Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology

Cristiano Nicosia, Georges Stoops, Cristiano Nicosia, Georges Stoops

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781118941089
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Agronomy
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology goes beyond a mere review of current literature and features the most up to date contributions from numerous scientists working in the field. The book represents a groundbreaking and comprehensive resource covering the plethora of applications of micromorphology in archaeology. Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology offers researchers, students and professionals a systematic tool for the interpretation of thin sections of archaeological contexts.

This important resource is also designed to help stimulate the use of micromorphology in archaeology outside Europe, where the technique is less frequently employed. Moreover, the authors hope to strengthen the proper application of soil micromorphology in archaeology, by illustrating its possibilities and referring in several cases to more specialized publications (for instance in the field of plant remains, pottery and phytoliths). Written for anyone interested in the topic, this important text offers:

• Contributions from most of the world's leading authorities on soil micromorphology
• A series of chapters on the major topics selected among the most recurrent in literature about archaeological soil micromorphology
• Systematic descriptions of all important micromorphological features
• Special analytical tools employed on thin sections, such as SEM/EDS, image analysis, fluorescence microscopy, mass spectrometry, among others
• Numerous cross-references
• 400 illustrated full-colour plates

The resource provides the most current and essential information for archaeologists, geoarchaeologists, soil scientists and sedimentologists. Comprehensive in scope, Archaeological Soil and Sediment Micromorphology offers professionals and students a much-needed tool for the interpretation of thin sections of archaeological contexts.

Part I
Inclusions in Archaeological Soils and Sediments

1
Bone and Other Skeletal Tissues

Ximena S. Villagran¹, Dirk J. Huisman², Susan M. Mentzer^{3, 4, 5}, Christopher E. Miller^{3, 5} and Miranda M. Jans⁶

¹ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

² Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Amersfoort, The Netherlands

³ Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

⁴ School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

⁵ Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

⁶ JOINT POW/MIA Accounting Command Central Identification Laboratory, JBPHH, HI, USA

1.1 Introduction

Bone, teeth and other hard tissues derived from animals are a major artefact class of many archaeological sites. Fragments of these biological components can often constitute a significant portion of the coarse fraction of archaeological deposits (e.g., Schiegl et al. 2003; Dibble et al. 2009; Goldberg et al. 2012; Mentzer et al. 2015). The study of larger fragments of archaeological bone recovered during excavation is a central aspect of zooarchaeological and anthropological analysis. Geoarchaeologists encounter bones and teeth when conducting micromorphological analysis; however, the size of the bone fragments found during this type of study is often smaller than the size of those incorporated into more traditional zooarchaeological studies. Bones in thin sections of archaeological deposits therefore provide a different, but complementary, perspective on the archaeological remains of animals (Estévez et al. 2014). By studying these small‐scale remains of bone in a thin section, micromorphologists can address a wide range of archaeological issues related to human behaviour, site formation processes, taphonomy and chemical diagenesis.

1.2 Micromorphology

1.2.1 Composition and Structure of Bone and Related Materials

Bone is a biological material that is produced by vertebrate animals. In living bodies, bone functions as both an organ and as a rigid skeleton that supports and contains soft tissues. Fresh bone is composed of inorganic calcium phosphates precipitated in an organic collagen matrix. More specifically, bones are generally composed of 20–30% collagen (protein) and 60–70% calcium phosphates (bone mineral), with the remaining <10% comprising a combination of other components such as complex sugars, lipids, carbonates, Mg, Na, trace elements and metal ions (White & Hannus 1983; Posner et al. 1984; Pate & Hutton 1988; Linse 1992; McCutcheon 1992; Currey 2002). The mineral component of bone is commonly referred to as: (i) hydroxylapatite or hydroxyapatite (Ca₅(PO₄)₃(OH)); (ii) bioapatite (a poorly crystalized calcium phosphate resembling hydroxylapatite); or (iii) carbonate hydroxylapatite (Ca₅(PO₄CO₃)₃(OH)) also known as dahllite (Pate & Hutton 1988; Linse 1992; McCutcheon 1992; White & Hannus, 1983; Stiner et al., 1995; Karkanas et al. 2000; Hedges, 2002; Berna et al. 2004; Trueman et al. 2004; Smith et al. 2007). In reality, bone mineral is difficult to characterize. Mineralogical analyses reveal that pure hydroxylapatite is never actually found in bone or teeth, thus Weiner (2010) argues that this term should be reserved for geogenic, noncarbonated forms of apatite. Furthermore, the mineral dahllite is no longer recognized by the International Mineralogical Association. Therefore, despite the general inconsistencies found in the literature regarding bone mineral, the terms bioapatite, carbonate hydroxylapatite, or carbonate apatite are most appropriate.

The same combination of collagen and bioapatite occurs in mammal, bird, reptile and fish bones. The only exceptions are fish of the elasmobranch type (sharks, skates and rays), whose skeletons consist of cartilage containing a different type of collagen (type II) and no bioapatite (Szpak 2011).

Besides bone, other hard biological tissues that can appear in the archaeological record are antler, teeth and keratin structures like horn and hair (of the aforementioned tissues, hair is the only nonskeletal one). Antler is a bony extension of the skulls of deer that has the same composition as bone (bioapatite, collagen, noncollagenous proteins and water – Currey 2002). Teeth are composed of three different hard biological materials: enamel, dentin and cementum. These materials have the same general composition as bone, but differ in the relative proportions of mineral to other components; enamel, dentin and cementum contain >95%, 75%, and 45% carbonate hydroxylapatite, respectively (Provenza & Seiber 1986; Weiner & Wagner 1998; Francillion‐Viellot et al. 1990; Weiner 2010). Horn exists on animals from the Bovidae family (cattle, sheep, goat, etc.). It differs from bone in that it contains keratin (alpha‐keratin, a fibrous protein also found in hair, nails, wool and claws) with minor amounts of bioapatite (Hashiguchi & Hashimoto 1995; Salamon 1999; Hashiguchi et al. 2001; O’Connor et al. 2015) or no crystalline phase at all (Tombolato et al. 2010). The hair fibre is made of hard keratin, water, lipids, pigment and trace elements (Wilson & Tobin 2010). Horn, hair and other keratinous tissues rarely survive in the archaeological record unless burial conditions impede biological activity (Wilson et al. 2007; Wilson & Tobin 2010; O’Connor et al. 2015).

In addition to having different compositions, hard biological tissues differ in their macroscopic structure. Bones can be divided into two different structures according to their porosity. Compact or cortical bone has low or null porosity. Spongy bone, also known as trabecular or cancellous bone, has high porosity. The boundary between both types is diffuse since compact and spongy represent a continuum (Weiner & Wagner 1998; Francillion‐Viellot et al. 1990; Currey 2002; Weiner 2010). Spongy bone is frequently, though not exclusively, found in bone epiphysis or inside vertebrae, whereas dense compact bone is found in the shaft of long bones (bone diaphy...