limitations, such as poor contact of ATR crystal with sample or sample area of interest below the IR diffraction limit, prevail.
Recently, a novel O-PTIR (Optical- Photothermal...
Paleolithic ornated cave walls can be affected by the development of a calcitic coating called moonmilk, that can lead to conservation issues when located at the vicinity of painted or engraved areas. Moonmilk is made of calcite needles called NFC (Needle Fiber Calcite) around one micron large and tens to hundreds of microns long and presenting different morphologies. It is still being...
