Exploring Pottery Function and Cooking Practices in Bronze Age Sicily: The Results of High-resolution GC-MS of Organic Residues

Despite the extended application of GC-MS for detecting organic residues from archaeological ceramics, the potential of gas chromatography–high-resolution and accuracy mass spectrometry (GC-HRAMS) has not yet been fully explored. This study conducted lipid residue analysis (using an Exactive Orbitrap GC-MS system) of dolia and jars from two Early and Middle Bronze Age (2200-1450 BC) archaeological sites in south-eastern Sicily, comparing chromatograms obtained by both GC-HRAMS and GC coupled to quadrupole, low-resolution MS (GC-LRMS). The archaeological question aimed at verifying the use of the selected vessels for cooking purposes and exploring hypotheses concerning their employment in different cooking methods (boiling or roasting) based on the analysis of morphological features and burning traces on the surfaces. The results showed clear advantages of using GC-HRAMS in targeted and untargeted approaches.