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James Enterline wrote:
The answer may simply be that nobody has done a determinative test
for tannic acid.
Both FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, which have been used on the Vinland
Map ink, are theoretically able to do the job, but neither of the
analysts responsible reported relevant peaks.
This may be simply because neither were looking for such peaks. This
is the whole reason I keep saying that someone should do my experiment
with a more open mind. Farther on this right below.
Given my level of ignorance, exactly what would the presence of tannic
acid prove, since it is a ubiquitous product of the breakdown of
vegetable tannins, used in various methods (and for various reasons) for
the preparation of parchment
(http://www.sca.org.au/scribe/articles/parchment.htm). I am losing the
forest for the trees here, and I recognize that this is something of a
complex subject.
Joel Kovarsky
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