Geochemical analyses of archaeological specimens using advanced methods

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $395,414 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

The Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) specializes in the provenance and compositional analysis of archaeological materials including ceramics, chert, obsidian, pigments, and metals. Such chemical analyses are essential pieces of evidence used by archaeologists to investigate the technology, economics, social and political organization and identity practices in ancient societies. Understanding past human behavior can inform modern efforts to address issues such as population movement, resource exploitation, social networks, and land-use patterns. The laboratory supports a wide variety of projects, trains students, graduate interns, researchers, and visiting scholars from US institutions every year, and contributes to knowledge diffusion through close scientific collaborations between MURR staff and outside researchers, student education, and professional publications. Broader impacts of the Archaeometry Laboratory at MURR include: (1) availability of affordable chemical and isotopic analyses for students and faculty from academic departments and non-profit research organizations in the US; (2) training of undergraduate and graduate students in the selection and use of laboratory methods of analysis; (3) advice in project design, statistical analysis, and interpretation of the chemical and isotopic data; and (4) public access by archaeologists, geologists, and scientists from many disciplines to the compositional database. The long

Key facts

NSF award ID
2513354
Awardee
University of Missouri-Columbia (MO)
SAM.gov UEI
SZPJL5ZRCLF4
PI
Brandi L MacDonald
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
ARCHAEOMETRY, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Nuclear Energy
Estimated total
$395,414
Funds obligated
$395,414
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028