Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34721877›Full record

ArticleHeritage science2021

Scratching the surface: the use of sheepskin parchment to deter textual erasure in early modern legal deeds.

Sean Paul Doherty, Stuart Henderson, Sarah Fiddyment, Jonathan Finch, Matthew J Collins

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Heritage science, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Paleoproteomics.Chemical reviews · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sean Paul DohertyDepartment of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5503-2734
Stuart HendersonDepartment of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK.
Sarah FiddymentMcDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Jonathan FinchDepartment of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK.
Matthew J CollinsMcDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Historic legal deeds are one of the most abundant resources in British archives, but also one of the most neglected. Despite the millions that survive, we know remarkably little about their manufacture, including the species of animal on which they were written. Here we present the species identification of 645 sixteenth-twentieth century skins via peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS), demonstrating the preferential use of sheepskin parchment. We argue that alongside their abundance and low cost, the use of sheepskins over those of other species was motivated by the increased visibility of fraudulent text erasure and modification afforded by the unique structure of their skin. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40494-021-00503-6.

Indexed as

BiocodicologyLegal deedsManuscriptsParchmentProteomicsSheepskin

Identifiers

PMID34721877
PMCPMC8550019

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.