Proton Induced X-Ray Studies of the Shell of Living Oysters and of Archaeological Artifacts

For a number of years the principal efforts of the author have been in collaboration with investigators in the fields of marine biology and archaeology. This report is specific to the study of the elemental composition of the shell of living oysters and to archaeological glass and faience beads and pendants and Cu-based alloy artifacts from the middle east. It is obvious that living oysters cannot be subjected to vacuum and must not be damaged; practical aspects limit the use of vacuum for the archaeological artifacts. It is also important that the technique be multielemental in order to minimize the time required to obtain the data. All of these studies were, therefore, performed with in-air (or helium) PIXE with a beam diameter of 0.45 mm. The results given are not final in that all of the researches are on-going and will not be completed for some months. However, the success of the technique is clearly demonstrated and some preliminary conclusions can be drawn.