Abstract
In this study we investigate pristine and experimentally incinerated bovine bone material with differing annealing times and temperatures from 100 to 1000 °C to analyse the crystallographic change of natural bone mineral during cremation. We used X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as complementary methods. We observe a structural change of bone mineral during cremation. Our study highlights that there are only few or even no hydroxyl ions in pristine bone mineral (bioapatite), which is a carbonate-hydro-apatite rather than a hydroxyapatite. A significant recrystallization reaction from bioapatite to hydroxyapatite takes place at elevated temperatures from 700 °C (after 30 min cremation time). This process is associated with a significant increase of crystallite size, and it involves an increase of hydroxyl in the apatite lattice that goes along with a depletion of water and carbonate contents during cremation. Our first results highlight the importance of both time and temperature on the recrystallization reaction during cremation.
Highlights
The Forschergruppe FOR 1670 project on human transalpine mobility in the Late Bronze Age to Early Roman times performs isotope studies on archaeological bone finds
To understand bone alteration by cremation, we study the evolution of bone crystallography and crystallite size as a function of cremation temperature and annealing time for bovine bone by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction
Mammal bone mineral is a nanocrystalline material consisting of an apatite mineral that is chemically far more complex than hydroxyapatite and can be approximated as (Ca,Mg,Na)10-x((PO4)6-x(CO3)x)(OH1-y-z, (CO3)y, (H2O)z)2 (Elliott 2002; Rey et al 2007)
Summary
The Forschergruppe FOR 1670 project on human transalpine mobility in the Late Bronze Age to Early Roman times performs isotope studies on archaeological bone finds. Mammal bone mineral is a nanocrystalline material consisting of an apatite mineral that is chemically far more complex than hydroxyapatite and can be approximated as (Ca,Mg,Na)10-x((PO4)6-x(CO3)x)(OH1-y-z, (CO3)y, (H2O)z) (Elliott 2002; Rey et al 2007). It comprises between 5 and 8 wt% carbonate, which substitutes in the [OH]− site (A-type substitution) as well as the [PO]43- site (B-type substitution) of the apatite structure (LeGeros et al 1969; Wopenka and Pasteris 2005; Pasteris et al 2012; Yi et al 2013). We want to define more precisely the cremation temperature and annealing time where hydroxyapatite crystallization sets in
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