부산대학교 도서관

An experiment was designed that exposes introductory archaeology students to analytical chemistry. In two, 75-minute sessions, students use flame atomic absorption spectrometry to determine the lead content of ancient bronze coins. They approximate the mint date and mint location by comparing the lead data to literature values for lead in visually identified coins. The experiment gives students experience of quantitative sample and solution preparation and chemical data collection and exposes them to the concepts of method validation and data precision. A list of best matches generated at the end of the labs yielded potential age and mint locations for the coins, although the students concluded that additional data for other metals would be useful to refine matches.