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Vol.:(0123456789)Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (2025) 32:58https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-025-09729-1RESEARCHIdentifying Archaeological Bone and Antler and Methods to Soften Them Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy: Test StudiesGrzegorz Osipowicz 1  · Aleksandra Lisowska?Gaczorek 2  · Mariusz Bosiak 3  · Ryszard Grygiel 4  · Krzysztof Szostek 2 Accepted: 14 July 2025 / Published online: 2 August 2025 © The Author(s) 2025AbstractThis article reports test studies on the potential application of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (hereafter FTIR) for distinguishing artefacts made from the bone and antler of European cervids (Cervidae). The research was based on contemporary (reference) samples from red deer, roe deer, moose, and reindeer, as well as archaeological material from the Upper Paleolithic to modern times, from Poland and Lithuania. The study also considered the potential impact of bone-softening methods on FTIR results by analysing experimental samples softened by soaking in water, sour milk, sorrel, urine, and lye. Although the study is preliminary and requires further verif i cation, we hypothesise that it is possible to identify con-temporary and archaeological bone and antler (including softened material) using FTIR; the method may also be used to identify certain bone-softening techniques.Keywords FTIR · Bone · Antler · Cervidae · Softening · Poland · Lithuania * Aleksandra Lisowska-Gaczorek a.lisowska-gaczorek@uksw.edu.pl1 Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland2 Institute of Biological Sciences, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland3 Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland4 Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, ?ód?, Poland