Food and balms: combined botanical and chemical studies from funerary and domestic contexts

Questo studio consiste nell’analisi interdisciplinare di micro- e macro-resti vegetali provenienti da vari contesti archeologici e nell’identificazione dei rispettivi profili chimici. Comunemente, l’analisi di micro-resti quali granuli pollinici, fitoliti e NNPs (palinomorfi nonpollinici), e macro-resti vegetali, come semi e legni, avviene per mezzo di indagini microscopiche che permettono di riconoscere la morfologia e tassonomia della pianta di provenienza. Circa l’analisi dei residui dei materiali amorfi, la loro caratterizzazione si basa su biomarcatori, ossia molecole organiche che servono da indicatori chimici, rivelandone l'origine. Combinando i due approcci, il materiale per la ricerca è stato selezionato basandosi sullo stato di conservazione e sulla disponibilità. Inoltre, dato che il trattamento analitico di manufatti attraverso protocolli di laboratorialo è ridotto al necessario per limitare alterazioni e garantire usi futuri a fini di ricerca o musealizzazione, i campioni sono stati preparati secondo i metodi strumentali appropriati. In rellazione alle delle esigenze specifiche del materiale analizzato, ciascun campione è stato studiato mediante la microscopia ottica, stereo-microscopia e microscopia elettronica a scansione (SEM). Per l'analisi chimica, il residuo organico visibile è stato sottoposto a spettroscopia di trasformata di Fourier a riflettanza totale attenuata non distruttiva (ATR-FT-IR) e spettrometria di massa di gascromatografia a pirolisi minimamente distruttiva (Py-GC/MS). I residui organici recuperati da vasi di ceramica, identificati come contenitori di offerte alimentari, sono stati caratterizzati mediante gascromatografia- spettrometria di massa (GC/MS). Qualora pertinente, la frazione inorganica dei campioni è stata caratterizzata mediante SEM accoppiata con spettrometria a raggi X a dispersion di energia (SEM-EDS) e d diffrattometria a raggi X (XRD). Ciascuna tecnica è stata impiegata a seconda delle esigenze diversificate di ogni caso di studio. I dati acquisiti sono stati contestualizzati alle precedenti condizioni archeologiche e ambientali, nonché dei materiali naturali disponibili, consentendo un'interpretazione completa dei resti vegetali archeologici

Archaeological evidence for the dietary practices and lifestyle of 18th Century Lisbon, Portugal. Combined steroidal biomarker and microparticle analysis of the carbonized faecal remains

The study of the urban context in the contemporary center of Portugal’s capital city uncovered traces of daily lives that were abruptly interrupted and utterly transformed by the Great Lisbon Earthquake on the morning of 1 November 1755. Charred organic residue was recovered from a cylindrical vessel excavated from the storage area of the town house at the Rossio square. The archaeological sample was studied through a multi-analytical approach based on microstructural, elemental and biomolecular characterization by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR), variable pressure scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (VP-SEM-EDS), and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The residue was identified as human faeces collected in the ceramic vessel for disposal, and further analysis provided additional information about diet and the living conditions in the 18th century

Millets and Cereal Meals from the Early Iron Age Underwater Settlement of “Gran Carro” (Bolsena Lake, Central Italy)

Archeobotanical materials recovered from pottery vessels originating from the underwater archeological site of “Gran Carro”, located in Central Italy on the shore of Bolsena Lake, were analyzed to obtain new insight into the agricultural habits present in this Iron Age settlement. The archeobotanical study of cereal remains was combined with analytical data obtained from an amorphous organic residue using optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, ATR/FT-IR and Py-GC/MS. The cereal remains of emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) were identified as the preferred crops used for food and/or fodder at the site. The presence of charred millets, which have been directly dated by AMS, confirms consumption at the site and adds to the little-known background of millet use in central Italy. The find of millets in a perilacustrine pile-dwelling during a period when the water level of the Bolsena Lake was several meters lower than at present, attesting to a general dry period, suggests that the cultivation of millets, complementing more productive crops of wheat and barley, may have been favored by the availability of a large seasonally dry coastal plain, characterized by poor and sandy soils unsuitable for more demanding cereals

A Comparative Analysis of the Anatomical Variability in Pinus brutia Ten. Essential Oils

Pinus brutia Ten. is distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, mainly in Turkey and bordering countries. Pine essential oils (EOs), mainly comprised of terpenoid volatiles, have high commercial value and a wide range of biological applications as repellents, insecticides, antivirals, antimicrobials and antioxidants. The present work reviewed the chemical variability of EOs reported for P. brutia trees and related bioproducts. The major EO components (≥20%) reported were α-pinene, β-pinene and δ-3-carene, which generally comprised 50–90% of the EO composition. δ-3-Carene showed the highest variability, suggesting the occurrence of chemotypes. Assessing the variability of EOs extracted from different tree parts or tree bioproducts can provide useful information for guided P. brutia EO extraction according to its intended purpose

Análise às fezes carbonizadas

Os restos de fezes carbonizadas recuperados na Praça de Dom Pedro IV foram submetidos a uma metodologia multi-analítica para obter informações sobre a dieta e o estilo de vida da Lisboa do século XVIII. Foi feita análise microestrutural por microscopia óptica e microscopia electrónica de varrimento de pressão variável (VP-SEM), enquanto a composição elementar foi obtida por espectroscopia de raios-X de energia dispersiva (EDS). A composição química da matéria orgânica foi identificada através da cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de massa (GC-MS), após extracção de uma amostra das fezes com solventes orgânicos

Archaeological Evidence for the Dietary Practices and Lifestyle of 18th Century Lisbon, Portugal—Combined Steroidal Biomarker and Microparticle Analysis of the Carbonized Faecal Remains

The study of the urban context in the contemporary center of Portugal’s capital city uncovered traces of daily lives that were abruptly interrupted and utterly transformed by the Great Lisbon Earthquake on the morning of 1 November 1755. Charred organic residue was recovered from a cylindrical vessel excavated from the storage area of the town house at the Rossio square. The archaeological sample was studied through a multi-analytical approach based on microstructural, elemental and biomolecular characterization by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR), variable pressure scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (VP-SEM-EDS), and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The residue was identified as human faeces collected in the ceramic vessel for disposal, and further analysis provided additional information about diet and the living conditions in the 18th century