Organic residues in archaeology - the highs and lows of recent research

YesThe analysis of organic residues from archaeological materials has become increasingly important to our understanding of ancient diet, trade and technology. Residues from diverse contexts have been retrieved and analysed from the remains of food, medicine and cosmetics to hafting material on stone arrowheads, pitch and tar from shipwrecks, and ancient manure from soils. Research has brought many advances in our understanding of archaeological, organic residues over the past two decades. Some have enabled very specific and detailed interpretations of materials preserved in the archaeological record. However there are still areas where we know very little, like the mechanisms at work during the formation and preservation of residues, and areas where each advance produces more questions rather than answers, as in the identification of degraded fats. This chapter will discuss some of the significant achievements in the field over the past decade and the ongoing challenges for research in this area.Full text was made available in the Repository on 15th Oct 2015, at the end of the publisher's embargo period

Identification of red natural dyes in post-byzantine icons by HPLC

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methodology, combined with UV-Vis Diode Array Detection, is developed for the separation and identification of five reddish natural dyestuffs: cochineal, madder, lac dye, dragon blood, and brazilwood. The method is used for the identification of organic dyes in extracts originating from five icons, four of which are representative for the post Byzantine era (15th to 19th century) and one is typical for the Byzantine coloring technology (created at the 14th century). The origin and the nature of the coloring content of Mediterranean art objects, created in these historical periods are not well known. Carminic acid, the main active, coloring, ingredient of cochineal was identified in four icons, including the one of the 14th century. Brazilwood was found to be the only organic colorant in one icon of the post Byzantine era. It was also present, in addition to cochineal, in the icon of the Byzantine period. Further discussion, associated with the dyestuff, origin, is provided based on the analytical results and the available historical data