Provenancing Plant-Based Writing Supports

Project Group

The Project Group aims to advance understanding of the origins and historical transmission of plant-based writing materials like paper, palm leaves, and papyrus. By employing advanced material-science methods, the group addresses the challenges of determining the provenance of these materials. With a focus on Asian Highland and Southeast Asian manuscripts, the PG plans to develop minimally invasive scientific techniques for profiling such materials. This involves the integration of various cutting-edge methods in microscopy, spectroscopy, microbiology, and data analysis, alongside traditional disciplines like botany and palaeoecology, along with collaboration with DESY for Small and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering. Results will be cross-referenced with codicological, palaeographical and philological data, contributing to the creation of a comprehensive Atlas mapping the historical and geographic distribution of these writing supports. The outcomes will be shared through publications in international journals and at two dedicated workshops, highlighting advances in material provenancing and the reconstruction of the complex biographies of these materials-based WAs.