This dataset was created in the context of the Research Field F (RFF02), Research Field A, and the Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative (PLMPI) at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) and Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’ (UWA).

Manuscripts

Eleven palm-leaf manuscripts presumably from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar were measured between 2021 and 2023:

CSMC, Object No. 1/2014
CSMC, Object No. 1/2017
CSMC, Object No. 1/2018
CSMC, Object No. T 12/2021
CSMC, Object No. T 29/2021
CSMC, Object No. T 32/2021
CSMC, Object No. T 33/2021
CSMC, Object No. T 34-1/2021
CSMC, Object No. T 34-2/2021
CSMC, Object No. T add. 6/2021
Private Collection, MS Tamil 1

Spectra

The spectra were recorded with the portable FTIR spectrometer 4100 ExoScan (Agilent) in DRIFTS mode. The raw spectra are stored as .spc files together with a documentation protocol file (.pdf) on the exact measuring points.

Spectra file names are structured as follows: "Date of the measurement_Name of the instrument_accessory name_no. of scans_name of the manuscript_measurement name.spc"

Date of the measurement: yyyymmdd
Name of the instrument: E for ExoScan
accessory name: DRIFT
no. of scans: 256
name of the manuscript: Object No. (see above)
measurement name: "page image name_page_area_No"

    page image name: e.g. DSC0015
    page: no. of measured page and r,v (recto, verso)
    area: measurement area (leaf, ink, stain...)
    No: number of measurement (on this page)

Interactive visualization

The InteractiveVisualisation.html file is a standalone website that shows the individual spectra and the chemometric analysis of the data. The presented analysis and data should be considered as an overview and addition to the published article and data. Some of the shown data is simplified for this interactive demonstration and may not reflect reality.

The research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC 2176 'Understanding Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures', project no. 390893796. The research was conducted within the scope of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) at Universität Hamburg.