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Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM): Applications in Archaeology

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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

Introduction

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM; this acronym is used for both the instrument itself and the technique) has been broadly used in archaeology for over four decades. The SEM is capable of two basic functions: imaging and providing compositional information. Consequently, it has been utilized for nearly every archaeological application in which one wishes to examine magnified images of a specimen and/or determine its composition on a microscopic scale, everything from determining the raw-material sources of stone tools to examining the five-millennia-old skin of Ötzi the Iceman.

All SEMs permit one to acquire highly magnified images of a specimen. The range of magnifications possible is much greater with SEM than with visible-light microscopy (VLM). Depending on the instrument, the magnification can be adjusted as low as 5X (equivalent to a hand lens) and as high as 200,000X (roughly 100 times better than a powerful VLM) or more. SEM also offers a much greater depth of...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK

    Ellery Frahm

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  1. Ellery Frahm
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Correspondence to Ellery Frahm .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Claire Smith

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Frahm, E. (2014). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM): Applications in Archaeology. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_341

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_341

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