Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Plates
- List of Figures
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF MUMMIES
- PART II DIET, DISEASE AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT: DIAGNOSTIC AND INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES
- 3 Imaging in Egyptian mummies
- 4 Endoscopy and mummy research
- 5 Dental health and disease in ancient Egypt
- 6 Slices of mummy: a histologist's perspective
- 7 Palaeopathology at the beginning of the new millennium: a review of the literature
- 8 The use of immunocytochemistry to diagnose disease in mummies
- 9 DNA identification in mummies and associated material
- 10 An introduction to analytical methods
- 11 The facial reconstruction of ancient Egyptians
- PART III THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE IN ANCIENT EGYPT
- PART IV RESOURCES FOR STUDYING MUMMIES
- PART V THE FUTURE OF BIOMEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES IN EGYPTOLOGY
- References
- Index
10 - An introduction to analytical methods
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Plates
- List of Figures
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF MUMMIES
- PART II DIET, DISEASE AND DEATH IN ANCIENT EGYPT: DIAGNOSTIC AND INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES
- 3 Imaging in Egyptian mummies
- 4 Endoscopy and mummy research
- 5 Dental health and disease in ancient Egypt
- 6 Slices of mummy: a histologist's perspective
- 7 Palaeopathology at the beginning of the new millennium: a review of the literature
- 8 The use of immunocytochemistry to diagnose disease in mummies
- 9 DNA identification in mummies and associated material
- 10 An introduction to analytical methods
- 11 The facial reconstruction of ancient Egyptians
- PART III THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE IN ANCIENT EGYPT
- PART IV RESOURCES FOR STUDYING MUMMIES
- PART V THE FUTURE OF BIOMEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES IN EGYPTOLOGY
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction – organic methods
Currently, the integration of organic analyses and interpretations with archaeology promises an exciting future. Some of the results obtained in studies undertaken in Manchester on pharmacological applications in Egyptology are discussed more fully in Chapter 13.
The objective of this review, however, is to introduce selected analytical methods to study organic matter in archaeological sites and materials. It is not a comprehensive guide to all techniques. The underlying theme is to guide the interested reader with an idea to be solved towards an appropriate analytical strategy. Following an introduction to sample preparation, the remainder of the chapter summarises general and spectroscopic methods that provide a general indication of organic composition, followed by physical techniques that ultimately yield detailed information at a molecular scale.
This review is based in part on an organic geochemical review by Simoneit and Giże (2000), in addition to those by Silverstein et al. (1974), Banwell (1983), and Peters and Moldowan (1993). Additional inorganic analytical reviews include Pollard and Heron (1996) and Gill (1997). An invaluable laboratory techniques text is Vogel's Textbook of Practical Organic Chemistry (Furniss et al. 1989). Essential data sources are The Merck Index (Budavari et al. 1989), The Chemical Rubber Company Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (Weast 1976), and Internet resources such as National Institute of Standards and Technology and Merck.
- Type
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- Information
- Egyptian Mummies and Modern Science , pp. 133 - 161Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008