Sticky tape: A key ingredient for mapping artifact origins
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

Researchers at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science in Japan have demonstrated that combining a highly sensitive sulfur analysis technique with simple sulfur-free tape is an effective and harmless way to test extremely small samples of vermilion from artifacts that are thousands of years old. Published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the study used this technique to confirm that trade likely existed between Japan`s northern island of Hokkaido and the western part of Japan`s mainland-a distance of over 1000 miles-more than 3000 years ago.