A SEM-EDS study of cultural heritage objects with interpretation of constituents and their distribution using PARC data analysis.

Two cultural heritage objects studied with scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) are presented in this article: (1) archeological iron present in a soil sample and (2) a chip from a purple-colored area of an undisclosed 17th century painting. Novel PARC software was used to interpret the data in terms of quantitative distribution of mineral and organo-mineral phases as well as their chemical composition. The study serves to demonstrate the power of PARC rather than solving specific archeological issues.