Kontopoulos, Ioannis, Penkman, Kirsty orcid.org/0000-0002-6226-9799, Liritzis, Ioannis et al. (1 more author) (2019) Bone diagenesis in a Mycenaean secondary burial (Kastrouli, Greece). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. ISSN 1866-9557
Abstract
This paper presents the characteristics of bone diagenesis in a secondary commingled Mycenaean burial in Kastrouli (Phocis, Greece) through the histological (light microscopy), physical (FTIR-ATR), and biochemical (collagen) analysis of seventeen human (including two petrous bones) and seven animal bones. Post-mortem modifications in bone microstructure, bioapatite, and collagen were characteristic of burial environments with seasonal groundwater and temperature fluctuations. The two human petrous bones displayed a lack of microscopic focal destruction (MFD) sites and a generally good histological preservation, but although a small sample size, did not show any better bioapatite and collagen preservation compared with human femora. Intra-site variations were defined by three main diagenetic patterns that display differences in histological modifications, crystallinity changes, and collagen degradation. These different patterns were either related to different microenvironment conditions and/or influenced by possible differences in the early taphonomic histories experienced by bones prior to secondary deposition. Further, this study highlights the importance of infrared splitting factor (IRSF), carbonate/phosphate ratio (C/P), and general histological index (GHI) for the qualitative assessment of archaeological bone, and the potential use of amide/phosphate ratio (Am/P) as a collagen predictor.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2019 |
Keywords: | Bioapatite,Bone diagenesis,Collagen,Histology,Mycenaean,Secondary burial |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Chemistry (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 01 Aug 2019 12:00 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2025 17:40 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00853-0 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s12520-019-00853-0 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:149243 |
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Filename: Kontopoulos2019_Article_BoneDiagenesisInAMycenaeanSeco.pdf
Description: Bone diagenesis in a Mycenaean secondary burial (Kastrouli, Greece)
Licence: CC-BY 2.5