Organic residue analysis of Iron Age ceramics from the archaeological site of Kani‐zirin, western Iran

Abstract

Organic residue analysis of potshards excavated from the Iron Age archaeological site of Kani-zirin, western Iran, was achieved with acidified methanol extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS data showed plant and animal commodities incorporated in the shards. Also, the investigations confirmed the presence of plant resin together with a tartrate ion within a group of the shards, suggesting a probable use of grape-related products. Evidence of resins from the Pinaceae family, as an exotic species in Iran, was evinced in several of the shards.

Micro‐Raman spectroscopy on pigments of painted pre‐Islamic ceramics from the Kur River Basin (Fars Province, Iran): The case of manganese oxides identification

“…The strong, broad band appears over a very wide range of wavenumbers (615–640 cm −1 ). Many researchers have encountered this Raman feature and have assigned it to the black mineral jacobsite which is a spinel Fe,Mn‐oxide (MnFe 2 O 4 ) [19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 57, 62, 63]. Graves et al [58] performed Raman spectroscopy on a synthetic sample and encountered the following bands in the spectrum: 331, 496, 543 and 625 cm −1 .…”

“…A shoulder at 680 cm −1 can also be recognized in many of the spectra (Figure 4a). This band has been identified in literature as being caused by magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) [25, 26, 50]. However, magnetite's main Raman feature is a strong band at ~670 cm −1 [23, 51, 53, 64].…”

“…Manganese oxides' phases have also been identified in archaeological ceramic decorations [12, 15, 18–24]. In Iran, several researchers have revealed different types of manganese oxides as the chromophore for black decoration in ancient pottery [25–27]. Eftekhari et al [26] have analysed red, yellow and black painted Bronze Age ceramics from Shahr‐I Sokhta, eastern Iran.…”

Analysis of organic residues from the Châteaumeillant oppidum (Cher, France) using GC–MS

“…In fact, no visible traces of pitch were vis-ible on any of the studied objects. This analytical technique is frequently applied to archaeological organic residue in order to identify various molecules corresponding to terpenoids, notably diterpenic resinous materials from the Pinaceae family and acid molecules of wine [20][21][22] . The chemical analyses are based on the identification of diagnostic molecules of each natural product.…”