There are relatively few examples of successful recovery and identification of archeological protein residues from ceramic artifacts. Researchers led by the University of Catania in Italy looked to advance the application of proteomics to ancient ceramics by investigating prehistoric pottery from the Maltese Bronze/Iron Age site of il-Qlejgħa tal-Baħrija.
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Plastics used to restore porcelain artifacts can become yellowish or differ in color from the ceramic base material over time. Researchers in Germany explored the potential of using ceramic additive manufacturing technologies and subtractive post-processing steps to restore porcelain artifacts instead.
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Figurines created by people of the Tumaco-La Tolita culture give insight into their ancient society and ideology. Researchers in Colombia and the United Kingdom investigated use of a reverse engineering framework to complement conventional stylistic and iconographic analyses of these figurines.
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Substitute materials are often used for restoring ivory artifacts because of the ethical implications surrounding the use of ivory. Researchers led by Vienna University of Technology and 3D printing company Cubicure GmbH developed a new material using stereolithography that they say can serve as an aesthetically and mechanically high-quality ivory substitute.
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Some countries that are significant importers of global waste do not have strong waste management infrastructures, which makes handling the waste difficult. In the absence of government programs, entrepreneurs have started their own initiatives to aid local communities in managing waste. Learn about two individuals in Ghana combating e-waste and glass waste, respectively.
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Determining the function of a historical artifact can be difficult and may require archeologists to search for external clues. An international research team spanning North America describes how they identified an ancient ceramic piece located in the ancient Maya site of Mayapán as a blowpipe tip.
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Ceramic molds used to cast bronze pieces during the Bronze Age offer one way to understand diachronic change and regional variation in metallurgical industries during that period. Researchers developed a novel FTIR-based approach for estimating the firing temperatures of these molds.
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Reality competition shows exist on almost every topic. In 2019, glassblowing entered the fold with “Blown Away,” a Canadian series available on Netflix. Learn more about the show and the Corning Museum of Glass, where winners take part in a weeklong guest residency.
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Cosmetic nail treatments have existed for thousands of years, but the wild nail art designs seen today only really became popular in the past decade. We take a brief look at this history and highlight one nail artist whose designs are inspired by nature.
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Ancient mummy portraits that were buried with mummies in Roman Egypt still hold many secrets about how and why they were created. A new study takes a deep dive into the materials secrets hiding in an ancient pigment particle and discovers some interesting insights into the people who created these unique works of art.
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