🎓Development of an innovative method for the non-destructive and rapid identification of Proboscidea ivory

The potential of handheld, non-destructive devices to detect ivory from Proboscidea is developing rapidly, but many research gaps remain. The elemental and structural composition of ivory provides insights into the animals' environments and living conditions, as well as their origin, all of which are highly relevant to forensic science, conservation, and provenance research. The aim of the research project is to use handheld XRF, Raman spectroscopy, and LIBS to generate new knowledge about the correlation between the origin of samples and the material composition of ivory, thereby validating the possibility of widespread use of the method by relevant authorities or museums. For this purpose, literature from the last decade was reviewed, with particular emphasis on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Raman spectroscopy was reviewed. Research conducted with handheld Raman spectroscopy relies on spectral bonds and focuses on species identification and age determination, whereas studies using handheld XRF analyze elemental composition and cover a broader range of topics, including distinguishing ivory from fake ivory, identifying carved ivory, detecting elemental differences in length and in cross-section, and assessing sexual dimorphism. Despite the use of XRF and Raman spectroscopy, a complementary method, LIBS, is increasingly used to link information, verify validity, and make clear statements about a sample's authenticity.