Investigation of Fragments of Lacquer Pieces from Archaeological Sites of the Orgoyton Burial Ground (Transbaikalia) Using Pyrolytic Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

A combination of pyrolysis and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry significantly expands the possibilities of the latter, including for the analysis of macromolecular organic compounds. This type of material includes the majority of insoluble polymers and oriental lacquers used in some East Asian countries, such as China, Japan, and Burma, in creating products for various purposes. Pyrolysis combined with thermomethylation ensures the determination of the type of oriental lacquer and identify other organic materials added to it. This method is of particular interest in studying heavily degraded archaeological lacquer pieces. In this paper, several artifacts discovered during archaeological excavations in the territory of Transbaikalia in the Orgoyton burial ground are studied.