Glossary

Accuracy The degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its actual (true) value. archaeological chemistry The analytical chemistry as applied to archaeological problems, which enables scientists to gain new insights into historical and cultural practices and events. atomic emission spectrometry Uses quantitative measurement of the optical emission from excited atoms to determine analyte concentration. energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry A chemical microanalysis technique performed in conjunction with a scanning electron microscope. The technique utilizes X-rays

That are emitted from the sample during bombardment by the electron beam to characterize the elemental composition of the analyzed volume.

Hierarchical cluster analysis A method of cluster analysis comprised of agglomerative methods and divisive methods that finds clusters of observations within a data set. The divisive methods start with all of the observations in one cluster and then proceeds to split (partition) them into smaller clusters. inductively coupled plasma A type of plasma source in which the energy is supplied by electrical currents which are produced by electromagnetic induction, that is, by time-varying magnetic fields.

Mass spectrometry An analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. It is most generally used to find the composition of a physical sample by generating a mass spectrum representing the masses of sample components. neutron activation analysis A nuclear process used for

Determining certain concentrations of elements in a vast amount of materials. It allows discrete sampling of elements as it disregards the chemical form of a sample, and focuses solely on its nucleus.

Principal components analysis A technique for simplifying a data set, by reducing multidimensional data sets to lower dimensions for analysis.

Provenance The origin or source from which something comes, and the history of subsequent owners. statistical treatment The statistical treatment of data that involves basing the error estimation on firm theoretical principles. wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry A method used to determine the energy spectrum of an X-ray radiation.

X-ray fluorescence The emission of characteristic ‘secondary’ (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by bombarding with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays.