FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FT-IR) IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMIC ANALYSIS

The chapter reviews the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) in study of ancient pottery and its applications to archaeology. FT-IR is a powerful technique for assessing the mineralogical composition of ancient ceramics and is, almost, non-destructive for the pottery. This method can be applied in analyses of the composition of the bulk ceramic as well as of particular pottery attributes, such as separated pastes, temper particles, binders, glazes, slips, paints, and pigments. FT-IR spectroscopy has the advantage of being able to detect both, the crystalline minerals as well as the pseudo-amorphous fired-clay in the ceramic fabric. The assessing of the mineralogical composition of the ceramics can be used in their classification, sourcing, and estimation of firing temperature. Applying spectral analysis by second-derivative and curve-fitting techniques is adding a quantitative dimension to the mineralogical analysis.