This volume of proceedings is published by the Materials Research Society and Cambridge University Press, and it is the first one to bear the title Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Issues in Materials Science (CHARIMSc). More than 90 papers were presented during this symposium, including invited lectures from France, Italy, Israel, Thailand and Mexico, as well as oral and poster sessions of participants from Spain, Mexico, Italy, Russia, Poland, United States and Australia. This publication presents selected contributions of the symposium in its 2011 edition, evaluated by an academic committee. Main topics such as nondestructive characterization of cultural heritage, technical studies in art history, archaeological science, conservation studies, biomaterials research and methodologies and instrumentation show the new trends and directions being taken worldwide in the analysis of cultural and archaeological materials.

This book gives evidence of the proliferation of successful multidisciplinary collaborations among researchers in museums, universities and laboratories. These studies use the methods and techniques of materials research to understand degradation and design strategies and promote long-term preservation of material culture and cultural heritage, e.g., works of art, culturally significant artifacts, and archaeological sites and complexes and their environments. Preserving cultural heritage includes developing a critical understanding of how our predecessors used technology and craft to solve problems of survival and organization and make the symbols or representations of what was important to them. The book also discloses patterns of technology-transfer from one field to another and provides evaluation tools and skills so that preservation expectations may be based on performance criteria and life histories of the constituent materials. Topics include: technical art history; conservation science; archaeology science; reconstruction of past technologies; innovative methodology and instrumentation and interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary contributions.

This publication presents papers from Symposium 8A, 'Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Issues in Materials Science (CHARIMSc)', of the XXII International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) held in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico in August 2013.