Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

Jans, Miranda E.; Nielsen-Marsh, Christina M.; Smith, Colin; Collins, Matthew J.; Kars, H.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2003.07.007

Cited by 327 publications

(333 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Histological degradation was consistent with Hackett's (1981, 250) non-Wedl MFD (bacterial bioerosion) in all cases (Jans et al 2004). Variation in bacterial bioerosion has been linked to early taphonomic processes which affect the level of putrefactive decomposition undergone by a skeleton (Jans et al 2004;Nielsen-Marsh et al 2007;White & Booth 2014;Booth 2015). Bones retrieved as part of articulated complete skeletons are usually extensively bioeroded, as the immediate burial of an intact corpse protects it from rapid defleshing by scavengers, thereby exposing the skeleton to extensive bacterial soft tissue decomposition.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

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Holding on to the past: Southern British evidence for mummification and retention of the dead in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age

Smith

Allen²,

Delbarre

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Recent treatments of burial practices in prehistoric Europe have tended to emphasise the variety of practices that are apparent in any given period; contra previous views which tended to emphasise homogeneity over time. In the spirit of more recent considerations that emphasise a more holistic approach, the current article presents investigations of human remains interred within and around a single monument at Cranborne Chase, Dorset, UK. By taking a synthetic approach giving equal weight to taphonomy, archaeothanatology, histological analysis, scanning electron microscopy, micro-CT scanning, experimentation and contextual dating, a more nuanced picture has been revealed, where the dead were dealt with in ways that were both more complex and considerably more protracted than might otherwise be assumed. In particular, several lines of evidence point to practices aimed at the protracted curation of the dead as articulated bodies with at least some soft tissue persisting. This observation is of particular importance in light of previously published claims for 'mummification' in Bronze Age Britain. It suggests that such practices may have been both widespread and persistent over time. Introduction Traces of a MonumentCranborne Chase is an area of open chalk downland situated in central southern England with a rich and varied selection of well-preserved prehistoric remains and a long history of archaeological study. An area encapsulated by two modern farms, Down Farm and adjacent Canada Farm (Fig. 1b) is among the most comprehensively investigated parts of the landscape, containing a broad range of monuments, burials and occupation evidence stretching from the Mesolithic to the Romano-British period and beyond (Barrett et al. 1991a,b;Green and Allen, 1997;Green 2000;French et al., 2007). During the early part of one of the author's (MG) fieldwalking surveys of the upper Allen valley in Cranborne Chase in 1972 the soil mark of a plough-flattened barrow was recorded on Canada Farm (Fig. 1). This feature lay approximately 20 metres north of the Dorset Cursus (the longest prehistoric monument in Britain at approximately 10km). In 2007 the featured was identified again by a fluxgate gradiometer survey (by PC) which revealed a section of the enclosing ditch and 2 additionally a large central anomaly interpreted as a possible grave pit (Fig 1c). Due to the continuing plough-induced erosion of the area a decision was made to excavate, with the resulting work taking place in 2009 and an interim report following in 2012 (Green, in Jones et al. 2012). The excavations uncovered two phases of ditch which partly impinged on one another. The first phase ditch consisted of a penannular ring with a diameter of 13 metres with a 4 metre wide gap to the west, partly filled by an elongated pit (F7). The ditch was about 1 metre wide with an average depth of 0.4 m. The inner ditch was also penannular in shape with a metre wide gap to the southwest and of a similar width -with an overall diameter of 11.5 metres. The surviving dept...

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Diagenetic loss of bone collagen reduces and eventually obliterates birefringence. Birefringence was assessed here using the Birefringence Index (BI), which records unaffected (1), reduced (0.5) and obliterated (0) birefringence (Jans et al 2004). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holding on to the past: Southern British evidence for mummification and retention of the dead in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age

Smith

Allen²,

Delbarre

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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“…Differences in racemization values between bone and tooth also take place in vivo (Ohtani 1998;Ohtani and Yamamoto 1990b) and must be attributed to the different ultra-structural organization of both tissues, which in turn is responsible for a differential protection against environmental factors. While the enamel protects inner tooth, bone is more porous and consequently more prone to suffer from more rapid biomolecular degradation (Gilbert et al 2005;Jans et al 2004). In fact, several studies have reported better DNA yields in teeth than bone (Kurosaki et al 1993;Oota et al 1995).…”

Section: Differences In Tissue and In Tissue Fractionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochondrial DNA genetic relationships at the ancient Neolithic site of Tell Halula

Fernández

Ortíz

Torres

et al. 2008

Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series

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The extent of racemization of aspartic acid (Asp) -expressed as D/L ratio-has been used as a marker of biomolecular degradation in ancient remains. However, Asp racemization rate is highly variable, and depends on biochemical and geochemical factors. In this paper we aim to determine to which extent the fraction analyzed and the Results show significant differences between the D/L Asp ratios obtained in dentine and whole tooth fractions from the same tooth and individual, as well as among dentine samples from the same archaeological site and among samples of the same age from different, though nearby, archaeological sites. Ancient DNA (aDNA) could be characterized in the majority of the samples, independently from their racemization values, which suggests that other factors, apart from the sample preservation stage, are more significantly affecting the racemization rate. A generalized use of the Asp racemization ratio as a threshold value for ancient DNA preservation needs to be questioned until further methodological standardization is considered.

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“…These processes are complex because they are multi-factorial, non-linear in time and operate in a heterogeneous way and at different structural levels (Hedges 2002;Budd et al 2000;Kohn et al 1999;Reiche et al 2002aReiche et al , 2003Dauphin and Williams 2004;Geigl 2002;O'Connor et al 2011;Godfrey et al 2002;Albéric et al 2014;Large et al 2011;Baud and Tochon-Danguy 1985;Jans et al 2004;Nielsen-March and Hedges 1999;Nielsen-Marsh et al 2007;Collins et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Informative Potential of Multiscale Observations in Archaeological Biominerals Down to Nanoscale

Reiche

Gourrier

2016

Nanoscience and Cultural Heritage

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Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

Cited by 327 publications

References 30 publications

Holding on to the past: Southern British evidence for mummification and retention of the dead in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age

Holding on to the past: Southern British evidence for mummification and retention of the dead in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age

Mitochondrial DNA genetic relationships at the ancient Neolithic site of Tell Halula

Informative Potential of Multiscale Observations in Archaeological Biominerals Down to Nanoscale

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