Journal
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 32, Issue 1, Pages 105-113Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2004.07.003
Keywords
osteocalcin; archaeological bone; bone diagenesis; ELISA; histological index; infrared splitting factor; collagen
Funding
- Natural Environment Research Council [NER/T/S/2002/00477/2] Funding Source: researchfish
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It has been demonstrated that the protein osteocalcin can survive in bone in the archaeological record, and postulated that it has the potential to survive over geological time periods. The precise mechanism for this longevity of survival is not yet fully understood, and has not been extensively studied in comparison to other diagenctic aspects of archaeological bone. We report a comparison between osteocalcin survival and the state of preservation of more than 60 bones from 14 archaeological sites. The amount of osteocalcin, assayed immunologically, was compared with diagenetic parameters that measure: the amount of 'collagen' in the bone, the mineral changes, the porosity, and the histological preservation of the material. The findings indicate that microbial taphonomy and mineral alteration of bone have a profoundly damaging effect on the preservation of osteocalcin. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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