营盘出土棉纤维和现代棉纤维的对比分析

Comparative analysis of cotton fibers unearthed from Yingpan and modern cotton fibers

对新疆营盘出土14C年代BP 845±40的草棉纤维通过光学显微镜、扫描电镜、红外光谱、X射线衍射等手段进行结构与性能测试,并与现代草棉纤维进行对比,以期建立古代棉纤维的数据资料,对古代棉纤维有更深入的了解。结果表明:出土纤维的形态特征与现代草棉纤维接近,出土纤维的长度为18.3 mm,线密度为0.27 tex,显微镜观察得到的转曲数为53次/cm;出土棉纤维的结晶度和横向晶粒尺寸并不低于现代草棉纤维,说明古代草棉纤维在新疆干燥的环境中保存较好;出土棉纤维的断裂强力与断裂伸长率较低,可能源于棉纤维素平均聚合度的下降。

The structures and properties of archaeological cotton fibers-Gossypium herbaceum-dated back 845 ± 40 years BP, unearthed from Yingpan in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China were examined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction and compared with modern cotton fibers Gossypium herbaceum so as to establish a database of the ancient cotton fibers and have a better understanding of the archaeological cotton fibers. The unearthed fibers have an average length of 18.3 mm, linear density of 0.27 rex, and convolutions of approximately 53 turns per centimeter. The archaeological fibers are found to share similar characteristics with the modern fibers. Both the crystallinity and the crystalline sizes of the unearthed fibers are not lower than those of the modern fibers, suggesting the dry conditions in Xinjiang have preserved the fibers well. Significant reduction in both breaking strength and breaking elongation is likely due to the degradation of the average degree of polymerization detected in the unearthed cotton fibers.