What Happened Here? Bone Histology as a Tool in Decoding the Postmortem Histories of Archaeological Bone from Castricum, The Netherlands
Bibliographic Data
It is generally a challenge to interpret incomplete and degraded skeletal assemblages found during archaeological excavations. Several events after the death of animals and humans, before and during burial, will have influenced the situation as seen upon excavation. This postmortem sequence of events can be calledthe taphonomic history of bones. Taphonomic signatures as detected using histology can provide additional data on deposition/burial and the evolution of the burial environment. This article reports on the results of a histological characterisation of diagenetic alterations in a bone assemblage from the Roman period burial and settlement site of Castricum, located in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. The aim is to assess the relationship between bone histology and known taphonomic events. Both transmitted light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate histological changes.In 1995, the excavation at Castricum uncovered the skeletal material of humans and a variety of animal species that had received different burial treatments. The humans, as well as some dogs and cattle, were buried as complete inhumations. The skeletal remains of horses provided evidence of surface exposure before deposition. In addition, both environmental changes (e.g. variations in groundwater levels) and disturbances by later human activity are known to have occurred since the internment of the bones. Together with the animal refuse bones from the site, this assemblage provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the relationship between early taphonomy, burial conditions and histological appearance. The complex taphonomic history of the Castricum skeletal material was found to be reflected in several characteristic alterations of the bone microstructure such as the extent of bioerosion, cracking, staining and inclusions of framboidal pyrite crystals. This allowed for the reconstruction of a postmortem sequence of events. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Archaeology · Diagenesis · Geography · Paleopathology · Pathology · Taphonomy · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Medicine · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Histology · Paleontology
Bone histology, palaeobiology, and early diagenetic history of extinct equids from Turkey
The effects of freezing, boiling and degreasing on the microstructure of bone
An assessment of the Arabic RH5 Neolithic fishing community’s mortuary practices by examining human rib cross-sections for bioerosion patterns
Evaluación De La Diagénesis Ósea Mediante El Uso De Microscopía Electrónica De Barrido (Meb)
Wrappings of power
Ava’
Testing an Alternative High‐throughput Tool for Investigating Bone Diagenesis
The origin of bacteria responsible for bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure
Diagenesis of archaeological bone and tooth
The Discolouration of Human Teeth from Archaeological Contexts
Comment on “assessing the extent of bone bioerosion in short timescales – A novel approach for quantifying microstructural loss [Quat. Int., in press https
Comment on “Bacterial bioerosion of bones is a post-skeletonisation phenomenon and appears contingent on soil burial” [Quat. Int. 660 (2023) 75–83]
A histological approach to mortuary variability in Early Bronze Age Transylvania
Bone Remodeling Changes in an Individual with Tuberculosis-Induced, Left-Sided Femoroacetabular Joint Destruction, from Nineteenth-Century Milton, New Zealand
Histological and stable isotope analysis of archeological bones from St. Rombout's cemetery (Mechelen, Belgium)
Human remains under the microscope of funerary taphonomy
A SEM-based assessment of bioerosion in Late Holocene faunal bone assemblages from the southern Pampas of Argentina
Assessing the reliability of microbial bioerosion features in burnt bones
Among his fellows cast’
Holding on to the past
A quantitative histological comparison of ground human bone preparation techniques
The postmortem exposure interval of an Iron Age human bone assemblage from Alken Enge, Denmark
Bacterial bioerosion in human and animal bones from subtropical environments (Northern Pampa/Middle Paraná River Basin, República Argentina)
How are teeth better than bone? An investigation of dental tissue diagenesis and state of preservation at histological scale (with photo catalogue)
Burned Fleshed or Dry? The Potential of Bioerosion to Determine the Pre-Burning Condition of Human Remains
Assessing Histotaphonomy
A new laboratory‐based method to experimentally induce diagenetic modifications in human bone tissue using archaeological gravesoils
