SEM-EDS study may reveal the nature of the bone black pigment both considering the elemental composition, namely, the combined detection of Ca and P, and the different morphologies that diverse sources and origin of carbon-based material show [1, 2].
Among the portable techniques, FTIR in reflection mode has been already demonstrated a valuable tool for the noninvasive identification of both organic and inorganic materials (including bone black pigments) in work of arts [15, 16].