Ancient

Plenary 79. FI G M Edwards, e-mail address h.g.m.edwards bradford.ac.uk (NIR-FTRS). A review of recent applications of RS to archeology—characterizing ancient pigments, human skin, bone, ivories, teeth, resins, waxes and gums. Aging effects and dating possibilities. Emphasizes use of microscopic Raman. 

In the ancient times" the 1950s), data were transferred to computers by using punched cards. But already in 1959 Ascher Opier from Dow Chemical Company reported the use of a light pen for graphical entiy of chemical structures into a computer. Light pens were also used in the Chemical Abstracts Service in the 1970s. 

Natural diamonds are found in kimberlite of ancient volcanic "pipes," found in South Africa, Arkansas, and elsewhere. Diamonds are now also being recovered from the ocean floor off the Cape of Good Hope. About 30% of all industrial diamonds used in the U.S. are now made synthetically. 

L. alumen, alum) The ancient Greeks and Romans used alum as an astringent and as a mordant in dyeing. In 1761 de Morveau proposed the name alumine for the base in alum, and Lavoisier, in 1787, thought this to be the oxide of a still undiscovered metal. 

Gr. phosphoros, light bearing ancient name for the planet Venus when appearing before sunrise) Brand discovered phosphorus in 1669 by preparing it from urine. 

Sanskrit, sulvere L. sulpur) Known to the ancients referred to in Genesis as brimstone. 

Gr. anti plus monos - a metal not found alone) Antimony was recognized in compounds by the ancients and was known as a metal at the beginning of the 17th century and possibly much earlier. 

Anglo-Saxon, Seolfor siolfur L. argentum) Silver has been known since ancient times. It is mentioned in Genesis. Slag dumps in Asia Minor and on islands in the Aegean Sea indicate that man learned to separate silver from lead as earl as 3000 B.C. 

This is a nifty little way to turn catechol or guaiacol into protocate-chualdehyde or vanillin using what is called the Riemer-Tiemann reaction [137 p824, 138], It is a really ancient reaction and only works on benzene molecules that have an OH group. One needs to use KOH instead of NaOH because it is better at promoting para substitutions (don t ask). And if one is going to make vanillin from guaiacol then there needs to be a little ethanol in the reaction as well. 

The important role wines and their production have had in ancient times as well as in more modem periods of history, particularly in relation to science and technology, deserves wider appreciation. 

In addition to its ancient origins, part of the traditional mysticism about wine relates to its euphoric effect. Certainly this would have seemed magical in earhest times. It contributed to involvement of wine in religion, in rituals and in celebration. This fact today is still reflected in the special rituahstic place accorded wines. 

P. E. McGovern, S. J. Fleming, and S. H. Kat2, The Origins and Ancient Histo of Wine, Gordon and Breach Pubhshers, Luxembourg, 1995. 

The flax fiber from the aimual plant IJnum usitatissimum (flax family, Liuaceae) has been used siuce ancient times as the fiber for linen. The plant grows iu temperate, moderately moist climates, for example, iu Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, and Russia. The plant is also cultivated for its seed, from which linseed oil is produced. A by-product of the seed plant is the tow fiber used iu papermakiug. 

Filtration is the separation of two phases, particulate form, ie, soHd particles or Hquid droplets, and continuous, ie, Hquid or gas, from a mixture by passing the mixture through a porous medium. This article discusses the more predominant separation of soHds from Hquids. Filtration of soHd particles or Hquid droplets from gases is dealt with elsewhere (see Airpollution controlmethods). The oldest recorded appHcations of filtration are the purifications of wine and water practiced by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Cake filters, such as the rotary vacuum filter and the filter press, were developed much later from the necessity to filter sewage. 

The very high powers of magnification afforded by the electron microscope, either scanning electron microscopy (sem) or scanning transmission electron microscopy (stem), are used for identification of items such as wood species, in technological studies of ancient metals or ceramics, and especially in the study of deterioration processes taking place in various types of art objects. 

In the eadiest known paintings, the primitive cave paintings, paint was appHed directly onto the cave wall, with tittle or no preparation. As early as the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, however, wall surfaces were specially prepared using a coating of plaster. In time, the refinement and complexity of the preparation layers increased until in the Renaissance several layers of different composition and fineness were superimposed. Other preparations used, especially in the Far East, consisted of a clay layer. 

The use of the various tempera and of wax has been identified on objects dating back to ancient Egypt. The Eayum mummy portraits are beautiful examples of encaustic painting, ie, using molten wax as medium. A rather special variation was the technique used by the Romans for wall paintings. In these, the medium, referred to by Pliny as Punic wax, probably consisted of partially saponified wax. In Europe, wax ceased to be used by the ninth century. 

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