Laboratory for Analysis of Cultural Materials
This CHAD laboratory provides facilities for the study and interpretation of cultural materials from around the world. There is an emphasis on objects and building materials of stone, ceramic, metal, and glass. Microscopy and other analytical methods are combined with ethnographic fieldwork and with historical research. Goals are to better understand the history and reasons for change in how people make and use things and in the style of what they build or design, in the range of fabrication methods, possible functions, and aesthetic intents and values expressed by material culture. Other important missions of the laboratory include research into mechanisms of deterioration, and development and testing of new preservation methods and approaches.
The laboratory equipment includes:
- Polarizing microscope with digital camera
- Full selection of thin-section preparation equipment
- A variety of comprehensive image analysis programs
- Statistical analysis packages
- Equipment for conducting accelerated aging tests
- Gamry electrochemical testing system
- Color measurement systems and equipment
- Scott CRE-500 tensile tester
- A variety of laboratory accessories
The Laboratory also maintains:
- Hand sample and thin section collections of minerals, rocks, ceramic materials, woods, ores, clays, and glasses
- Microscopy collections of pigments (especially strong in Asian pigments), fibers, and ceramics (especially strong in Asian and historic American ceramic samples)
To inquire about the laboratory activities or to discuss possible projects contact Chandra L. Reedy, the laboratory director: E-Mail Laboratory Director
This historic brick sample from the Read House in Newcastle, Delaware, was mounted on blue-dyed epoxy. Blue areas indicate the presence of pores, white grains are sand, the black is carbonized organic material, and the brown is clay. Image analysis is used to quantify all of these components.
Read About Example Lab Projects
