Project Description

Non-Destructive Laboratory needed for analyzing historical objects to determine if they were made from meteorites and compare them without damaging them, or removing samples. For decades, historians have debated the origin of iron used in prehistoric times by Natives of the Northwest Coast of North America to make tools and weapons.Many iron tools, especially knives or daggers are now in museum collections or owned by Natives. The objects are now heirlooms or "cultural treasures." Some are said to have been made from meteorites. If the element contents and proportions could be determined it would open a new door to historical research.