Archaeological pottery as a bioreceptive substrata for biodeterioration

PATRICIA GUIAMET; SOTO DAIANA

Manchester

Simposio; XVII International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Symposium; 2017

Archaeological ceramics arematerials of cultural heritage, the biodeterioration of which, has not oftenbeen studied. Thesamples came from La Cuestecilla, Antinaco central valley, La Rioja province,Argentina. They were collected and biological attack by cyanolichens, fungi andbacteria were studied by different methodological approaches: i) culture-basedmicrobiological methods, ii) stereoscope microscopy (Olympus SZX7 trinocula)iii) scanning electron microscope (SEM - Quanta 200), iv) microanalyser energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX, USA) and v) calcographic microscopy (NikonOptiphot-Pol). Archaeological pottery elemental composition analyses by energydispersive X-ray allowed to observe carbon element which is not part of potterymatrix and relate it to biological activity. The bio receptivity ofarchaeological ceramics was verified by petrographic analyses which assessedits mineral composition and pits. Cyanolichens grow on surfaces and edgesof ceramics, was observed a pitting between 0,5-1,5 mm. Inside the substratathe pitting generated by hyphae, is between 0,1-2 mm and  contribute to increase archaeological potterynatural matrix. Heterotrophic bacteria and fungi have frequently been isolatedon this archaeological materials and are known to cause biodeterioration.  This pits could be the origin ofbiodeterioration. Different manufacture techniques make Rustic pottery stylesoften used for cooking and storage are could be more bio receptive tobiological attack than fine and compact pottery used as dishware and for socialand symbolic activities. Consequently the most abundant bacteria and fungi wereisolated and identified in a Rustic pottery