Accessing Hunter-Gatherer site structures using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: applications at a Taltheilei settlement in the Canadian Sub-Arctic

Thermal Alteration to the Body

“…In the field, differences in heat-induced changes to crystallinity have been used in a variety of ways, such as to differentiate funerary practices, identify habitation sites and comment on pyre intensity (e.g. Butler and Dawson 2013;Piga et al 2008;Schiegl et al 2003;Squires et al 2011). Generally these techniques seem to be most powerful when combined with other methods of analysis.…”

The Analysis of Heat-Induced Crystallinity Change in Bone

“…Thus, the study of burned bone using crystallinity measures is useful in many contexts, including archaeology, (e.g., Butler and Dawson, 2013;Olsen et al, 2013;Schiegl et al, 2003), forensic anthropology, the development of biomaterials for clinical and surgical practice (e.g., Figueiredo et al, 2010;Farlay et al, 2010;Nakano et al, 2002;Wang et al, 2010), the formation of catalysts in chemistry (Dykman et al, 1986) and with the processing of waste meat products (e.g., Conesa et al, 2003;Etok et al, 2007).…”

Formation of Biphasic Hydroxylapatite-Beta Magnesium Tricalcium Phosphate in Heat Treated Salmonid Vertebrae

“…Temperatures can spike to 800 °C, usually during the early stages of combustion, while temperatures of 1,000 °C are uncommon 48 . Archaeological research also provides evidence for hunter-gatherer hearths reaching temperatures between 500 °C and 700 °C 24 , 49 . Firing conditions in wood-fuelled hearths would therefore be suitable for driving phase changes in salmonid bones, yet they would not typically reach temperatures high enough to produce dramatic transformations in other types of animal bones 24 , 27 , 36 , 44 , 48 , 49 .…”

“…Archaeological research also provides evidence for hunter-gatherer hearths reaching temperatures between 500 °C and 700 °C 24 , 49 . Firing conditions in wood-fuelled hearths would therefore be suitable for driving phase changes in salmonid bones, yet they would not typically reach temperatures high enough to produce dramatic transformations in other types of animal bones 24 , 27 , 36 , 44 , 48 , 49 . Based on our results, it is not possible for βMgTCP to form within caribou, moose, duck, or ptarmigan bones – all typical game animals in Arctic environments – at temperatures below 1,000 °C.…”

“…Another archaeological implication drawn from our study concerns the use of heat altered bone to estimate the temperatures of ancient fires. Several experimental and archaeological studies have used the height of the CO 3 v 2 peak, the width at half maximum of the PO 4 v 3, the evolution of a hydroxyl group band in the PO 4 v 4 region, and the degree of splitting between the peaks comprising the PO 4 v 4 to determine firing temperatures 24 , 27 , 48 , 49 , 58 . Our burning experiments on fish, mammal, and bird bone show that changes the CO 3 and PO 4 absorbance regions are not uniform across different animals.…”