Program on Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ATAM is a Division of the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program

		ABOUT ATAM
		ATAM RESEARCH POLICY
		ORGANIZATION
		STAFF
		PARTICIPATING UNITS
		VISITING LECTURERS AND CONSULTANTS

ABOUT ATAM

The ATAM Program was founded by David Payne (Materials Science), Thomas Riley (Anthropology), and James Dengate (Classics) in 1977 as a special interdisciplinary research unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). It is now part of the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program (ITARP).

Its original purpose was "to explore ways in which science and humanities might work together with mutual profit to improve the quality of teaching and research in areas were the two disciplines overlap.. The area best suited to such collaboration is that of archaeology, and its related field of museology, because they deal with the study and interpretation of the physical dimension of mankind's presence through the ages."

This field is now called archaeological science, or archaeometry. Archaeometry unites archaeology, art history, museology, and the natural and physical sciences. Archaeologists, anthropologists, curators, geologists, chemists, and others work together to analyze the structure, composition, technology, and dating of ancient objects using modern analytical techniques.

The results, when combined with information on archaeological and cultural contexts, help scholars reconstruct the history of the objects and the people who made them.

At Illinois, typical archaeometric projects include provenance studies of ceramics and stone, analyses of museum objects to solve problems in conservation and art forgery, and isotopic studies of human and animal bone to reconstruct ancient diet and climate.

The ATAM Program organizes faculty and graduate seminars, lectures by outside speakers, and other co-sponsored events during the academic year. ATAM is not a degree-granting program, but has offered several undergraduate courses over its history. The current offering is "Materials and Civilization: an Overview of Archaeometry.".

As a university research program, ATAM cannot authenticate artifacts for dealers or collectors, nor does it conduct research for private individuals.

ATAM RESEARCH POLICY (adopted by the Steering Committee, 2/99. Rev 3/2005)

The ATAM Program coordinates and participates in interdisciplinary research on archaeological and art historical materials to assist archaeologists, art historians, museum curators, educators and others in reconstructing the past. ATAM research encompasses the following areas:

1) The study of early technologies (e.g. ceramics, metalworking, stone working, basketry, etc.) using a combination of archaeological or historical evidence, experimental replication, and materials analysis in order to better understand how ancient craftsmen worked, their sequences of operations, and their strategies for overcoming technical problems and adverse conditions.

2) The application of modern analytical techniques for the compositional and structural characterization of archaeological and art historical materials to address issues such as provenance, chronology, technology, and conservation.

3) Technique development: development of new or existing techniques for archaeological application (e.g. PIMA spectroscopy).

Although ATAM does engage in collaborative research with other institutions, ATAM gives priority to research activities of faculty, staff, and students at UIUC and affiliated agencies. Artifacts under study should be owned by or under the curatorial care of an excavation team, museum, historical society, or other cultural agency (local, state, or federal). In common with several national organizations,* ATAM weighs the benefits to scholarship before committing resources to a project. As a public research university research program, ATAM serves the public but cannot authenticate artifacts for dealers or private collectors, nor does it make measurements or conduct research for private individuals. We also do not provide estimates of valuation for insurance purposes.

When ATAM acts as a referral service, linking individual academic or scientific researchers with analysts in other departments or institutions without direct involvement of ATAM staff or funds, no special conditions are required. However, "official" ATAM projects--those that require significant ATAM staff time and/or direct use of ATAM funds, especially those involving non-UIUC materials-- should meet the following additional criteria:

1) Preference is given to analytical projects with well-defined research design, where analysis will significantly advance our understanding of a culture, period, or historical event.

2) The investigator obtains written permission for any destructive sampling of artifacts. Permission should be on letterhead and signed by an authorized representative of the university or cultural agency requesting the analysis, and a copy shall be kept in the ATAM office.

3) Cost sharing on joint projects is negotiated in advance with the ATAM office, and standard UIUC financial policies are followed for any transfer of funds.

4) Publications resulting from collaborative research are usually co-authored by ATAM staff and cite ATAM as follows: "This research was supported in part by the Program on Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (and other granting agencies as appropriate)."

5) It is understood that projects partially funded by ATAM may be publicized in ATAM newsletters and on our web page.

6) Copies of all correspondence, data, reports, and publications are kept on file in the ATAM office.

*Society for American Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America, Society for Historical Archaeology, American Association of Museums.

ORGANIZATION

The ATAM Program is administered by a director, with oversight provided by a Steering Committee of faculty from major participating departments, laboratories, and museums. Research projects are conveyed to appropriate labs for analyses, and much of the work is conducted by faculty and graduate students who volunteer their time and equipment. Funding for ATAM activities has been provided by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (U.S. Army), the National Science Foundation, the UIUC Research Board, and numerous other units at the University of Illinois (UIUC).

STAFF

Sarah Wisseman, Director. Steering Committee: Stanley Ambrose (Anthropology); Thomas Emerson (ITARP); John Abelson (Materials Science); Randy Hughes (Illinois State Geological Survey); Eric Hostetter (Classics and Art History); Wayne Pitard (Program for the Study of Religion)

PARTICIPATING UNITS

Anthropology
Art History
Ceramics (Art and Design)
Chemistry
Classics
Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)
Geology
History
Human Development and Family Studies
Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS)
Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program (ITARP)
Institute for Environmental Studies
Krannert Art Museum
Large Animal Clinic, Veterinary Medicine
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Materials Research Laboratory (MRL)
Materials Science and Engineering
National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Nuclear Engineering
Physics
Program on the Study of Religion
Urban and Regional Planning
Spurlock Museum (formerly the World Heritage and Natural History museums)

 

 

VISITING LECTURERS AND CONSULTANTS

In addition to a regular program of faculty and graduate student seminars, ATAM frequently invites outside speakers to campus. Some of these have also served as official consultants to the Program. Since its inception, ATAM speakers funded by the George A. Miller Committee at the University of Illinois include:

• Stuart Fleming (University of Pennsylvania)
  
• Ursula Franklin (University of Toronto)
  
• Donald Frey (Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A&M)
  
• Martha Goodway (Smithsonian Institution Conservation Analytical Laboratory)
  
• Garman Harbottle (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
  
• Paul Keyser (Cornell University)
  
• Joseph Lambert (Northwestern University)
  
• Heather Lechtman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
  
• Frederick Matson (Pennsylvania State University)
  
• Pieter Meyers (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
  
• Jacqueline Olin (Smithsonian Institution Conservation Analytical Laboratory)
  
• Robert Vincent (Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A&M)
  

Questions about the ATAM Program? Call 217-333-6629, or write to us at: ATAM Program, University of Illinois, 78a Bevier Hall (MC-187), 905 S. Goodwin, Urbana, IL 61801.