What by fire: heat induced transformations in archaeological materials

Rationale

The archaeological evidence indicates that the early use of fire dates back to 400 thousand years ago or so. Powerful engineering tool, the fire has opened the way to a wide range of productive processes and new materials. Therefore, pyrotechnology as a whole can be seen as a keystone of humanity's adaptive and cultural evolution.
The sixth edition of the AMARCH School will focus on the effects of deliberate heating on several types of materials, including natural silicate for lithics, ceramics materials, binders and bone materials. Moreover, given the role that fire plays in material culture, attention will be paid to the study of combustion products, like ash, coal, and other combustion residues. The study of thermal alterations is essential for the reconstruction of pyrotechnological sequences. It requires specific methodologies and experimental protocols both for the characterization of materials (structural and thermal analyses) and for investigating relevant thermodynamics (phase diagrams). AMARCH 2024 will explore the wide range of applications of these tools for understanding case studies relating to different past ages, from Prehistory to Medieval times.

AMARCH 2024 is jointly organized by the three laboratories of the University of Trento: the Laboratorio Bagolini Archeologia, Archeometria e Fotografia (Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia), the Laboratorio Beni Culturali (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale), and the Laboratorio di Struttura e Dinamica dei Sistemi Complessi (Dipartimento di Fisica).

 The School is conceived for students and young researchers working in archaeological research and cultural heritage, with a special focus on Ph.D., Master's students and researchers from Museums and Superintendencies. A technical-scientific background at an academic level is not required to attend lectures, but a basic knowledge of the principles of chemistry and physics can be useful.

Registration and participation fee

Registration is open. No more than 100 participants will be accepted, at the discretion of the Scientific Committee.
The School will take place via Zoom. Lectures will be held in English.
The participation fee is € 30 and includes the streaming of lectures and teaching materials.
UNITN members and the students Participants from UNITN and students of the Master Quaternario, Preistoria e Archeologia are exempted from the registration fee.

Provisional program

Day one - 28.05.2024

Afternoon session – 4:00 pm (CET) - Introduction
• Presentation of the School
• Dennis Sandgathe (Simon Frasier University – Canada) - Topic: Early Use of Fire
• Marco Zanatta (University of Trento – Italy) – Topic: Thermodynamics

Day two - 29.05.2024

Morning session - 9:00 am – Fire as a tool
• Fabio Santaniello (University of Trento – Italy) – Topic: Heated Flints
• Elisavet Stamataki (Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Belgium) – Topic: Bones
• Q&A
Afternoon session – 2:00 pm- Heat-induced alterations
• Maurizio Zambaldi (University of Trento – Italy) – Topic: Burnt Soils
• Vera Aldeias (ICArEHB – Portugal) – Topic: Ash
• Q&A
• Laboratory

Day three - 30.05.2024

Morning session - 9:00 am – New materials by fire
• Mattia Biesuz (University of Trento – Italy) – Topic: Ceramics
• Nicola Saredo Parodi (Chemical engineer & archaeologist - Italy) - Topic: Fire – Raw Materials & Metals
• Q&A
Afternoon session - 2:00 pm – Thermo-analytical Tools
• Paola Fermo (University of Milan, Italy) – Topic: Thermal analyses
• Stefano Gialanella (University of Trento – Italy) – Topic: Phase Diagrams
• Q&A
• Laboratory

All lectures will be in English, but questions from the audience can be placed in Italian (translated by the Chairperson)

Confirmed Speakers

• Vera Aldeias (ICArEHB – Portugal)
• Mattia Biesuz (University of Trento – Italy)
• Paola Fermo (University of Milan, Italy)
• Stefano Gialanella (University of Trento – Italy)
• Dennis Sandgathe (Simon Fraser University – Canada)
• Fabio Santaniello (University of Trento – Italy)
• Nicola Saredo Parodi (Chemical engineer & archaeologist)
• Elisavet Stamataki (Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Belgium)
• Maurizio Zambaldi (University of Trento – Italy)
• Marco Zanatta (University of Trento – Italy)

Scientific Committee

• Diego Angelucci - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento.
• Giacomo Capuzzo - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento (Italy); AMGC, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
• Stefano Gialanella – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Trento
• Stefano Grimaldi - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento.
• Annaluisa Pedrotti – Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento
• Fabio Santaniello – Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento
• Maurizio Zambaldi – Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento
• Marco Zanatta – Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento

Organizing Committee

• Giacomo Capuzzo - Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento (Italy); AMGC, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
• Stefano Gialanella – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Trento
• Fabio Santaniello – Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento
• Martina Sciortino – Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento
• Marco Zanatta – Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento
  
   

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  The School is organized within the national Projects: Dipartimento di Eccellenza 2023-2027 of the Dept. of Humanities UNITN and PRIN: “Pyro-Transitions: prehistoric cultural changes in the use of fire from foraging to the earliest farming societies”.

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