Brief communication: Two and three‐dimensional analysis of bone mass and microstructure in a bog body from the Iron Age

Abstract

Human remains from peat bogs, called "bog bodies," have yielded valuable insights into human history because of their excellent preservation of soft tissue. On the other hand, the acidic environment of the peat leads to an extensive demineralization of skeletal elements, complicating their analysis. We studied the skeleton of the bog body "Moora" dated to approximately 650 B.C. Nondestructive evaluation of the bone was made using contact X-rays, peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) analysis, multislice computed tomography (CT) and high resolution micro computed tomography (microCT) imaging. Two thousand seven hundred years in the acidic environment of the bog led to a loss of 92.7% of bone mineral density. Despite this demineralization and in contrast to other bog bodies, the spatial structure of the bones of "Moora" is exceptionally well preserved. We found Harris lines and were able to obtain the first three-dimensional data on the trabecular microstructure of the bone of a young woman from the early Iron Age.

Three-dimensional computer-assisted craniometrics: A comparison of the uncertainty in measurement induced by surface reconstruction performed by two computer programs

“…AMIRA (Mercury computer systems, Berlin, Germany) is a 3D modelling and visualisation system widely used for observation and quantification in several scientific disciplines [23][24][25] and physical anthropology [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. It offers two kinds of surface extraction: one using an isosurface algorithm and the other using a segmented surface algorithm.…”

CT‐Based Assessment of Relative Soft‐Tissue Alteration in Different Types of Ancient Mummies

“…Medical reports are lacking, and our analyses were complicated by various taphonomic factors. Not only does soft tissue become modified during preservation, but also bone and teeth (especially in bog bodies) undergo changes in consistency and structure (Villa and Lynnerup, ) due to the demineralization by tannic acids and other factors (Lynnerup, ; Schilling et al, ). Over time, bone apatite leaches into the soil.…”