1 Journal of Nordic Archaeological Science 19, pp. 00–00 (2020) Roberts, B.W. & Tornton, C. (Eds.) 2014: Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective – Methods and Syntheses. Springer: New York. 868 pp. Review by Daniel Sahlén* *Stockholm County Museum, P.O. Box 4151, SE-141 04 Huddinge, Sweden (daniel.sahlen@stockholmslansmuseum.se) Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective ‒ Methods and Syntheses is an ambitious book, summarising our un- derstanding of archaeometric methods on metals. It contains 28 independently written chapters, includ- ing an Introduction by the editors, and is divided into two parts, one dealing with methodological issues, and the other providing regional or national case studies on the emergence of metallurgy. Te book derives from a session at the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) conference in Vancouver (2008), Canada, focusing on the emergence of metallurgy in the Old and New Worlds, and many of the chapters develop from papers later published in the Journal of World Prehistory (2009, issues 3–4). A few, how- ever, have been added to expand coverage of areas not discussed at the conference. Te 11 methodological chapters were added to give a more complete presen- tation of archaeometallurgy as a discipline. One of the strongest elements of the book is its great global span, discussing materials from widely dis- perse areas. Tis is central, since the emergence and development of metals are increasingly seen as a global phenomenon. However, the focus on early metallurgy narrows the book’s empirical outlook, and the oppor- tunity to explore archaeometallurgical developments more widely is missed. Roberts and Tornton introduce the book with a general overview of the history of archaeometallurgy. It feels nonspecifc, and more details could have been given for introducing archaeometallurgy as an inter- disciplinary academic feld. Te book is aimed at “an uninitiated audience” (p. 3), but archaeometallurgy is probably a term some readers are unfamiliar with. It has not been an established term for many years within the feld; until the 1990s two terms were used to describe largely the same subject, archaeometallur- gy and historical metallurgy (Goodway 1990; 1992). Both were used to describe a historical study of met- allurgy, but the former developed more closely from the analysis of archaeological materials and aimed to reconstruct technological practices. A full defnition of the term archaeometallurgy and its application would have been a good starting point. Roberts and Tornton provide a basic historical and theoretical background to archaeometallurgy but aside from commentaries in individual chapters, this is the only discussion about theory. Tey correctly stress the increased importance of theory in archaeometallurgy, but perhaps a more de- tailed background should have been provided, either as a separate chapter or, at the least, a more compre- hensive discussion in the Introduction. Te frst 11 chapters following the Introduction (Chapter 1) are introductions or summaries of various methods used in the study of metals and metallurgical practices. Some are quite detailed and give a compre- hensive introduction to a particular feld or method, while others are mere overviews of literature. Te frst two chapters are introductions to ore, metals and metal properties; Chapter 2 (Killick) gives a broad overview of processing of ores, from the perspective of economic geology and its relation to archaeometallurgy, while Chapter 3 (Notis) discusses the properties of metals and its relevance in archaeometric studies, providing a chemical and physical introduction to the feld. Te fol- lowing three chapters provide an introduction to vari- ous laboratory techniques for the study of metals and metal processes, including metallography (Chapter 4, Scott), investigations of slag (Chapter 5, Hauptmann) and technical ceramics (Chapter 6, Martinón-Torres and Rehren). Tese chapters cover some fundamen- tal aspects of archaeometallurgy, discussing the main materials studied in the feld and some of the key methods. Tey are only brief summaries of complex issues and an extensive literature, but to some extent are balanced with comprehensive bibliographies. Te next three chapters are concerned with approaches to feld-based investigations, including methods of min- ing archaeology (Chapter 7, Stöllner), experimental ar- Review section