Pilot study on provenance tracing of cocoons via strontium isotopes

Isotopic analysis has seen significant use in archaeological sciences to date objects, determine their origin, and depict ancient human dietary habits. However, the potential of this technique for provenance studies of ancient silks remains underdeveloped. In this study, we applied Sr isotopic ratios to the provenance tracing of silkworm cocoons. We investigated the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of cocoons from seven Chinese provinces to determine their regional differences. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of mulberry leaves and cocoons in Shandong and Sichuan were analyzed and silkworms were cultured at four sampling locations in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, to determine isotopic signature relationships between mulberry leaves and cocoons. Those results showed that the 87Sr/86Sr signature of cocoons not only reflected regional differences, but also was related to the type of soil in each sampling location from which the samples were collected. It is suggested that the Sr isotope ratios was able to be an effective tool for the provenance tracing of cocoons. The Mann–Whitney test result indicated no significant differences in isotopic ratios between mulberry leaves and cocoons. In other words, mulberry leaves may predict mean isotopic values in the cocoons. No clear evidence of Sr isotopic fractionation was found in our control experiments. However, mulberry leaves and cocoons from Sichuan did not show significant correlation between them, overall reducing the predictive power of the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of mulberry leaf for provenance studies of cocoons. Finally, in order to improve the accuracy of Sr isotope ratios for the provenance tracing of cocoons, more 87Sr/86Sr data should be complemented and the relationship needs to be established between Sr isotope information in more kinds of proxies and cocoons.