Resumen de Analyzing Lead Content in Ancient Bronze Coins by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. An Archaeometry Laboratory with Nonscience Majors
Mary Kate Donais, Greg Whissel, Ashley Dumas, Kathleen Golden
A unique, interdisciplinary collaboration between chemistry and classics has led to the development of an experiment for nonscience majors. This instrumental analysis experiment was designed for use in an archaeology course to quantify the amount of lead in ancient bronze coins. The coins were corroded beyond visual identification, so provenance could be determined only through chemical analysis. Students digested coin subsamples in acid, prepared and diluted the resulting solutions, then utilized flame atomic absorption spectroscopy for the measurements. External calibration with acid-matched lead standards was used. A certified reference material was analyzed with the coins for method validation. Results were compared to published data to obtain a list of possible coin identities.
