Patterns of diagenesis in bone I: The effects of site environments

被引:319
作者
Nielsen-Marsh, CM [1 ]
Hedges, REM
机构
[1] Univ Newcastle Upon Tyne, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, Tyne & Wear, England
[2] Univ Oxford, Archaeol & Hist Art Res Lab, Oxford OX1 3QJ, England
关键词
bone; diagenesis; hydrology; porosity; protein; histology;
D O I
10.1006/jasc.1999.0537
中图分类号
Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
030303 ;
摘要
We have measured a suite of "diagenetic parameters" for several populations of archaeological bones buried in a number of northwest European sites since the last Ice Age. These are: the structural damage due to microbes; changes in bone micro-and macro-porosity; protein content; a measure of the crystallinity of hydroxyapatite as reflected in the phosphate infra-red spectrum peak splitting; and a measure of the carbonate content as given by the ratio of carbonate to phosphate infra-red absorption peaks. The results provide a database that clearly characterises the patterns, which are often site-dependent, of diagenetic change in buried bone. Our main conclusions are that individual site hydrology appears to have a strong influence on the outcome of bone preservation and that porosity is the most effective single diagenetic parameter which both determines and reflects the preservation of bone in the burial environment. Copyright 2000 Academic Press
引用
收藏
页码:1139 / 1150
页数:12
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