Programm Winter Semester 2026–2027

Laura Antonella Buongarzoni (National University of San Martín, Argentina; University of Tübingen, Germany)

Capturing semi-volatile organic compounds from archaeological samples with vacuum-assisted HS-SPME

Abstract:

Organic residues preserved in archaeological materials, such as resins, tars, balms and food residues in pottery, carry valuable information about past technologies, ritual practices and daily life. Their analysis, however, often relies on exhaustive solvent extraction, which requires relatively large amounts of sample, time and solvents. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) offers a complementary, solvent-free and minimally invasive alternative: a coated fibre collects volatile and semi-volatile compounds directly from the headspace above a small sample, and these are then analysed by GC-MS.
In this talk, I will introduce the principles of HS-SPME and discuss its potential and limitations for archaeological research. I will then present preliminary experiments in which we explored vacuum-assisted HS-SPME (Vac-HS-SPME), where sampling under reduced pressure accelerates the transfer of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) into the headspace. Our results show promising improvements in the capture of SVOCs from archaeological samples, highlighting vacuum-assisted sampling as a valuable tool for characterising ancient organic materials from minimal sample amounts.

Yasemin Akıncı (Ankara University, Türkiye)

Petrographic analysis of the pottery from the Hittite city of Šapinuwa (Ortaköy/Çorum) in Central Anatolia

Dr. Eirini Koutouvaki (University of Tübingen, Germany)

Archaeometric and experimental approaches to painted ceramics from the Halil Rud Valley, Iran (late 5th-mid 3rd millennium BCE)

Dr. Jelena Živković (University of Tübingen, Germany)

Tracing connectivity via ceramic technology in the Middle Danube Region during the Ottoman period

Timon Zirlawagen (University of Tübingen, Germany)

Human dietary strategies during the Younger Dryas: stable isotope evidence from the Epipaleolithic site of Les Iboussières (France)

Giulia Deimichei (University of Tübingen, Germany)

A technological study of mixed ceramic assemblages: the case of Gradište-Idjoš

Baptiste Solard (University of Tübingen, Germany)

Over the rainbow: pigment production for opaque coloured glass in 7th-century Zurich