MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL IDENTIFICATION OF ORPIMENT IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL MORTUARY CONTEXTS

Journal of The Chilean Chemical Society

SALAS, CRISTIAN O¹  LEYTON, PATRICIO²  PAIPA, CAROLINA³  CAMPOS-VALLETTE, MARCELO⁴  ARRIAZA, BERNARDO⁵  OGALDE, JUAN PABLO⁵  LARA, NELSON⁵ 

[1] Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile;Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile;Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar, Chile;Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile;Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile

关键词: Pigments;    Raman spectroscopy;    SEM-;    EDX;    Chorrillos;    Northern Chile.;   

DOI  :  10.4067/S0717-97072014000300010

学科分类：化学（综合）

来源: Sociedad Chilena de Quimica

【 摘 要 】

This paper reports on an unknown yellowish mineral compound found in an archaeological context from Chorrillos cemetery (Calama, Chile) dating to the Early Formative period (800 - 200 B.C.). We used optic microscopy, SEM, EDX, 1H-RMN, 13C-RMN, and infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy to tease out the chemical and molecular composition of the sample. The microscopic images show amorphous yellowish granulates with heterogeneous chemical surfaces. 1H-RMN and 13C-RMN negative results show that the sample is free of organic matter. The SEM and EDX indicate the presence of arsenic and sulfur in the sample. The IR and Raman analyses suggest the presence of orpiment which is a toxic yellow arsenic sulfide mineral.

【 授权许可】

Unknown