Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T10:06:15.386Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Infrared spectroscopic study of modern and ancient ivory from sites at Jinsha and Sanxingdui, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

L. Wang ,
H. Fan ,
J. Liu ,
H. Dan ,
Q. Ye  and
M. Deng
L. Wang*
Affiliation:
College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, P. R. China
H. Fan
Affiliation:
College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, P. R. China
J. Liu
Affiliation:
College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, P. R. China
H. Dan
Affiliation:
College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, P. R. China
Q. Ye
Affiliation:
College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, P. R. China
M. Deng
Affiliation:
College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, P. R. China
*
E-mail: wangling@cdut.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Ancient ivory, from the Chengdu Jinsha and Guanghan Sanxingdui sites in China, has been buried for several thousand years. In order to determine the degradation mechanisms and to provide a scientific basis for protecting them, these ancient ivory samples have been compared with modern ivory using infrared spectroscopy in the frequency range 400–4000 cm–1. By combining chemical analysis data we compare the crystallinity and crystal chemistry of the apatite component, as well as the structural characteristics of the ivory. These investigations showed that the ancient ivory consists almost entirely of hydroxyl-carbonate apatite as the predominant phase. Compared with the modern ivory, the PO43– and CO32– bands are stronger, the PO4RF values are obviously greater, and an extra OH– band at 3569 cm–1 is observed in the ancient ivory. These results indicate that there is a greater degree of apatite crystallinity in the ancient ivory and also imply that there has been incorporation and recrystallization of CO32– in the apatite during burial. Positive correlations have been found between the apatite crystallinity, CO32– and OH– ion contents, and burial time. The organic matter in ancient ivory has been lost or decomposed as the organic bands (e.g. at 1238 cm–1 and 1337 cm–1) have disappeared. This may be the main reason that ancient ivory is easily dewatered and readily friable after being unearthed.

