Anika LOKKER
Title
Identification of prehistoric adhesives by HS-SPME-GCxGC-MS
Co-supervisor
Prof. J.-F. FOCANT (ULiège)
Summary
In this PhD project a new, minimally invasive identification method for hafted residues on stone tools is investigated. The focus of this project are stone tools from the Middle Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age. The new identification method employs the headspace (all volatile compounds which are emitted by the residue) of the adhesive on the stone tool which are released when the tool is heated a bit. The analytes in the headspace are extracted with dynamic headspace (DHS) or solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS). The resulting chromatogram gives a complete fingerprint of all the volatile analytes present in the sample. In preliminary studies, it was shown that this fingerprint is unique for each type of glue (e.g., birch tar, pine resin, beeswax) and can be used for identification1-3. However, an extensive library has to be made to provide reliable identifications. This library should include fingerprints of modern glues, artificially aged glues and possible taphonomic transformations and contaminations. One of the main advantages of this new technique, compared with the conventional biomarker method, is that no solvent extraction is needed and thus, the adhesive is preserved on the stone tool. Moreover, GC×GC-TOFMS is more sensitive than conventional GC-MS instruments.
- Cnuts D., Perrault K.A., Stefanuto P.-H., Dubois L.M., Focant J.-F., Rots V., 2018 – Fingerprinting glues using HS-SPME GC×GC–HRTOFMS: a new powerful method allows tracking glues back in time. Archaeometry 60(6): 1361-1376
- Perrault K.A., Stefanuto P.-H., Dubois L., Cnuts D., Rots V., Focant J.-F., 2016 – A new approach for the characterization of organic residues from stone tools using GC×GC-TOFMS. Separations 3(2): 8-10
- Perrault K.A., Dubois L.M., Cnuts D., Rots V., Focant J.-F., Stefanuto P.-H., 2018 – Characterization of hafting adhesives using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Separation Science Plus 1(11): 726-737
