Robinson, S., Nicholson, R. A., Pollard, M. M. and O'Connor, T. P. (2003). An evaluation of nitrogen porosimetry as a technique for predicting taphonomic durability in animal bone. J Archaeol Sci 30 (4). Vol 30(4), pp. 391-403.
 Title The title of the publication or report |
An evaluation of nitrogen porosimetry as a technique for predicting taphonomic durability in animal bone | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Issue The name of the volume or issue |
J Archaeol Sci 30 (4) | ||||||||||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Journal of Archaeological Science | ||||||||||
Volume Volume number and part |
30 (4) | ||||||||||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
391 - 403 | ||||||||||
Biblio Note This is a Bibliographic record only. |
Please note that this is a bibliographic record only, as originally entered into the BIAB database. The ADS have no files for download, and unfortunately cannot advise further on where to access hard copy or digital versions. | ||||||||||
Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | ||||||||||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
To date, direct measurements of bone porosity have been used primarily to quantify the degree of diagenetic alteration. Qualitative zooarchaeological observations over many years have suggested that, for equivalent burial conditions, the bones of different taxa degrade at different rates, and that, even within a single skeleton, systematic variation often occurs. Given that freedom of access of water to the internal bone surface is likely to be an important factor in controlling the rate of chemical alteration, it is postulated that the initial porosity of a bone may be an important factor in predicting the rate of degradation. To test this, nitrogen porosimetry was used as a technique for comparing the total pore volume and size distribution of pores between a selection of anatomical elements taken from a range of modern animals commonly represented on European archaeological sites. It is illustrated that the bones of modern domestic pig are, on average, more porous than those of other ungulates, and should therefore be likely to degrade faster after burial. Systematic differences in porosity are also shown between different anatomical elements from a single individual and between adult and juvenile bone. However, that porosity measurements are affected by sample storage and preparation methodology, particularly freezing, is also seen. Variations in bone porosity between different skeletal elements and taxa necessitate careful sample selection and matching in order to minimize variation. It is concluded that, despite these restrictions, direct measurement of variations in bone porosity shows good potential for contributing to a predictive model for bone diagenesis. | ||||||||||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2003 | ||||||||||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
|
||||||||||
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
BIAB
(The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
|
||||||||||
Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
12 Aug 2003 |
