MASCA - Froelich Rainey and Elizabeth Ralph records

The Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology (MASCA) was established in 1961 by a grant from the National Science Foundation. MASCA was modeled after the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at Oxford. From the time of its inception in 1961, MASCA, along with the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Penn Museum made a number of contributions to radiocarbon dating, including, but not limited to, breakthroughs in recalibration and dendrochronology.

Elizabeth Ralph of the University Physics Department was named associate director of MASCA in 1962 following her tenure as a research assistant in the Carbon-14 laboratory.

Elizabeth Katherine Ralph, a life-long resident of the Trenton N.J. area was born in 1921. She attended Wellesley College, receiving her B.A. degree in chemistry in 1942. Ralph began a career in industry following graduation. She worked her way up to management as an electrical and chemical engineer. In 1949, Ralph began her master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Physics and Geology.

Ralph followed in the footsteps of a pioneer in radiocarbon dating, Willard F. Libby of the University of Chicago. The development of the "new" (5730) half-life led, more recently, to the "calibration" of C-14 measurements with the help of precidely dated tree rings. She has been a leader in archaeological surveying, improving the sensitivity of the instruments to variations in magnetic intensity. Under her direction, MASCA’s C-14 laboratory acquired an international reputation for excellence by processing hundreds of measurements from all over the world while constantly evaluating such methodological issues as inter-laboratory calibration and the "radiocarbon calendar."

Elizabeth Ralph published extensively and generously presented at conferences, seminars and local meetings. Her generosity also extended to students whom she trained. Dr. Ralph received the AIA Pomerance Award for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology in 1986 for being "a scientist of the loftiest standards and a human being of patience, fairness, and good humor. With great pride and gratitude for her many contributions to the growth and development of archaeology as an interdisciplinary science, we honor her today with the Pomerance Award of the Archaeological Institute of America for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology."

The Radiocarbon Laboratory and MASCA have collaborated with a number of prestigious institutions including the Lerici Foundation in Rome, the Tree Ring Laboratory in Tucson and the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art at Oxford. The Radiocarbon Laboratory was dissolved in 1982, upon the retirement of Dr. Ralph. MASCA was not terminated until 26 years later in 2008.

The Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology (MASCA) was established in 1961 by a grant from the National Science Foundation. MASCA was modeled after the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at Oxford. From the time of its inception in 1961, MASCA, along with the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Penn Museum made a number of contributions to radiocarbon dating, including, but not limited to, breakthroughs in recalibration and dendrochronology.

Elizabeth Ralph of the University Physics Department was named associate director of MASCA in 1962 following her tenure as a research assistant in the Carbon-14 laboratory.

The MASCA collection is housed in twelve archival boxes and incorporates the files of Elizabeth Ralph. Original processing of the records was interrupted due to illness but included grouping the files into series and individual items into chronological and alphabetical order. Later refinements included adjustments to the series and the addition of the files of Elizabeth Ralph. These files held personal correspondence, her dissertation, memberships and activities.

The correspondence, projects and publication series contain the vast amount of the collection data. The projects are arranged by type and then by location in alphabetical order. Of the total projects there are only two folders related to thermoluminescence, the majority to the use of the magnetometer.

Publications by the staff of Masca are arranged in date order from 1960 to 2005.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, 2/28/2017

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions:

Corporate Name(s)

• MASCA research papers in science and archaeology .

Geographic Name(s)

• Alaska
• Gordion (Extinct city)
• Guatemala
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico

Personal Name(s)

• Aitken, Martin J., b.1922
• Bevan, Bruce W.
• Coe, Michael D., 1929-
• Haury, E.W., 1904-1992
• Iskander, Zaki, 1912-1979
• Judson, Sheldon, 1918-1999
• Libby, W.F. (Willard Frank), 1908-1980
• Rainey, Froelich, Director of the University Museum
• Ralph, Elizabeth K., 1911-2000

Subject(s)

• Julsrud collection
• Pottery
• Radiocarbon dating
• Smithsonian Institution
• Thermoluminescence
• U.S. Atomic Energy Commission