On the Origin of Natural Bitumen at Yasnoye-8 (Sakhalin Island)

On the Origin of Natural Bitumen at Yasnoye-8
(Sakhalin Island)

DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.1.034-040

V.A. Deryugin¹, S.V. Sukhoverkhov², Yoshihiro Ujiie³, and A.D. Pavlov^2
1Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok, 690091, Russia
²Institute of Chemistry, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. 100-letiya Vladivostoka 159, Vladivostok, 690022, Russia
³Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki, Aomori, 036-8561, Japan

In this study, we analyze samples of a black substance that was used for restoring a Tym-type vessel at Yasnoye-8, Central Sakhalin. On the basis of similar finds from the Japanese archipelago, this was initially assumed to be natural bitumen. However, scientific methods have not previously been used to test this assumption. In addition to identifying natural bitumen, we sought to identify its source. The studies were carried out independently at two laboratories, using geochemical and petrographic methods, so the results may be considered reliable. For the first time in Russia, the method of pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used, along with elemental and petrographic analysis, to identify hydrocarbon from an archaeological site. The results confirm the use of natural bitumen during the Early Iron Age. This can be procured in sufficient amounts on Sakhalin Island. Identification of specific sources is complicated by the virtually complete lack of geological data (bitumen is not mined for industrial purposes). Available materials suggest that the bitumen found at Yasnoye-8 originates from the northern Sakhalin petroleum zone, or from adjacent areas. No relationship to bitumen deposits in northeastern Honshu was found. Nor is it likely that the sample is related to surface hydrocarbons of Hokkaido.

Keywords: Sakhalin, natural bitumen, Early Iron Age, Tym-type ceramics, pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, petrography