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TGMS analysis of archaeological bone from burials of the late Roman period

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Abstract

The use of thermogravimetric analysis–mass spectrometry (TGMS) to study the state of preservation of archaeological bones has been investigated. As part of a collaborative multi-analytical study, bones exhumed from graves of the late Roman period in France and Italy were examined. A decrease in organic matter for the archaeological bones compared to that for new bone was confirmed, demonstrating that diagenesis of aged bones can be detected using TGMS. Different amounts of collagen were determined for bones from different graves and could, for the majority of specimens, be correlated with the visually observed preservation states.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Dominique Castex and Dr. Henri Duday of the Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passé at the University of Bordeaux, France, Dr. Bernard Farago-Szekeres of Base INRAP, Poitiers, France and Dr. Raffaella Giuliani and Dr. Monica Ricciardi of the Pontifica Commissione Di Archeologia Sacra, Rome, for provision of the archaeological samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Risorgimento 35, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    T. Devièse & M. P. Colombini

  2. Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, UMR 171 du CNRS, Palais du Louvre 14, Quai François Mitterrand, 75 001, Paris, France

    T. Devièse & M. Regert

  3. Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia

    B. H. Stuart

  4. Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia

    J. P. Guerbois

Authors
  1. T. Devièse
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  2. M. P. Colombini
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  3. M. Regert
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  4. B. H. Stuart
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  5. J. P. Guerbois
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Correspondence to B. H. Stuart.

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Devièse, T., Colombini, M.P., Regert, M. et al. TGMS analysis of archaeological bone from burials of the late Roman period. J Therm Anal Calorim 99, 811–813 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-009-0497-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-009-0497-2

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