Comparison of neutral compound extraction from archaeological residues in pottery using two methodologies: A preliminary study

Abstract

This study compares chloroform/methanol extraction and acidic methanol extraction of neutral compounds in absorbed lipid pottery residues from fourteen archaeological sherds. Previous studies have established that fatty acid extraction is more effective with acidic methanol extraction. This study suggests that acidic methanol extraction of neutral compounds, including sterols, alkanols, alkanes, and terpenoids, is more effective than or comparable to chloroform/methanol solvent extraction in most cases. The acidic methanol method extracts sterols, terpenoids, and alkanes more effectively than or comparably to chloroform/methanol extraction.