Molecular and isotopic archaeology: Top grade tools to investigate organic archaeological materials

Charrié-Duhaut, Armelle; Burger, Pauline; Maurer, Joachim; Connan, Jacques; Albrecht, Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.crci.2009.01.001

Cited by 26 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…These compounds are rarely detected in archaeological contexts (Buckley and Evershed 2001;Charrié-Duhaut et al 2009). For instance, short chain (C 6 -C 12 ) w-hydroxy fatty acids and a,w-dicarboxylic acids are typical oxidation products of unsaturated fatty acids .…”

Section: Fatty Acid Degradation Productsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, trace amounts of g-palmitolactone, g-stearolactone and equivalent d-lactones were detected in all samples. These compounds are rarely detected in archaeological contexts (Buckley and Evershed 2001;Charrié-Duhaut et al 2009). A reasonable explanation for their occurrence in the present lipid extracts would be their formation from saturated fatty acids by free radical hydroxylation at carbon atom C 4 or C 5 and subsequent intramolecular esterification (Vajdi et al 1979;Nawar et al 1988).…”

Section: Fatty Acid Degradation Productsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular evidence for the mixing of Meat, Fish and Vegetables in Anglo‐Saxon coarseware from Hamwic, UK

Baeten

Jervis²,

Vos

et al. 2012

Archaeometry

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Absorbed lipid residues from 24 seventh-to ninth-century coarseware potsherds from the major Anglo-Saxon trading centre of Hamwic (Southampton, UK) were analysed by gas chromatography -mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to reconstruct the dietary habits of its population. The results show that the vessels were used for preparing ruminant fats and leafy vegetables. In addition, evidence was found for a minor contribution of aquatic foods. Beeswax was found once and most probably relates to a sealing function or to honey. Remarkable features were: (i) the isomeric mixture of octadecenoic acid (C 18:1 D 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 ) and 8-to 16-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid, and (ii) the co-occurrence of C 17:1 , C 19:1 and isoprenoid fatty acids. These features were proposed as biomarkers for ruminant and aquatic food sources, respectively. Furthermore, the carbonyl position distribution in midchain ketones was used to identify mixtures of animal-and plant-derived ketones. The paper highlights the difficulty in interpreting complex lipid signatures that show a mixture of various foods, as observed in the majority of the samples. This was linked to the preparation of stews or the recycling of vessels. The results are considered alongside ceramic usewear data and existing data relating to environmental remains recovered from the Hamwic excavations.

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Section: Fatty Acid Degradation Productsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fatty Acid Degradation Productsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular evidence for the mixing of Meat, Fish and Vegetables in Anglo‐Saxon coarseware from Hamwic, UK

Baeten

Jervis²,

Vos

et al. 2012

Archaeometry

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show abstract

“…The aromatization of unsaturated diterpenoids and triterpenoids by oxidative dehydrogenation is critical for the formation of aromatic biomarkers in the terrestrial sedimentary environment (Otto et al, 2005;Simoneit, 2005;Charrié-Duhaut et al, 2009). Oxic/anoxic conditions are therefore also related to the abundance of aromatic biomarkers derived from angiosperm and gymnosperm plants.…”

Section: Formation and Preservation Of Perylenementioning

confidence: 99%

Differential transportation and deposition of terrestrial biomarkers in middle Eocene fluvial to estuarine environments, Hokkaido, Japan

Inoue¹,

Suzuki²,

Hasegawa³

et al. 2012

International Journal of Coal Geology

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Higher plants constitute a significant portion of sedimentary organic matter in middle Eocene fluvial-floodplain-estuarine sedimentary rocks exposed in the Bibai region of central Hokkaido, Japan. The differential transportation and deposition of terrestrial biomarkers were studied in this area. The distribution of higher plant and fungal biomarkers in the Bibai non-marine sedimentary rocks was constrained by sedimentary facies and lithology.Claystones and siltstones lacking coaly fragments tended to be rich in angiosperm biomarkers, whereas coal and coaly mudstones were comparatively rich in gymnosperm biomarkers.Perylene, a possible fungal biomarker, was detected in fine-grained floodplain deposits.Facies and lithologic controls on terrestrial biomarker distribution can be attributed to the differential transportation and deposition of organic debris and degradation products derived from higher plants and fungi. Redox potential of the depositional environment is another important factor for the formation and preservation of terrestrial aromatic biomarkers.Reconstruction of land-based paleovegetation from terrestrial biomarkers in non-marine sediments requires careful consideration of the differential transportation and preservation of precursory terrestrial organic compounds.

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“…This procedure constitutes a powerful tool to identify chemical markers (biomarkers), allowing us to distinguish resins from different botanical sources, even very faded by alteration processes. Sample 2039, investigated for biomarkers by GC‐MS, was compared with samples of recent dammar s and other archaeological organic samples previously determined to be dammar ‐bearing (Burger et al ., 2009; Charrié‐Duhaut et al ., 2009), to elucidate its molecular composition and to characterize its taxonomy with precision.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The 9th-Century-AD Belitung Wreck, Indonesia: analysis of a resin lump

Burger¹,

Charrié-Duhaut²,

Connan³

et al. 2010

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology

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The 9th-century-AD Belitung wreck was discovered in 1998 in the Java Sea. Construction techniques rapidly confirmed that it was unlike any known Chinese or Southeast Asian vessel. The uncertainty about its origins was resolved in 2008 by timber identifications: it was constructed in the Middle East (probably Oman or Yemen). This paper, on the characterization of a dammar resin lump collected in the vicinity of the wreck, supplies additional evidence confirming the probable re-stitching of the vessel somewhere in Asia.

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Molecular and isotopic archaeology: Top grade tools to investigate organic archaeological materials

Cited by 26 publications

References 46 publications

Molecular evidence for the mixing of Meat, Fish and Vegetables in Anglo‐Saxon coarseware from Hamwic, UK

Molecular evidence for the mixing of Meat, Fish and Vegetables in Anglo‐Saxon coarseware from Hamwic, UK

Differential transportation and deposition of terrestrial biomarkers in middle Eocene fluvial to estuarine environments, Hokkaido, Japan

The 9th-Century-AD Belitung Wreck, Indonesia: analysis of a resin lump

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