Wondjina Research Institute (WRI), Thermo Fisher Scientific NITON Analyzers and Simon Fraser University (SFU) are sponsoring a free demonstration and workshop of the capabilities of the newly developed pXRF technology for archaeology with on site surveys and a "hands on" use of the new, NITON XLT3 analyzer at SFU and sites within the Vancouver area on Monday and Tuesday, March 24th & 25th prior to the SAA conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. Claudia Bracket, Archaeochemist, of California State University-Stanislaus (CSUS) and Mr. Richard J. Lundin, Archaeogeophysicist, RPA and Director of WRI will conduct the surveys and workshop for Dr. Dana Lepofsky of SFU but all are invited to participate and bring samples for free pXRF analyses. Dr. Brackett and Mr. Lundin are pioneers in the use of this technology for archaeology and have given very successful workshops and presentations on its use at SHA meetings in Sacramento, Williamsburg and Albuquerque; SAA meetings in San Juan and Austin and AGU in Acapulco, and San Francisco.
The demonstration and workshop will be held at SFU and sites in the Vancouver Area from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. according to the schedule below:
Day 1:
09:00-12:00 Lecture Session by Dr. Claudia Brackett of COUNTRY CHEMIST with classrom instruction giving the archaeologist a basic working understanding of the chemical principles that are applicable and specific to archaeology.(Appropriate breaks will be taken as needed by the group)
12:00-13:00 Lunch Break with Dr. Brackett, Mr. Lundin of WRI and other invited Industry participants.
13:00-1700 Lecture Session by Mr. Richard Lundin of WRI on the History and Practice of Field Archaeochemistry and it relationship to Combined Survey Format (CSF) archaeogeophysical and archaeochemical field studies, demonstrations of archaeochemical laboratory and field equipment by Dr. Brackett, Mr. Lundin and invited Industry participants, distribution of Workshop CD's containing Dr. Brackett and Mr. Lundin presentations and copies of both early and recent papers and presentations on field archaeochemistry.
Day 2:
09:00-12:00 Travel to the Site and an Orientation Lecture by personnel from Simon Frasier University on the site(s) they is working on.(Appropriate breaks will be taken as needed by the group)
12:00-13:00 Lunch Break with Dr. Brackett, Mr. Lundin and other invited Industry participants.
13:00-1700 Field Demonstrations\Surveys utilizing field equipment by Dr. Brackett, Mr. Lundin and invited Industry participants. Return to SFU.
Chemistry has always been an effective tool for the modern Archaeologist. However, with the development of new technology, chemical analysis is becoming increasingly easier, cheaper and thus more important. The workshop is designed to give the practicing Archaeologist a basic working understanding of the chemical principles that are applicable and specific to archaeology. The class is targeted for a participant that has little or no previous background in chemistry. Topics to be covered are "Elements and Molecules, or what is in that stuff anyway?" " Biomolecules, or getting a site/object to speak to you," "Chemical Statistics, or understanding all that gibberish that came back from the lab," and Soil Chemistry, or getting information when you can't see a thing." Topics will be presented in a combination of lecture and hands-on demonstrations. We will be using simple UV-Visible spectrophotometer, portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer and, possibly, other field portable equipment. Participants are encouraged to bring their own specimens for non-destructive analysis. The specimens should be solids (not liquids) and eith 10 grams of material, or a surface area about 3/4 inch square."
Dr. Brackett is a practicing Archaeochemist, Chemistry Instructor at CSUS, Principal of COUNTRY CHEMIST, member of SAA, SHA, SAS, has made several presentations and the SHA Workshop on this topic, has been doing major archaeochemical studies for mineral industry and developer clients since 2003 and was the Co-Chair of an archaeochemical symposium at SAA in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has a BS Degree in Chemistry from CSUS, and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Analytical Chemistry from University of the Pacific. She is one of the innovators in the use of field portable XRF equipment in archaeology and has several publications on this topic pending.
Mr. Lundin is a practicing Archaeogeophysicist and Airbourne Remote Sensing Specialist, Director of WRI, member of SAA, SHA, SAS, SEG, SME, AGS, ISAP, AGU and SCA,has made several presentations and the SHA Workshop on this topic, has been doing major archaeochemical studies for mineral industry and developer clients since 2003 and was the Co-Chair of an archaeochemical symposium at SAA in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He has a BA in Anthropology from Beloit College, a MA degree in Historical Archaeology from Northern Arizona University, 35 years of experience in the mineral industry doing field geochemistry and archaeochemistry. He is a Registered Professional Archaeologist and the discoverer of the applicability of portable XRF technology to field and laboratory studies in archaeology and has several publications on this topic pending.
Both Dr. Brackett and Mr. Lundin have extensive archaeochemical field and laboratory experience and are supported by ThermoFisher Scientific NITON Analyzers in their research.
Please feel free to contact Dr. Brackett or Mr. Lundin by phone at WRI's Sonora, California Office Number: (209) 532-3873 or, if you would like to find out more on the reception to the SHA Workshop at Williamsburg and our work in Mexico, Dr. Jamie Brandon at [log in to unmask] or Dr. Luis Barba at [log in to unmask]
Thank You for your Patience and giving us a chance to present what we feel is a worthwhile contribution to the SAA conference.
Sincerely,
Claudia L. Brackett, MS, Ph.D.
Consulting Archaeochemist
Principal, COUNTRY CHEMIST
Richard J. Lundin, BA, MA, RPA, ISAP
Consulting Historical Archaeologist & Remote Sensing Specialist (Archaeogeophysicist)
Director, Wondjina Research Institute
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