Bone diagenesis in the marine environment‐I: Characterization and distribution of trace elements in terrestrial mammalian bones recovered from historic shipwrecks

Unlike the chemical composition and diagenetic modification of buried bones, subaqueous archaeological bone diagenesis has not been studied in detail. This observational work presents a macroscopic and microscopic characterization of 11 variably preserved archaeological terrestrial mammalian bones s...

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Veröffentlicht in:International journal of osteoarchaeology 2022-03, Vol.32 (2), p.509-523
Hauptverfasser: Guareschi, Edda E., Nicholls, Philip K., Evans, Noreen J., Barham, Milo, McDonald, Bradley J., Magni, Paola A., Tobe, Shanan S.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Unlike the chemical composition and diagenetic modification of buried bones, subaqueous archaeological bone diagenesis has not been studied in detail. This observational work presents a macroscopic and microscopic characterization of 11 variably preserved archaeological terrestrial mammalian bones submerged in seawater and/or surrounded by marine sediment for 169–347 years. In situ trace element analysis was undertaken to identify geochemical fingerprints of diagenesis. The analyzed bones belong to a collection of underwater archaeological faunal materials excavated from four shipwreck sites. With one exception, all archaeological bones were fragmented, some were also heavily stained, and in two samples, the damage to the cortical layer was extensive. Bioerosion was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and bone trace element chemistry (by laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry—LA‐ICP‐MS) was compared with that of an unsubmerged modern sheep bone control. In the control, several trace elements were low in concentration (weighted mean concentration
ISSN:1047-482X
1099-1212
DOI:10.1002/oa.3072