Chemical Technology in Antiquity

Seth C. Rasmussen is a Professor of Chemistry at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo. He received his B.S in Chemistry from Washington State University in 1990 and his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Clemson University in 1994, under the guidance of Prof. John D. Peterson. As a postdoctoral associate at the University of Oregon, he then studied conjugated organic polymers under Prof. James E. Hutchison. In 1997, he accepted a teaching position at theUniversity of Oregon, before moving to join the faculty at NDSU in 1999. As both an author and editor, Prof. Rasmussen has contributed to books in both materials and history and has published more than 80 research papers and book chapters. He also currently serves as the Program Chair for the History ofChemistry division of the American Chemical Society and as the series editor for the Springer Briefs in Molecular Science: History of Chemistry book series.

The chapters all provide a generally reliable narrative introduction to their respective topics, with careful documentation from secondary literature. [...] students without knowledge of chemistry will find clear introductions to most of the important technologies of the ancient world that made use of chemical processes.

• 1. Introduction -- The Role of Chemical Technology in Early Civilizations 2. Historic Mineral Pigments: Colorful Benchmarks of Ancient Civilizations3. The First Artificial Material: Ceramics from Prehistory to the Fall of Rome4. From Honey Wine to the Cultivation of the Grape: An Early History of Fermented Beverages5. The Metals of Antiquity and Their Alloys 6. The Skin They Were In: Leather and Tanning in Antiquity7. Modern Chemistry of the Ancient Chemical Processing of Organic Dyes and Pigments 8. Scented Oils and Perfumes 9. An Ancient Cleanser: Soap Production and Use in Antiquity 10. Modern Materials in Antiquity: An Early History of the Art and Technology of Glass