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The nature of black stains in Lascaux Cave, France, as revealed by surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Author(s) -
MartinSanchez Pedro M.,
SanchezCortes Santiago,
LopezTobar Eduardo,
Jurado Valme,
Bastian Fabiola,
Alabouvette Claude,
SaizJimenez Cesareo
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of raman spectroscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.748
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1097-4555
pISSN - 0377-0486
DOI - 10.1002/jrs.3053
Subject(s) - raman spectroscopy , cave , painting , melanin , rock art , spectroscopy , chemistry , surface enhanced raman spectroscopy , cultural heritage , art , archaeology , art history , optics , physics , raman scattering , geography , biochemistry , quantum mechanics
We used surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy to investigate the chemical composition of the black stains threatening the rock‐art paintings of Lascaux Cave, Montignac, France. The stains are mainly composed of melanin from the fungus Ochroconis sp. and the faecal pellets of the collembolan Folsomia candida . Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a useful technique for revealing the structure of unknown macromolecules in cultural heritage research. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.