The use of spectroscopic techniques in the analysis and dating of archaeological and cultural artefacts is now well established. Whether they are used for dating or compositional analysis, the data they produce is invaluable for archaeologists, curators and conservation scientists. In recent years the varied and powerful armoury of techniques found in academic research labs are being applied to archaeological and cultural objects, as well as associated geological and environmental samples allowing a greater quantifiable understanding of human or natural history, as well as aiding conservation and curation.

This book reviews the applications of various spectroscopic techniques and, in particular, electron spin resonance spectroscopy in evaluating the structure and composition of materials for archaeological and cultural heritage research. Spanning both dating and compositional analysis methods of artefacts and their associated dating layers the book includes contributions from an international pool of researchers and uses case studies to demonstrate the applications of the techniques under discussion.

Ashutosh Kumar Shukla obtained his BSc, MSc and D Phil from the University of Allahabad. His doctoral research work involved using electron spin resonance spectroscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy to investigate transition ion doped single crystals. He has been a university teacher and researcher for 20 years and is currently an Associate Professor of physics at Ewing Christian College, Allahabad, a University of Allahabad institution. He also served as an Associate Professor (pure and applied physics) at Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, C G (a central university). He has published numerous research papers in peer-reviewed journals and has edited various books, mostly on applications of EPR spectroscopy. He has delivered several invited lectures on characterization techniques at national and international conferences and workshops. He reviews manuscripts for a number of international journals. He has received numerous scholarships and fellowships, including a national scholarship, Scholarship of Ministry of Higher Education, Government of U P, Research Fellowship of the Council of Science and Tech., Lucknow, U P, Research Fellowship of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi and the Indian National Science Academy-Bilateral Exchange Fellowship.