A multi-analytical approach applied to the archaeological residues in Iberian glasses. Earliest evidences on the consumption of fermented beverages in votive rituals

Wine markers in archeological potteries: detection by GC-MS at ultratrace levels

The detection of organic residues that remain absorbed into the pores of ceramic artifacts constitutes a source of information regarding their management. Taking into account the poor conservation state of the potteries and the low amount of the organic tracers together with the main drawbacks to get the relevant information concerning different aspects of past societies, the detection of organic biomarkers is still an analytical challenge. In this work, an improved analytical methodology to maximize the recovery of organic markers related to wine in archeological ceramics is presented. The developed method consists on the extraction of wine-related organic compounds including tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, citric acid, and syringic acid by means of ultrasonic probe-assisted extraction (UPAE) followed by a preconcentration step by mixed-mode strong anion exchange and reversed-phase solid-phase extraction (SPE) and a derivatization step prior to analysis by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Finally, the method was applied to real archeological ceramic fragments (two dolia), suspected to have been used to store wine, together with organic residues found inside two amphorae from Zaragoza (Spain). Graphical abstract.

Untargeted metabolomics-like screening approach for chemical characterization and differentiation of canopic jar and mummy samples from Ancient Egypt using GC-high resolution MS

Canopic jarsvs.mummies: first time use of modern metabolomic techniques to unravel ancient embalming chemistry.