Keywords

ivoryapatitehydroxylapatiteIR spectroscopyChina
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 71 , Issue 5 , October 2007 , pp. 509 - 518
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bertoni, E., Bigi, A., Cojazzi, G., Gandolfi, M., Panzavolta, S. and Roveri, N. (1998) Nanocrystals of magnesium and fluoride substituted hydroxyapatite. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 72, 29–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blumenthal, N.C. and Poster, A.S. (1973) Hydroxyapatite: Mechanism of formation and properties. Calciferous Tissue International, 13, 235–243.Google ScholarPubMed
Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum (2006) The Jinsha Site. China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 111 pp.Google Scholar
Dan, H., Wang, L., Ye, Q.M., Deng, M., Fan, H., Sun, J. and Yang, Y.D. (2006) Study on the environment of preserving ancient ivory unearthed from Chengdu Jinsha site, China. Journal of Chengdu University of Technology (Science & Technology Edition), 33(5), 1–5 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A. and Zussman, J. (1992) An Introduction to the Rock–forming Minerals. 2nd edition, Longman, Harlow, Essex, UK, 696 pp.Google Scholar
Edwards, H.G.M. and Farwell, D.W. (1995) Ivory and simulated ivory artifacts: Fourier transform Raman diagnostic study. Spectrochimica Acta Part A, 51, 2073–2081.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, H.G.M., Farwell, D.W., Holder, J.M. and Lawson, E.E. (1997) Fourier–transform Raman spectroscopy of ivory: Spectroscopic analysis and assignment. Journal of Molecular Structure, 435, 49–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, J.C., Holcomb, D.W. and Young, R.A. (1985) Infrared determination of degree of substitution of hydroxyl by carbonate in human dental enamel. Calciferous Tissue International, 37, 372–375.Google ScholarPubMed
Fan, H., Wang, L., Deng, M., Ye, Q.M., Dan, H., Sun, J., Song, Y. and Yang, Y.D. (2006) Phases and crystalline characteristics in the ancient ivory unearthed from Sanxingdui and Jinsha, China. Journal of the Chinese Ceramic Society, 34, 744–748.(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Featherstone, J.D.B., Myer, I. Driessens, F.C.M., Verbeeck, R.M.H. and Heitigers, H.J.M. (1984) Synthetic apatites containing Na, Mg and CO3 and their comparison withtoothenam el mineral. Calciferous Tissue International, 35, 167–171.Google Scholar
Hedges, R.E.M. (2002) Bone diagenesis: an overview of the process. Archaeometry, 44, 319–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holcomb, D.W. and Young, R.A. (1980) Thermal decomposition of toothenamel. Calciferous Tissue International, 31, 189–201.Google Scholar
Klein, C. and Hurlbut, C.S. (1999) Manual of Mineralogy (after James D. Dana, revised 21st edition). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 681 pp.Google Scholar
Michel, V., Ildefonse, Ph. and Morin, G. (1995) Chemical and structural changes in Cervus elaphus toothenamels during fossilization (Lazaret cave): a combined IR and XRD Rietveld analysis. Applied Geochemistry, 10, 145–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michel, V., Ildefonse, P. and Morin, G. (1996) Assessment of archaeological bone and dentine preservation from Lazaret Cave (Middle Pleistocene) in France. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 126, 109–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, A.E.W. (1967) Structural and Chemical Organization of Teeth. Vol. 2, Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Nielsen–Marsh, C.M. and Hedges, R.E.M. (1997) Dissolution experiments on modern and diagenetically altered bone and their effect on the infrared splitting factor. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 168, 485–490.Google Scholar
Okumura, S. and Nakashima, S. (2005) Molar absorptivities of OH and H2O in rhyolitic glass at room temperature and at 400–600ºC. American Mineralogist, 90, 441–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pasteris, J.D., Wopenka, B., Freeman, J.J., Rogers, K., Jones, E.V., van der Houwen, J.A.M. and Silva, M.J. (2004) Lack of OH in nanocrystalline apatite as a function of degree of atomic order: implications for bone and biomaterials. Biomaterials, 25, 229–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, W.S. and Liu, G.K. (1982) Mineral Infrared Spectrum. Science Press, Beijing, 508 pp. (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Raubenheimer, E.J., Brown, J.M.M., Rama, D.B.K., Dreyer, M.J., Smith, P.D. and Dauth, J. (1998a) Geographic variations in the composition of ivory of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Archives of Oral Biology, 43, 641–647.Google Scholar
Raubenheimer, E.J., Bosman, M.C., Vorster, R. and Noffke, C.E. (1998b) Histogenesis of the chequered pattern of the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana). Archives of Oral Biology, 43, 969–977.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rey, C., Shimizu, M., Collins, B. and Glimcher, M.J. (1990) Resolution–enhanced Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study of the environment of the phosphate ions in the early deposits of a solid phase of calcium–phosphate in bone and enamel, and their evolution withage. 1: Investigations in the n4 PO4 domain. Calciferous Tissue International, 46, 384–394.Google Scholar
Rey, C., Miquel, J.L., Facchini, L., Legrand, A.P. and Glimcher, M.J. (1995) Hydroxyl groups in bone mineral. Bone, 16, 583–586.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salje, E.K.H., Zhang, M. and Groat, L.A. (2000) Dehydration and recrystallization of metamict titanite under thermal anneal: an IR spectroscopic study. Phase Transitions, 71, 173–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Su, X.W. and Cui, F.Z. (1999) Hierarchical structure of ivory: from nanometer to centimeter. Materials Science and Engineering C, 7, 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Institute of Archaeology of Sichuan Province (1999) Excavation of the Sacrificial Pits at Sanxingdui. Cultural Relics Publishing House, Beijing, 628 pp. (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Wang, L., Zhang, M., Redfern, S.A.T. and Zhang, Z.Y. (2002) Dehydroxylation and transformations of the 2:1 phyllosilicate pyrophyllite at elevated temperatures: An infrared spectroscopic study. Clays and Clay Minerals, 50, 272–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, L., Zhang, M. and Redfern, S.A.T. (2003) Infrared spectroscopic study of CO2 incorporation into pyrophyllite [Al2Si4O10(OH)2] during dehydroxyl ation. Clays and Clay Minerals, 51, 439–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, P., Pan, Z.L. and Weng, L.B. (1987) System Mineralogy (volume 3). Geological Press, Beijing, 734 pp. (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Wen, L. (1989) Mineral Infrared Spectroscopy. Chongqing University Press, Changqing, China, 190 pp. (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zhang, M., Wruck, B., Graeme–Barber, A., Salje, E.K.H. and Carpenter, M.A. (1996) Phonon–spectroscopy on alkali–feldspars: phase transitions and solid solutions. American Mineralogist, 81, 92–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, M., Wang, L., Hirai, S., Redfern, S.A.T. and Salje, E.K.H. (2005) Dehydroxylation and CO2 incorporation in annealed mica (sericite): An inf rared spect roscopic study. American Mineralogist, 90, 173–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, M., Hui, Q., Lou, J.X., Redfern, S.A.T., Salje, E.K.H. and Tarantino, S.C. (2006) Dehydroxylation, proton migration and structural changes in heated talc: An infrared spectroscopic study. American Mineralogist, 91, 816–825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, M., Salje, E.K.H., Carpenter, M.A., Wang, J.Y., Groat, L.A., Lager, G.A., Wang, L., Beran, A. and Bismayer, U. (2007) Temperature dependence of IR absorption of hydrous/hydroxyl species in minerals and synthetic materials. American Mineralogist, 92, 1502–1517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zoltai, T. and Stout, J.H. (1984) Mineralogy: Concepts and Principles. Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 547 pp.Google Scholar