Evaluation of the Deterioration State of Historical Palm Leaf Manuscripts from Burma

Palm leaf manuscripts were a prevalent literary medium from South Asia and Southeast Asia prior to the widespread use of paper. This study focuses on the analysis of historical palm leaf manuscripts from South and Southeast Asia. Sample palm leaf manuscripts from Burma were used as a case study; sim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forests 2023-09, Vol.14 (9), p.1775
Main Authors: Chu, Shimin, Lin, Lanying, Tian, Xingling
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidification
Cell walls
Chemical composition
Cracking (fracturing)
Cultural heritage
Deterioration
Embrittlement
Environmental aspects
Evaluation
Fractures
Lamella
Leaves
Mechanical properties
Microorganisms
Moisture content
Morphology
palm leaf manuscripts
Palms
Pectin
physicochemical structure
Physiological aspects
Polysaccharides
Saccharides
Scanning electron microscopy
Tensile strength
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Summary:Palm leaf manuscripts were a prevalent literary medium from South Asia and Southeast Asia prior to the widespread use of paper. This study focuses on the analysis of historical palm leaf manuscripts from South and Southeast Asia. Sample palm leaf manuscripts from Burma were used as a case study; simulated palm leaf manuscripts were also created as a reference for comparison. The anatomy, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of the manuscripts were analyzed to find various forms of deterioration, including damage, fractures, pollution, acidification, and microbial deterioration. Specifically, the S1–S3 layers of the cell walls exhibited complete cracking, and the S2 layer showed numerous circular or nearly circular cavities caused by microbial erosion, while the middle lamella remained intact. The severe degradation of polysaccharides and pectin, accompanied by an increase in the relative content of lignin, caused the historical manuscripts to become more brittle. Additionally, the tensile strengths of historical palm leaf manuscripts were markedly reduced; their longitudinal tensile strength was significantly greater than their transverse tensile strength. This study can contribute to a better understanding of the deterioration process of historical palm leaf manuscripts and provide valuable insights for their restoration and preservation.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f14091775