Laboratory of Geochemistry Applied to Cultural Heritage

The course aims to provide students with the fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge for the application of geochemistry to the characterization of geomaterials and artifacts of interest for cultural heritage. In particular, it intends to: · Provide the fundamentals of elemental geochemistry (major, minor, and trace elements) and isotopic geochemistry (radiogenic and stable isotopes), with attention to fractionation mechanisms and geochronology principles; · Introduce the main analytical methods used to determine the elemental and isotopic composition of materials, with a focus on inorganic mass spectrometry; · Show how geochemical analyses can be applied to the characterization, provenance determination, and dating of materials of archaeological and historical-artistic interest; · Provide practical skills in sample preparation, data collection, and their representation and interpretation.The course also aims to develop critical skills in evaluating results and promote the acquisition of an appropriate technical-scientific language for the context of diagnostics applied to cultural assets.

By the end of the course, the student will be able to: · Understand and describe the fundamentals of elemental and isotopic geochemistry, with particular reference to applications in the cultural heritage sector; · Know the principles of operation of the main analytical techniques for elemental and isotopic determination (e.g. ICP-MS, TIMS, MC-ICP-MS, IRMS); · Apply geochemical methods to the characterization of natural and anthropogenic geomaterials, assessing their implications for provenance, dating, and conservation; · Carry out laboratory activities independently, including sample preparation, data acquisition, and graphical and statistical processing; · Critically interpret the collected data, integrating geochemical information with archaeological, historical, and conservation information; · Communicate clearly and effectively the results of the analyses, also through technical reports or oral presentations.