[A primary Raman microscopic study of the turquoise and its role in provenance-tracking]

The authors analyzed four modern turquoises from Hubei province and Anhui province by using the Raman microscopic with the samples are gathered on the spot. According to the study the authors discovered that the Raman spectra of the Hubei turquoises with different color but with the same backgrounds of mineral resource and the formation cause of mineral resource and in the same formation line of turquoise mineral resource have little difference. On the contrary, there is a strong difference in the 900-100 cm(-1) region of the Raman spectra between the turquoises from Hubei province and the turquoise from Anhui province which has remarkable different backgrounds of mineral resource and the formation cause of mineral resource. At the same time the authors studied two ancient turquoises to discuss the feasibility of using the Raman spectra of turquoises, the provenance of which is known, as the fingerprint directions to track the provenance of ancient turquoises.