MATERIALS IN ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY THROUGH THEIR INFRARED SPECTRA introduces students and professionals in archaeology, conservation, chemistry, and materials science to the world of archaeological and art materials. The infrared spectra of materials directly reflect their structures, whether amorphous or crystalline, colour or colourless, polar (hydrophilic), or nonpolar (hydrophobic). Through this book, the reader is offered a top-down approach for interpreting the rich but often subtle information drawn from the infrared spectra of most materials in the above-described context and correlate them to their molecular geometry, their molecular environments, and, most importantly, their deterioration pathways that lead to their current condition.