GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION OF AMBER-BASED ON PYROLYSIS-DATA AND INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY DATA

Geographical classification of amber samples, based on the relative yi eld of 18 pyrolysis products generated through pyrolysing of the singl e samples al 700 degrees C, is discussed, the pyrolysis data being app lied as the input parameters for principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses. For comparison analogous analyses were carried out b ased on the relative intensities of 18 characteristic infra-red absorp tion bands as input parameters. The two analytical techniques apparent ly lead to virtually identical results, although the analysis based on pyrolysis data appears to be somewhat more conclusive. The single amb er samples originating from different geographical locations could cle arly be distinguished through statistical treatment, The possible link age between an amber sample found on the Danish island Fur and samples found in Greenland is discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.