title: The detection of nicotine in a Late Mayan period flask by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods.
abstract: Several ancient Mayan vessels from the Kislak Collection of the US Library of Congress were examined for the presence of alkaloids. One of them, a codex-style flask, bears a text that appears to read yo-'OTOT-ti 'u-MAY, spelling y-otoot 'u-may 'the home of its/his/her tobacco'. Samples extracted from this Late Classic period (600 to 900 AD) container were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) methods. Nicotine was identified as the major component of the extracts. LC/MS analyses also yielded signals due to nicotine mono-oxides. The identities of the compounds were determined by comparison of the chromatographic and/or mass spectral characteristics with those from standards and literature data. High-resolution high mass accuracy tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectra of protonated nicotine and nicotine mono-oxides were measured to verify and to correct previous product ion assignments. These analyses provided positive evidence for nicotine from a Mayan vessel, indicating it as a likely holder of tobacco leafs. The result of this investigation is the first physical evidence of tobacco from a Mayan container, and only the second example where the vessel content recorded in a Mayan hieroglyphic text has been confirmed directly by chromatography/mass spectrometry trace analysis.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1145 CBIS, 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180, USA. zagord@rpi.edu
authors.forename: Dmitri V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Zagorevski
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Loughmiller-Newman
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology; D001154:Art; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D003297:Cooking and Eating Utensils; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007197:Indians, Central American / Q000266:history*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine