Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry

Congratulations to Nunzio Tuccitto, Lara Lobo, Agnes Tempex, Ivan Delfanti, Patrick Chapon, Stela Canulescu, Nerea Bordel, Johann Michler and Antonino Licciardell on their award winning research:

Pulsed radio frequency glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometry for molecular depth profiling of polymer-based films.
(Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2009; 23: 549-556)

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Scientists Confirm Tobacco Use by Ancient Mayans

Archaeologists examining late period Mayan containers have identified nicotine traces from a codex-style flask, revealing the first physical evidence of tobacco use by ancient Mayans.

This study reveals the flask is marked with Mayan hieroglyphics reading, “y-otoot ’u-may,” (“the home of its/his/her tobacco,”) making it only the second case to confirm that the text on the exterior of a Mayan vessel corresponds to its ancient use.

Prior to the current discovery, the only existing evidence showing a Mayan vessel to have the same content as indicated by hieroglyphic text was the identification of theobromine, an alkaloid found in cacao, more than 20 years ago.

“Our study provides rare evidence of the intended use of an ancient container,” concludes Dr. Dmitri Zagorevski from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. “Mass spectrometry has proven to be an invaluable method of analysis of organic residues in archaeological artifacts. This discovery is not only significant to understanding Mayan hieroglyphics, but an important archaeological application of chemical detection.”

Read the study here for free.