The importance of respecting the physical and chemical nature of an object and the historical information which it carries is emphasized. Physical or chemical alteration or contamination of the object may jeopardize future analysis and examinations for provenance or technological investigations. This paper gives a brief account of the most common methods used for conservation today. The necessity of approaching a conservation problem as an interdisciplinary discipline is stressed. Treatments should be based on the scientific examination of the objects. Modern techniques used today to assist and guide the conservator include: infrared reflected photography, ultraviolet fluorescence, sodium lamp monochromatic light, x-ray and gamma-ray radiography, neutron radiography, microphotography, thin section and scanning electron microscope examination, and in addition analyses such as microprobe analysis, x-ray fluorescence, PIXE, x-ray diffraction, etc. The above are briefly described with some examples of application. -- AATA