This section is a compilation of two different
reports, which also cover other materials. PDFs of the full reports
will be mounted soon.
2-8-S-39 & Mondaine Compact
Artifact 2-8-S-39 was the subject of analysis in two
stages. In the first step, it was analyzed for elemental makeup;
in the second, it was looked at in comparison with the Mondaine
compact purchased on eBay for that purpose. The Purdue University
Library Special Collections has among its Earhart holdings a Mondaine
compact which belonged to her and was donated with other effects
to the Library by George Putnam. The small compact we purchased
was new and unused; the cellophane protecting the makeup was still
intact (see photo above). It dates from the 1930s.
From Report 71:
Red Wafer Analysis: XRF analysis of the wafer
revealed that it is primarily inorganic and the major components
are calcium, barium, iron, and zinc (see Figure 1). Strontium
was the only minor component, a geochemical relative of calcium
and barium. The only compounds identifiable by FTIR were clay
and calcium carbonate (chalk, see Figures 2 and 3). While
these are natural compounds, the high barium and zinc content
of this wafer suggests that it is a man-made material and that
it is likely some sort of pigmented material rather than, for
example, a fragment of a brick. Barium and zinc are components
of white pigments/fillers that were commonly employed in the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Zinc oxides, kaolin
clay, iron oxides are common components of cosmetics, with zinc
oxide being introduced in the nineteenth century. No binder such
as an oil, wax, or gum could be identified through FTIR, and
Raman only confirmed the presence of calcite in the wafer. All
of the elements and compounds identified in the red wafer are
consistent with an early twentieth-century cosmetic. The
absence of an organic binder is unusual, but this could be a
result of degradation due to burial/environmental exposure.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
(Click on the thumbnails above to open full-sized images in a
new window.)
From Report 88:
1. Mondaine Cosmetics Compact:
The pale pink ‘flesh’ cosmetic
is composed of zinc, calcium,
potassium, and iron-containing compounds. The main
molecular constituents include kaolin clay (Al2Si2O5(OH4)),
aragonite (a form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3).
The zinc containing component was identified by the fine
structure of the carbonate band in the FTIR, which suggests
that a zinc carboxylate compound such as zinc stearate or
zinc octanoate is present. This type of compound, formed
from the reaction of zinc with animal fats, is a common early
20th century cosmetic component and has recently been identified
in a late
19th c. cosmetic at Winterthur.
The dark pink ‘medium’ cosmetic
is composed primarily of
iron, calcium, and zinc. The main molecular constituents
of this
cosmetic are kaolin clay, the aragonite form of calcium
carbonate, and iron oxide red, which is in part responsible
for its pink color. There also appears to be a red organic
dye present in this cosmetic, and liquid chromatography would
be required for a positive identification of this material.
The metal housing of the cosmetic case is made from brass,
a
copper and zinc alloy.
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Click on the thumbnails above to open each chart in a new
window.
Results and Conclusions
1. Red cake-like material (2-8-S-39)
1. The red interior of this material is comprised of an iron-containing
compound, and the
black crust on the exterior is comprised of a calcium-containing
compound. Raman
analysis reveals that the red compound is iron oxide red, Fe2O3.
FTIR analysis
reveals that the calcium-containing compound in the black crust
is bone ash, calcium
hydroxyapatite or
Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2. Calcium carbonate is also present.
This
suggests the presence of burned human or animal remains at this
archaeological
site.
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14
Figure
15
Figure 16
Interpretation:
WHAT
This
chart is an overlay of four different charts: Figures 1, 4, 5, and
11, above, corrected to the same scale by Dr. Mass. The red in
the chart is from artifact 2-8-S-37, a chunk of red cake-like material.
The green is from 2-8-S-39, another chunk of red cake-like material.
The blue is from the lighter cosmetic in the Mondaine compact purchased
for comparison, and the pink is from the darker cosmetic from
the Mondaine compact. There is a strong correspondence in the peaks
which leads us to conclude that the red wafers are the remnants
of cosmetic.
WHERE
The chunks of red cake-like material were found at the Seven
Site,
a part of Nikumaroro which is remote from the village and the main
traffic of life on the island. There was an attempt to plant coconuts
in the area; we believe that this planting was the source of the
water tank which
first led us to the site. In the spring of 1940 a human skull
was found by a work party. Gerald
Gallagher, Officer-In-Charge, later learned of the discovery
and conducted a search, during which he found the partial skeleton
of a castaway.
WHO
I-Kiribati women did not use cosmetics in the 1930s, and certainly
not in colors related to European skin tones. During the Colonial
period, very few European women visited Nikumaroro, and
none is known to have visited the Seven Site. The Coast
Guard personnel did visit the site, but none has reported any use
of makeup or other material which might mimic makeup. This leaves
the castaway.
Object Descriptions and Reason for Analysis
• OBJECT DESCRIPTIONS (form, material, color, etc): The
objects submitted for analysis are
archaeological material excavated from the Republic of Kiribati
and reference material related to
the Kiribati artifacts. They include: artifact 2-8-S-37, a red
wafer; artifact 2-8-S-39 (a dark red flat cake with a black crust),
and a Mondaine cosmetic case containing two items, a
dark pink rouge labeled ‘Medium’ and a very pale pink
pressed foundation powder labeled
‘flesh’.
• REASON FOR ANALYSIS: Could these objects have an early
twentieth-century American
provenance? Could they have been manufactured prior to 7/2/37?
Specific questions include: Is
the composition of the red concretion consistent with that of a
cosmetic? If so, is its composition
consistent with an early twentieth-century provenance? What is
the composition of the two
cosmetics in the Mondaine compact? How do they relate to the composition
of the red cake-like
material found on the Kiribati site?
• SAMPLING: Microgram sized samples were removed from the ‘medium’ and ‘flesh’ powders
in
the compact for FTIR and Raman analysis using a #11 steel scalpel
blade. Samples were
removed from the black concretion on the red cake for FTIR analysis
also using a size 11 steel
scalpel blade. All samples for chemical analysis were transferred
to glass containers to prevent
contamination prior to analysis. All other analyses were performed
nondestructively.
• ANALYSIS PROTOCOL: X-ray fluorescence analysis
was used to identify the elemental
compositions of the red cakes and the
Mondaine compact contents. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR) was used to identify
the molecular composition of the Mondaine compact contents and
the black crust on the red cake. Raman spectroscopy
was used to identify the
molecular composition of the Mondaine compact contents and the
red cakes.
Click HERE for a PDF of Report
71. (2.1 MB)
Click HERE for a PDF of Report 88. (2.2 MB)
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