Igneous petrology Igneous petrology Igneous petrology is the study of igneous rocks—those that are formed from magma. As a branch of geology, igneous petrology is closely related to volcanology, tectonophysics, and petrology in general. The modern study of igneous rocks utilizes a number of techniques, some of them developed in the fields of chemistry, physics, or other earth sciences. Petrography, crystallography, and isotopic studies are common methods used in igneous petrology. The composition of igneous rocks and minerals can be determined via a variety of methods of varying ease, cost, and complexity. The simplest method is observation of hand samples with the
Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge web site for a project entitled "The Human Journey". It aims to "follow humanity from our origins in Eastern Africa and the Middle East to the present day, with an eye to what comes next." Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK) is a non-profit educational charity and publisher established in 1969 by the noted and award-winning psychologist and writer Robert E. Ornstein and based in Los Altos, California, in the USA. Its watchword is "public education: health and human nature information." Robert Ornstein, psychologist, writer and professor at Stanford University,