The International Symposium on Archaeometry meets at different host
locations every two years. This five-day conference is attended by
several hundred scholars
in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, art history, conservation,
museology, materials
science, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, geophysics, geology, etc.,
from all over the
world.
In its broadest sense, archaeometry represents the interface between archaeology and the natural and physical sciences. This interdisciplinary field involves close collaboration between archaeologists, art historians, curators, conservators, and scientists who apply modern instrumental techniques to objects to extract technological, cultural, and historical information from objects and archaeological/historical contexts. Applications range from archaeological fieldwork to conservation of museum objects and historic monuments, including such topics as bone chemistry, technological and provenance studies, prospection and geoarchaeology, advanced dating techniques, and art forgery.
The conference is directed by an international Standing Committee, chaired by Yannis Maniatis at the Laboratory of Archaeometry, Athens, Greece
The next Symposium will be held May
2-6, 2006, Quebec City, Canada
Previous symposia:
The Symposium was held in Ankara, Turkey in 1994; and Los Angeles, California in 1992.