Archaeochemistry Techniques

If interesting residues are found by scientists when artefacts are screened in the laboratory, they will be sent for analysis by archaeochemists using spectroscopy and mass spectrometry techniques.

Vibrational spectroscopy (the study of the vibrations of molecules) involves the process of adding energy to molecules and measuring at what energy they vibrate. Two types include Raman spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy:

“So if I have a database of vibrations of a large number of molecules, I can select those that are of interest to me and I can compare it to known samples” (Dr Linda Prinsloo)

“Everything is made out of molecules, and so we can get a profile of the molecular identity of the things that we will find on the stone tools. It might help us understand what the hobbits ate, how they lived.” (Dr Susan Luong)

Multidisciplinary Input

Significant Findings

“So, for instance, if someone were cutting meat with a tool, we would hope to find some remnants of bone, fatty acids, something like cholesterol on the artefact. While if they were working with plants, we would expect to find some cellulose, or ligand, or the ingredients of plant materials on the tools”. (Dr Linda Prinsloo)

Conversation starter

The work of archaeochemists requires a sterile environment, but an archaeological site is far from sterile (see 3.11 Contamination: Refining Methods). In light of this, consider the following questions:

• How do processes of degradation and contamination affect the work of archaeochemists?

• What can be done to minimise these effects?