Manuscript dating with (cervical) cytology swabs

[guy]

 

Here’s an intriguing article about the innovative use of cervical cytology swabs to noninvasively date parchment manuscripts by detecting DNA. Manuscripts dating as far back as AD 700 have been examined.

Parchment is a writing material made from the skins of animals (primarily sheep, calves, and goats). Although it has been used for over two millennia, parchment slowly replaced papyrus beginning in the second century AD, and by the fifth century AD, it was preferred over papyrus as access to quality Egyptian papyrus was constrained.

 

 

Quote

 

Until recently, an eraser was the only way to collect cellular material without causing damage. By gently rubbing a PVC-based eraser on an artifact, the eraser crumbs pick up cellular material through static electricity. You can then collect DNA from that cellular material. But as you might imagine, the eraser-crumb collection method takes a lot of time—and physical effort.

"It took me two full days of work to test one book thoroughly," Stinson says. "And it's tiring. I basically got tennis elbow—my arm was really sore afterward."

 

 

Honestly, this technique seems simple enough, and I’m surprised it wasn’t used earlier. 

 

 

https://phys.org/news/2025-02-cytology-decipher-dna-parchment-pages.html

Edited Wednesday at 05:32 PM by guy