The Upper Paleolithic hard animal tissue under the microscope
The Hidden Midden
Experimental investigation of histotaphonomic changes in human bone from whole-body donors demonstrates limited effects of early post-mortem change in bone
D visualization of bioerosion in archaeological bone
Micromorphological indicators for degradation processes in archaeological bone from temperate European wetland sites
The influence of taphonomy on histological and isotopic analyses of treated and untreated buried modern human bone
New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain
Contextualising the dead – Combining geoarchaeology and osteo-anthropology in a new multi-focus approach in bone histotaphonomy
Immaculate conceptions
Implementation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems to Preserve Cultural Heritage — Pilot Motte Montferland
Význam histotafonomie a terénní antropologie při rekonstrukci pohřebního ritu kultury se šňůrovou keramikou na Moravě
Theoretical Origins and Biocultural Approaches to Taphonomy in Bioarchaeology
Death and Dichotomy
Releasing the microbes from old bones
Revealing Developmental Transitions in Perinatal and Infant Individuals Through Microanatomical Analysis
The Ambivalent Dead
An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone
Rapid loss of endogenous DNA in pig bone buried in five different environments
Variation in human bone bioerosion during the Late Eneolithic/Bronze Age in Moravia (Czech Republic)
Age at death estimation by cementochronology
Technical note
Are Teeth Better? Histological Characterization of Diagenesis in Archaeological Bone-Tooth Pairs and a Discussion of the Consequences for Archaeometric Sample Selection and Analyses
Substantiating microCT for diagnosing bioerosion in archaeological bone using a new Virtual Histological Index (VHI)
Bone diagenesis in the loess deposits of Central Europe
Bone histology of Smilodon populator and Puma concolor from the Pleistocene of equatorial Brazil with comments on fossil diagenesis
Cartesian Coordinates in Two-Dimensional Bone Histology Images for Quaternary Bone Remodelling Research
Bone Diagenesis and Extremes of Preservation in Forensic Science
Microbial osteolysis in an Early Pleistocene hominin (Paranthropus robustus) from Swartkrans, South Africa
Bone diagenesis in dry tropic forest necrosols
Bone histology of human remains from the Late Holocene of Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina
Bone diagenesis in the medieval cemetery of Vratislavs' Palace in Prague
Bone diagenesis in a Mycenaean secondary burial (Kastrouli, Greece)
How bone degradation, age, and collagen extraction methods affect stable isotope analysis
Scratching the surface? A histotaphonomic study of human remains at Neolithic Çatalhöyük
Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes reveal the human paleodiet evolution during the 8th-12th century in the Venetian Lagoon (Italy)
Bone diagenesis in archaeological and contemporary human remains
The pattern of human bone dissolution-A histological study ofIronAge warriors from aDanish wetland site
Cémentochronologie, précision et exactitude de l'estimation de l'âge au décès chez l'adulte
Histotaphonomic Signatures of Thermally Altered Human Skeletal Remains
Interpreting mortuary treatment from histological bone diagenesis
Pick the Right Pocket. Sub-sampling of Bone Sections to Investigate Diagenesis and DNA Preservation
Diagénesis en los niveles de organización más bajos del hueso
Mummification in Bronze Age Britain
Protocolo para la preparación de secciones delgadas sin descalcificar de tejido óseo humano
Detection of bone preservation in archaeological and fossil samples
Reconstructing taphonomic histories using histological analysis
The speed of post mortem change to the human skeleton and its taphonomic significance
Early bone diagenesis in temperate environments
Microscopical Focal Destruction (Tunnels) in Exhumed Human Bones
Handbook of Archaeological Sciences
Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone
Two examples of biogenous dead bone decomposition and their consequences for taphonomic interpretation
Measurements and Relationships of Diagenetic Alteration of Bone from Three Archaeological Sites
Experiments on Collagen-Humic Interactions
Bone diagenesis in the European Holocene I
The West Runton fossil elephant
Bone Degradation in a Compost Heap
The strange case of Apigliano
The long–term survival of bone
Sub-micron spongiform porosity is the major ultra-structural alteration occurring in archaeological bone
| Unique citing works | 71 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,46 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2026 (14) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 64 |