A Pilot Study in The Application of HPLC-DAD-MS and IRMS In the Analysis of Textile Fibres from the National Gallery of Australia and Archaeological Site Caleta Vitor, Northern Chile

Summary

This pilot study details the application and results of three dye extraction methods, High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detection (HPLC-DAD), Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) on camelid fibres extracted from archaeological textiles from Chile and Peru.

Dye analysis comprised correlating compounds identified by LCMS to data recorded on HPLC-DAD and finding known natural dye components which matched our results. Several natural dye materials were identified.

Using stable isotopic analysis of Carbon and Nitrogen in keratin from camelid wool used to create textiles, it was possible to determine the diet of these animals and by extension, the way in which they were husbanded and grazed.

δ15N were varied but fall within the typical reported plant range. δ13C of the samples is uniform and representative of camelids eating a diet of C3 (wild) plants. δ15N variability may be the result of several environmental factors including salinity and aridity, seasonality or husbandry practices. δ13C of the samples is more uniform and representative of camelids grazing on C3 plants, likely in coastal valleys, while enriched δ15N samples may be representative of animals grazing in the lomas or areas affected by guano, or saline grazing areas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage