LIPIDS OILS, FATS, AND WAXES; SOAP - Archaeological Chemistry - page 316

TABLE 79a Natural Oils

Oil Source Habitat Uses

Nondrying Oils

Olive Olive tree (Olea europea) fruits Mediterranean Food, cosmetic

sea area

Soybean Soy plant (Glycine max) beans China Food

Palm oil Palmtree (Elaeis guinnesis) fruits China, India, Food

West Guinea

Drying Oils
Linseed Flax plant (Linum usitatissimum) Europe, Asia, Binder in paints

seeds America

Tung Tung plant (Aleurites fordii) nuts East Asia Varnish; binder in

paints

TABLE 79b Natural Fats

Melting

Fat temperature (°C) Source Uses

Tallow 42-43 Adipose tissues of cattle, sheep, Making candles,

and other animals dressing leather

Suet 45-50 Surrounds the kidneys and loin of Food

cattle, sheep, and other animals

Lard 38-40 The abdomen of pigs Food, cosmetics

Butter 32-35 Milk Food

Lanolin 38-44 Wool Cosmetics

Waxes

The natural waxes are hard and often brittle substances at room temperature,
which on warming acquire and retain a degree of plasticity, until melting at
higher temperatures. Although they do not feel greasy to the touch as do the
fats, the waxes are lipids and therefore chemically related to the oils and fats.
Some waxes made by living organisms, vegetables as well as animals, are
secreted from the surface of the leaves of plants, the exoskeleton of insects,
the feathers of birds, or the furs of mammals. Some insects, such as bees, for
example, produce wax that they use as a material to build their hives. Most
waxes are hydrophobic (they repel water), and therefore make excellent water-
proofing materials and are used to protect the external surface of many mate-
rials. Many natural waxes are extensively distributed on the surface of the