Nanoarchaeology

Abstract

Nanomaterials (materials containing particles with one or more dimensions in the size range 1–100 nm) were already present in ancient objects, with similar features to currently engineered nanostructures, justifying the so‐called nanoarchaeology of these items. Most of these nanomaterials were included in colored glass and ceramic glazes, with metallic nanoparticles of gold, copper, or silver, but also some pigments were nanostructured, like Maya blue, or some properties of ancient metal alloys were due to the precipitation of crystalline nanophases or nanotubes. Hence, even if materials with nanometric sizes were inadvertently produced during ancient times, their remarkable properties were already well clear.

Three Millennia of Nanocrystals

“…The few mentions that exist are not supported by factual evidence. 45 , 160 The well-known antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles has recently promoted them as a common ingredient in modern deodorants and toothpastes, along with gold nanoparticles. 161 However, the current use of nanocrystals in cosmetics is not only limited to silver and gold: at present a wide variety of nanocrystals are widely used in this industry.…”

“…Several literary sources show how the antimicrobial properties of silver were already well-known from the sixth century BC, when water was often stored in silver containers; for the same reason, silver nitrate was prescribed by medieval doctors for the treatment of wounds. , Despite this widespread knowledge it is striking that there is no evidence for the use of silver in its colloidal form in history, unlike colloidal gold. The few mentions that exist are not supported by factual evidence. , The well-known antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles has recently promoted them as a common ingredient in modern deodorants and toothpastes, along with gold nanoparticles . However, the current use of nanocrystals in cosmetics is not only limited to silver and gold: at present a wide variety of nanocrystals are widely used in this industry .…”

“…In fact, history presents a plethora of situations in which nanotechnology was used in purely empirical and unwitting, though effective, approaches. 45 − 48 During the fifth millennium BC the inhabitants of Cyprus would bleach wool and fleece with nanoporous clay, 49 , 50 while Corsica has a long-standing tradition of (nano)asbestos-enriched pottery as a way to enhance the mechanical properties of clay. 51 The Mesoamerican civilization of the Maya 52 developed two weather-resistant pigments based on the incorporation of natural dyes into nanostructured clay.…”

“…However, as is often the case in science, the use of nanotechnology can be traced back far earlier in time. In fact, history presents a plethora of situations in which nanotechnology was used in purely empirical and unwitting, though effective, approaches. − During the fifth millennium BC the inhabitants of Cyprus would bleach wool and fleece with nanoporous clay, , while Corsica has a long-standing tradition of (nano)­asbestos-enriched pottery as a way to enhance the mechanical properties of clay . The Mesoamerican civilization of the Maya developed two weather-resistant pigments based on the incorporation of natural dyes into nanostructured clay. − At the same time, the Christian crusade warriors could probably not conceive that the superior properties of the Moorish Damascus steel were due to embedded carbon nanotubes, , although this type of nanotechnology was already known and used almost a millennium earlier in India .…”