Pyrolysis gas chromatography/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy/flame ionization detection and pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy studies have been conducted on peat samples from a tropical domed peat deposit located near Sarawak, Malaysia, in an effort to characterize the effect(s) that sample location within the deposit (i.e. margin versus central portion of the deposit) has upon the chemical composition of that sample. By utilizing the complementary analytical techniques listed above, it has been possible to monitor, both qualitatively and quantitatively, 59 compounds produced by the pyrolysis of peat. By fractionation of each of the core samples into three separate particle size fractions, the depositional patterns of the peat samples can be traced at the margin and in the center of the deposit. Additionally, plotting the relative FID concentrations of each compound versus increasing sample depth allows tracking of the downhole trends for each core and enables conclusions to be made as to the depositional history of the deposit. These combined data allow for a better understanding of the effect of the various humification processes on individual compounds and compound classes (e.g. polysaccharides). Finally, the effect that these processes have on the chemical composition of various peat types found within the deposit can be gauged.