Parchment from different sources has been analyzed by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for determination of Ca, Na, K, Mg, Fe, Cu, and Mn. The LIBS results were compared with results from inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) and good correlation was obtained. Rapid distinction between modern and historical samples was achieved by discriminant analysis of the LIBS data. Animal type recognition was also possible on the basis of Mg/Cu emission peak ratio and Mg depth profiling.