Organic compound analysis archaeological materials

Lipids tend to survive better than other organic compounds in archaeological contexts and are amenable to sensitive methods of analysis such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Their insolubility in water increases then-chances for survival. Lipids have been recovered from sediments that are millions of years old and have been identified in materials where no cellular structure remains. Lipids are also important because of their specificity. Certain kinds of lipids differ greatly not only between plants and animals, but among the various families and genera of plants and animals. 

Amino acid Simple organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and in certain cases sulfur. Twenty amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Analysis The search for information and pattern in archaeological materials. 

Chapter 3 on archaeological materials outlines the kinds of objects and materials that are discovered in excavations and used in the study of the past. A subsequent chapter deals with the methods of analysis, the kinds of studies that are usually done (magnification, elemental analysis, isotopic analysis, organic analysis, min-eral/compound analysis) and the kinds of instruments that are used. These chapters include illustrations and examples aimed at nonscientists - to make clear how the characteristics of materials, the framework of methods, and the capabilities of instruments together can tell us about the past. 

The subject of another investigation in the nature of archaeological amber samples (pendants found in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina River) was the fact that a chunk of resinous material found by local residents in the same location was a candidate for the raw material used to make these pendants. Py-GC/MS analysis revealed that all the pendants were made of Baltic amber, and the raw material represented a totally different class of organic compounds — natural gums. Figure 6.10 shows two pyrograms (A for the Baltic amber with a strong peak of succinic anhydride and B for the natural gum with a very characteristic peak of furfural). 

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