image/svg+xml
85
XIII/1/2022
INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA
NATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
homepage: http://www.iansa.eu
A look at the region
Five Years of Advanced Archaeometric Analysis at the Department of
Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc
Lukáš Kučera
1*
, Petr Bednář
1
1
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 17. listopadu 1192/12, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
1. Introduction
Organic residues in archaeological fndings are mostly
characterised by archaeobotanical and archaeozoological
expertise and common microscopic methods. For their
chemical characterisation the focus is usually on the
determination of several basic parameters,
e.g.
, total organic
carbon, total nitrogen, and the content of phosphate, sulphur,
sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. However,
a more systematic chemical analysis of organic residues in
an archaeological context using modern analytical techniques
is often lacking (Gofer, 2005).
The residues of colorants and pigments on the surface
of ancient material are studied using various procedures,
as described in several articles (Leon, 2012; Pozzi, 2012;
Parras, 2010). The most frequent techniques are based on
mass spectrometry with various ionization techniques (
i.e.
,
MALDI, ICP-MS, and ESI) and microscopic techniques (
i.e.
,
PIXE, Raman microspectrometry, SEM, and EDX). Some of
these methods are commonly used in archaeology, mainly
for non-organic analysis, for example, mineral composition
of prehistoric ceramics (Santos Rodrigues, 2015) or metal
artefacts (Oudbashi and Shekofteh, 2015). On the other hand,
much less attention has been paid to an objective analysis of
food residues in ancient fndings, although these materials
when studied comprehensively ofer opportunities to obtain
unique information. In many interesting cases, food residues
have been found in localities connected with obsequies and
other ancient mysteries. Chemical analysis can also help to
prove some historical hypotheses, for example, the presence
of garlic in graves as anti-vampire prevention and the use
of various plant drugs (
Cannabis sativa L.
, poppy extract,
opium,
etc.
) in rituals (Askitopoulou, 2002). Perhaps the
most inspirational approach well-worth following was called
the Archaeological Biomarker Concept, as introduced by
Evershed (2008).
In an efort to systematise analytical research in the feld of
analysis of organic and composite residues in archaeological
fnds, a project entitled “Advanced chemical analysis of
residues of organic materials in archaeological context”
was prepared by our team at the Department of Analytical
Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in
Olomouc in cooperation with the Archaeological Centre,
Olomouc, in 2016 and received funding the following year
Volume XIII ● Issue 1/2022 ● Pages 85–90
*Corresponding author. E-mail: lukas.kucera@upol.cz
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received: 10
th
January 2022
Accepted: 10
th
February 2022
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2022.1.7
Key words:
archaeometry
analytical chemistry
organic residues
spectrometry
spectroscopy
chromatography
ABSTRACT
In modern archaeological research, a close multidisciplinary collaboration with other scientifc areas
is necessary, especially with natural sciences (
e.g.
, anthropology, archaeobotany, and chemistry). This
kind of collaboration and mutual evaluation of obtained results provides synergistically a series of
important information in the context of prehistoric research nowadays. This systematic cooperation
among archaeology, heritage science, anthropology, archaeobotany and analytical chemistry has been
intensively developed for last fve years at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
Palacký University in Olomouc. The aim of this short communication is to introduce our workplace
and its activities with a focus on the most important outputs from various areas of the archaeometric
research.
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2022 ● XIII/1 ● 85–90
Lukáš Kučera, Petr Bednář: Five Years of Advanced Archaeometric Analysis at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
Palacký University in Olomouc
86
from the Czech Science Foundation. This project helped to
establish a wider group of cooperating experts from various
areas and institutions: the Laboratory of Archaeobotany
and Paleoecology (LAPE), Laboratory of Morphology
and Forensic Anthropology (LaMorFA), Institute for
Archaeological Heritage (UAPP), National Heritage
Institute (NPU), Institute of Archaeology of the Czech
Academy of Sciences in Prague (ARÚP AV ČR), the Czech
Numismatic Society (mainly the Prague Groschen branch
ofce) and other specialised workplaces. Cooperation
has also been established at an international level, for
example with the University of Wroclav (Poland), Eastern
Mediterranean University (N. Cyprus), National Museum
in Belgrade (Serbia), Klaipeda University (Lithuania)
and the Italian Institute for Conservation and Restoration
under the Ministry of Culture (ISCR, Italy). Subsequently,
a project in the Operational Programme of the European
Union entitled: “Advanced physical-chemical methods of
research and protection of cultural and artistic heritage”
(OA ITI – ARTECA) was obtained and expanded the
expertise of our laboratory to include historical art. The
advanced analytical research is performed using modern
scientifc instrumentation, including six mass spectrometers
with various mass analysers (quadrupole, triple quadrupole,