The institute carries out a very high-level of research with state-of-the-art instrumentation in the country through its headquarters of the National Laboratory of Sciences for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage LANCIC-IF to the non-invasive in situ characterization of collections and objects of the national heritage. This information is essential to determine the use of raw materials, manufacturing technologies, origin of objects and raw materials, as well as its degree of alteration and conservation strategies more in line with its composition.
LANCIC-IF has a group specialized in the combined use of imaging and spectroscopy techniques with portable equipment. It has thermal imaging equipment, digital radiography, infrared imaging and hyperspectral imaging in the range of visible light to the near infrared (300-1650 nm) that allow establishing an analysis strategy in specific regions of the object study with X-ray spectrometers (fluorescence and diffraction), infrared light (FTIR), Raman and reflectance (FORS), among others.
These equipments have been used in the study of iconic objects of Mexican cultural heritage from the pre-Hispanic period to modern art, including pieces of green and turquoise stone, gold and copper, pre-Hispanic and colonial codex, textiles, mural painting, panel and easel painting from the colonial period and the 19th century, European and colonial manuscripts, and prints from various times.
