Measuring the impact of parchment production on skin collagen stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) values

Sean Doherty; Michelle Marie Alexander; Jirí Vnoucek; Jason Newton; Matthew James Collins

doi:10.1080/20548923.2020.1868132

Measuring the impact of parchment production on skin collagen stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) values

Sean Doherty, Michelle Marie Alexander, Jirí Vnoucek, Jason Newton, Matthew James Collins

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Parchment is one of the most abundant resources in archives across the world, and is a unique time- sensitive material through which centuries of livestock economies, trade and craft can be explored. We examine the impact of structural and chemical modifications during production to δ 13 C and δ 15 N values in the skin, particularly the removal of cutaneous keratins and lipids and the conversion of amide functional groups into carboxyl groups through alkaline hydrolysis. Through the manufacture of fifty-one parchment skins (sheep, goat, calf and pig) using both historic and modern manufacturing techniques, we found production resulted in a small enrichment in 13 C (average +0.12‰) and 15 N (+0.26‰). Our results pave the way for the isotopic analysis of parchment in paleodietary and paleoenvironmental studies for the historic period, and establish the acceptable C:N ratios in deamidated collagenous tissues.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-12
Journal	STAR: Science Technology of Archaeological Research
Volume	7
Issue number	1
Early online date	10 Jan 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/20548923.2020.1868132
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 10 Jan 2021

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10.1080/20548923.2020.1868132Licence: CC BY

Measuring the impact of parchment production on skin collagen stable isotope 13C and 15N values
© 2021 The Author(s)
Final published version, 1.75 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "Parchment is one of the most abundant resources in archives across the world, and is a unique time- sensitive material through which centuries of livestock economies, trade and craft can be explored. We examine the impact of structural and chemical modifications during production to δ 13 C and δ 15 N values in the skin, particularly the removal of cutaneous keratins and lipids and the conversion of amide functional groups into carboxyl groups through alkaline hydrolysis. Through the manufacture of fifty-one parchment skins (sheep, goat, calf and pig) using both historic and modern manufacturing techniques, we found production resulted in a small enrichment in 13 C (average +0.12‰) and 15 N (+0.26‰). Our results pave the way for the isotopic analysis of parchment in paleodietary and paleoenvironmental studies for the historic period, and establish the acceptable C:N ratios in deamidated collagenous tissues.",

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AU - Collins, Matthew James

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