Preliminary application of the X-rays diffraction technique in experimental study of burnt bones
Received date: 2020-12-18
Revised date: 2021-02-18
Online published: 2021-06-24
Burnt bones are commonly found in archaeological sites and they are significant to a due understanding of the uses of fire by prehistoric humans. Previous studies have shown that the crystalline state of burnt bones will change differently under varying heating intensities. In order to understand whether the initial states of bones will have some effects on their crystalline states after burning, 56 sheep bones were burned in this study. We prepared three different initial states of bones (fleshed, defleshed and dry), and we further refined the temperature and time parameters of incineration. All samples were analyzed by using XRD. We find that the different initial states did have an effect on the crystalline states of bones after their burning, under certain temperature and time conditions. We also discussed the possibility of the application of this discovery in archaeological research.
Key words： Burnt bone; Experimental archaeology; Zooarchaeology; Bioarchaeology; XRD; Bone mineral
Chao HUANG , Shuangquan ZHANG . Preliminary application of the X-rays diffraction technique in experimental study of burnt bones[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2021 , 40(03) : 513 -525 . DOI: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2021.0042
| [1] | Black D. Evidences of the use of fire by Sinanthropus[J]. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 1932,11(2):107-108 |
| [2] | Brain CK, Sillen A. Evindence From The Swartkrans Cave For The Earliest Use Of Fire[J]. nature, 1988,336(6198):464-466 |
| [3] | Shahack-Gross R, Bar-Yosef O, Weiner S. Black-Coloured Bones in Hayonim Cave, Israel: Differentiating Between Burning and Oxide Staining[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1997,24(5):439-446 |
| [4] | Weiner S, Xu Q, Goldberg P, et al. Evidence for the use of fire at Zhoukoudian,China[J]. Science, 1998,281:251-253 |
| [5] | Stiner MC, Kuhn SL, Surovell TA, et al. Bone Preservation in Hayonim Cave (Israel): a Macroscopic and Mineralogical Study[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2001,28(6):643-659 |
| [6] | Alperson-Afil N, Goren-Inbar N (Eds.). The Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov volume II: Ancient flames and controlled use of fire[M]. Springer Science & Business Media, 2010,10 |
| [7] | Berna F, Goldberg P, Horwitz LK, et al. Microstratigraphic evidence of in situ fire in the Acheulean strata of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012,109(20):E1215-E1220 |
| [8] | 高星, 张双权, 张乐, 等. 关于北京猿人用火的证据:研究历史、争议与新进展[J]. 人类学学报, 2016,35(4):481-492 |
| [9] | Gao X, Zhang S, Zhang Y, et al. Evidence of Hominin Use and Maintenance of Fire at Zhoukoudian[J]. Current Anthropology, 2017,58(S16):S267-S277 |
| [10] | Stiner MC, Kuhn SL, Weiner S, et al. Differential Burning, Recrystallization, and Fragmentation of Archaeological Bone[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1995,22(2):223-237 |
| [11] | Herrmann B. On histological investigations of cremated human remains[J]. Journal of Human Evolution, 1977,6(2):101-103 |
| [12] | Brain CK. The Occurrence of Burnt Bones at Swartkrans and Their Implications for the Control of Fire by Early Hominids[A].In: Brain CK. Swartkrans: A Cave’s Chronicle of Early man[M]. Pretoria: Transvaal Museum, 1993: 229-242 |
| [13] | Hanson M, Cain CR. Examining histology to identify burned bone[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2007,34(11):1902-1913 |
| [14] | Shipman P, Foster G, Schoeninger M. Burnt bones and teeth: an experimental study of color, morphology, crystal structure and shrinkage[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1984,4(11):307-325 |
| [15] | Person A, Bocherens H, Saliège J, et al. Early Diagenetic Evolution of Bone Phosphate: An X-ray Diffractometry Analysis[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 1995,22(2):211-221 |
| [16] | Thompson TJU, Gauthier M, Islam M. The application of a new method of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to the analysis of burned bone[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2009,36(3):910-914 |
| [17] | Thompson TJU, Islam M, Piduru K, et al. An investigation into the internal and external variables acting on crystallinity index using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy on unaltered and burned bone[J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2011,299(1-2):168-174 |
| [18] | Schmahl WW, Kocsis B, Toncala A, et al. The Crystalline State of Archaeological Bone Material[A]. In: Grupe G, Grigat A, Mcglynn GC. Across the Alps in Prehistory[M]. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017, 75-104 |
| [19] | Van Hoesel A, Reidsma FH, van Os BJH, et al. Combusted bone: Physical and chemical changes of bone during laboratory simulated heating under oxidising conditions and their relevance for the study of ancient fire use[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2019,28:102033 |
| [20] | Elliott JC. Calcium Phosphate Biominerals[J]. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 2002,48(1):427-453 |
| [21] | Monge G, Carretero MI, Pozo M, et al. Mineralogical changes in fossil bone from Cueva del Angel, Spain: archaeological implications and occurrence of whitlockite[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014,46:6-15 |
| [22] | Greiner M, Rodríguez-Navarro A, Heinig MF, et al. Bone incineration: An experimental study on mineral structure, colour and crystalline state[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2019,25:507-518 |
| [23] | Hiller JC, Thompson TJU, Evison MP, et al. Bone mineral change during experimental heating: an X-ray scattering investigation[J]. Biomaterials, 2003,24(28):5091-5097 |
| [24] | Piga G, Malgosa A, Thompson TJU, et al. A new calibration of the XRD technique for the study of archaeological burned human remains[J]. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2008,35(8):2171-2178 |
| [25] | Rogers K, Beckett S, Kuhn S, et al. Contrasting the crystallinity indicators of heated and diagenetically altered bone mineral[J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2010,296(1-2):125-129 |
| [26] | 张双权, 张乐, 栗静舒, 等. 晚更新世晚期中国古人类的广谱适应生存——动物考古学的证据[J]. 中国科学:地球科学, 2016,8:1024-1036 |
| [27] | Aldeias V. Experimental Approaches to Archaeological Fire Features and Their Behavioral Relevance[J]. Current Anthropology, 2017,58(S16):S191-S205 |
| [28] | McKinley JI. The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Part VIII: The Cremations. East Anglian Archaeology Report NO.69[M]. Dereham: Norfolk Museum Service, 1994 |
| [29] | Forbes G, Sc. B, B, MBC, et al. The Effects of Heat on the Histological Structure of Bone[J]. The Police Journal, 1941,14(1):50-60 |
| [30] | Posner AS. Crystal Chemistry of Bone Mineral[J]. Physiological Reviews, 1969,49(4):760-787 |
| [31] | Jumpei A, Seiichi M. Ca3(PO4)2 - CaNaPO4 System[J]. Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 1968,41(2):342-347 |
| [32] | Piga G, Amarante A, Makhoul C, et al. β-Tricalcium Phosphate Interferes with the Assessment of Crystallinity in Burned Skeletal Remains[J]. Journal of Spectroscopy, 2018, ( 3-4):1-10 |
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |