Book excerpt: Many areas of material science have been transformed by the use of synchrotron radiation X-rays, including the fields of cultural heritage materials and biomineralization. This book presents a selection of contributions that illustrate recent developments and applications of these tools, focused either on the main techniques used in the cultural heritage and biomineralization communities or on specific materials, studying their intrinsic properties or how they change with time. Each chapter can be read alone, and each individually demonstrates the intimate links between materials and methods. The chapters explore the main principles of synchrotron radiation, as well as techniques based on X-ray absorption and diffraction, and give an overview of how these approaches have developed in recent decades in the field of cultural heritage, with specific examples such as ancient ceramics, corrosion of iron-based materials, concrete used in Roman monuments and the biomineralization process in sea urchin spines.