Advanced Isotopic Techniques to Investigate Cultural Heritage: The Research Activities at the iCONa Laboratory

Isotopic analyses are useful tools with a wide range of applications, including environmental studies, archaeology and biomedicine. Founded in 2019 at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, the iCONa laboratory specialises in stable isotope mass spectrometry, with a particular focus on cultural heritage. The laboratory performs carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopic analyses, including the most recent advances in compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AAs). In addition to these analytical services, iCONa provides chemical and physical sample preparation for a variety of sample types. This paper focuses on our applications in the field of cultural heritage, exploring how the analysis of stable isotopes performed on archaeological remains can be used to reconstruct past subsistence strategies and human behaviours. We also discuss the challenges inherent in isotopic analysis and recent methodological advances in the field.