Structural equation modelling of mercury intra-skeletal variability on archaeological human remains

Archaeological burial environments are useful archives to investigate the long-term trends and the behaviour of mer-cury. In order to understand the relationship between mercury, skeletons and soil, we applied Partial Least Squares -Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to a detailed, multisampling (n = 73 bone samples +37 soil samples) design of two archaeological graves dating to the 6th to 7th centuries CE (A Lanzada site, NW Spain). Mercury content was assessed using a DMA-80, and data about bone structure and the grave soil/sediments were obtained using FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The theoretical model is supported by proxies of bone structure, grave soil/sediments, and location of the bone within the skeleton. The general model explained 61 % of mercury variance. Additionally, Partial Least Square - Prediction Oriented Segmentation (PLS-POS) was also used to check for segmentation in the dataset. POS re-vealed two group of samples depending on the bone phase (hydroxyapatite or collagen) controlling the Hg content, and the corresponding models explained 86 % and 76 % of Hg variance, respectively. The results suggest that mercury behaviour in the graves is complex, and that mercury concentrations were influenced by i) the ante-mortem status of the bone matrix, related to the weight of each bone phase; ii) post-mortem evolution of bone crystallinity, where bone loses mercury with increasing alteration; and iii) the proximity of the skeletal pieces to mercury target organs, as decomposition and collapse of the thoracic and abdominal soft tissues causes a secondary mercury enrichment in bones from the body trunk during early post-mortem. Skeletons provide a source of mercury to the soil whereas soil/ sediments contribute little to skeletal mercury content.

Automated summary

This study investigated the long-term trends and behavior of mercury in archaeological burial environments. The findings revealed that mercury behavior in graves is complex and influenced by factors such as bone structure, grave soil/sediments, and location within the skeleton. Skeletons contribute to soil mercury content, while soil/sediments have a minimal impact on skeletal mercury content.