Abstract

In recent decades, ancient parchment study has received much attention. Although the number of parchment studies has increased, there is currently no bibliometric perspective addressing this topic. The purpose of this study was to analyse the intellectual base and academic research frontier using CiteSpace, a bibliometric visualisation and analysis software. We retrieved 164 articles published in print or online as early-access articles between 2008 and 2023 from the Web of Science through a topic search related to parchment. Then, we analysed synthesised networks of co-authorship (authors, institutions, countries), co-citation (authors, documents, journals), and co-occurring keywords were analysed. The annual publication output has trended upward since 2008. Authors based in Italy accounted for 29.3% of the total publications, followed by England (16.5%), and overall, publications from Europe were the most influential. Such evidence also hints at the historical trajectory of the spread and use of parchments. Based on keyword analysis, micro-Raman spectroscopy, Paleolithic bone surface microtopography, European cultural heritage, non-invasive molab investigation and art forgeries are among the most studied methods. The major research themes identified included the characterisation of parchment samples using spectroscopic techniques, the ageing mechanism and protection of parchment paper, the conservation and anticounterfeiting of cultural heritage objects. Emerging themes included proteomic studies and molecular biology analysis. It is foreseeable that future research on parchment or even cultural heritage will be characterised by the tendency toward non-destruction and digitalisation, as well as multidisciplinary intersection and parallelism of multiple means to deepen our understanding of ancient parchment.