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Bone: Chemical Analysis

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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

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Introduction

The general structure and chemical composition of bone are similar for all individuals, but there is some tolerance for minor variation in the elemental and isotopic composition of both the organic and inorganic components of bone tissue. This variation is tied to the local environment and to the diet. Both trace elements and stable isotopes act as natural tracers that provide information to archaeologists about details of the lives of past people, including diet, place of residence, and migration. Bone is a porous material composed of small crystals of hydroxylapatite. This small crystal size is beneficial in life since the bone is a storehouse for calcium and phosphorus. Bone mineral can quickly be mobilized from the skeleton when needed for physiological functions. From the perspective of the archaeologist, the small and poorly formed crystals are not an advantage because buried bone picks up and exchanges chemical constituents with the surrounding soil and water. Tooth...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    M. Anne Katzenberg

Authors
  1. M. Anne Katzenberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Anne Katzenberg .

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine / Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Soren Blau

  2. The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense, EAAF), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Luis Fondebrider

  3. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA

    Douglas H. Ubelaker

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Katzenberg, M.A. (2018). Bone: Chemical Analysis. In: Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_158-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_158-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51726-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51726-1

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