I used a forensic lab and published the results in Historical Archaeology 2006 (3).  You do not need large samples.  Opiates are very hard to lift since they are organic and therefore, break down outside of the body.  People have looked for them in medicine bottles and opium smoking bowls with little success.  The forensic scientist I used basically programmed his gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC/MS) to detect low and/or degraded amounts of an opiate after we broke down fresh samples in the laboratory using fluctuations in temperature and time.  

If you use a GC/MS you need to tell it what to look for.....Kelly Dixon and I were playing around with this red splotch on a lid from a crock she found in the kitchen area of an African American saloon in Virginia City.  We could not figure out what it was....and then, based on the discovery of the oldest Tabasco bottle, we decided to look for hot peppers.   In a forensic lab they do have the ability to search for the chemical that makes pepper spray, which is capsaicin.  The test was positive. We also found lipids in the sample after Dr. G conducted a secondary test.  Based on these results and other contextual information, it was possible that Kelly found a type of spicy meat marinade.  

Julie

--
Julie M. Schablitsky, Ph.D., RPA
University of Oregon
Museum of Natural and Cultural History
1680 East 15th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97403
(503) 319-5777
Home Page:http://home.teleport.com/~julschab/

On Tue, 7 Oct 2008 15:49:22 -0500, Jason Ramsey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I am a lab supervisor working with Shannon Dawdy on material
> from the New Orleans French Quarter.  I was wondering if
> anyone had suggestions on how best to approach possible
> chemical residue analysis.
> 
> We have a great deal of ceramic and bottle glass.
> What techniques are most recommended to explore the use of
> (unglazed) ceramic vessels in historic contexts?  
> And should the contents of bottles only be analyzed in the
> cases of whole specimens or might bottle bases still retain
> detectable traces in them?  
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Jason Ramsey
> University of Chicago
>