parchment

Evidence

"Calcium, manganese, and potassium are elements that always exist in the parchment and can be expected to be present in trace amounts. (p. 81)"

Remarks

The parchment substrate serves as a source of trace elements including calcium, manganese, and potassium (p. 81). Iron gall inks are known to absorb these elements from the parchment, a phenomenon used to help identify ink types via micro-XRF (p. 81, 84). Parchment mentioned in experimental sections was provided by Pergamena and could be sourced from calfskin, deerskin, goatskin, or sheepskin (p. 91).