Waxes 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. 

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. 

Early records also indicate that cast mouldings were prepared from shellac by the ancient Indians. In Europe the use of sealing wax based on shellac can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The first patents for shellac mouldings were taken out in 1868. 

Beeswax. The most widely used type of wax practically throughout the world has been beeswax in matter of fact, when the word wax is used without further designation, it is generally accepted that it refers to beeswax. Since remote times humans have known the properties of beeswax and have used it for numerous and varied applications. The ancient Egyptians, for example, used beeswax over 6000 years ago to preserve mummies, embedding in wax the wrappings that encased embalmed corpses. They also coated and sealed... 

Millions of corpses, of humans as well as of pet animals, were embalmed and mummified in the period between 4000 b.c.e. and the present time, not only in Egypt but in other parts of the world as well. Ancient Ethiopian tribes mummified their dead in a manner similar to that of the Egyptians. So did the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands, about 900 b.c.e. The ancient Persians and the people of Mesopotamia, on the other hand, preserved corpses by placing them in jars filled with honey or wax to prevent air, and therefore oxygen and bacteria, from accessing the corpses, thus preventing their decay. 

Metal Casting Techniques. Many ancient cast metal objects were made by the cire perdue (lost wax) casting process, which involves pouring molten metal into a one-piece mold and letting it solidify modem fakes are usually cast in two halves that are then joined. A casting fin, or a fine line of filed solder on a cast object, usually reveals that the casting is modem. 

Serpico, M. and R. White (2000b), Oil, fat and wax, in Nicholson, P. T. and I. Shaw, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 390-429. 

Wright, M. and B. Wheals (1987), Pyrolysis-mass spectrometry of natural gums, resins and waxes and its use for detecting such materials in ancient Egyptian cases, /. Appl. Pyrol. 11,195-211. 

S. Charters, R. P. Evershed, A. Quye, P. W. Blinkhom and V. Reeves, Simulation experiments for determining the use of ancient pottery vessels the behaviour of epicuticular leaf wax during boiling of a leafy vegetable, J. Archaeol. Sci., 27, 1 27 (1997). 

The interpretation of the analytical data obtained from ancient materials relies on a good knowledge of the various natural or synthetic substances that may be involved in the samples investigated. Accordingly, we describe here the main characteristics of waxes, animal fats and vegetable oils, not only from a chemical point of view, but also considering their properties, origin and uses. 

Recent Advances in ESI MS and ESI MS/MS for the Analysis of Ancient Waxes and Animal Fats... 

Lipids represent a remarkable class among the organic substances found in archaeological remains and works of art. They can derive from many sources, including vegetable oils, animal lipids, and waxes, and they have been used in many different ways in art and everyday activities. Lipid materials have been used extensively by ancient and modern populations as food, illuminants, waterproofing materials, binders, ingredients in medicines, cosmetics and balms. 

Evershed R.P., Heron C., Goad L.J., Epicuticular wax components preserved in potsherds as chemical indicators of leafy vegetables in ancient diets, Antiquity, 1991, 65, 540 544. 

The potential for the preservation of lipids is relatively high since by definition they are hydrophobic and not susceptible to hydrolysis by water, unlike most amino acids and DNA. A wide range of fatty acids, sterols, acylglycerols, and wax esters have been identified in visible surface debris on pottery fragments or as residues absorbed into the permeable ceramic matrix. Isolation of lipids from these matrices is achieved by solvent extraction of powdered samples and analysis is often by the powerful and sensitive technique of combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS see Section 8.4). This approach has been successfully used for the identification of ancient lipid residues, contributing to the study of artifact... 

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