Bone diagenesis in the European Holocene II: taphonomic and environmental considerations

We have applied cluster analysis to mercury intrusion porosimetry data from 219 archaeological bones (121 human and 98 animal) and soil chemistry data from 219 accompanying soil samples (1 per bone sample), to investigate the influence of soil chemistry on bone preservation. The samples chosen for the study were obtained from sites ranging in time from the pre-modern to the Mesolithic and were representative of burial environments across Europe (from the Baltic to the Mediterranean). These results represent the single largest database for archaeological bone preservation in the European Holocene to date and demonstrate the potential for large-scale diagenetic studies to help develop long term preservation strategies for our European heritage. Despite the variety of sites and environments, bones could be categorised into only four main diagenetic types. Furthermore, soil chemistry appears to significantly affect only one type of preservation, the pathway characterised by loss of mineral. In neutral to basic soils, taphonomy and in particular the differences between the treatment of human and animal remains, becomes the dominating factor in determining preservation. Using these results, strategies for heritage management of archaeological sites can be suggested; grouping sites into those requiring immediate excavation and those where in situ preservation is viable.     

Are Teeth Better? Histological Characterization of Diagenesis in Archaeological Bone–Tooth Pairs and a Discussion of the Consequences for Archaeometric Sample Selection and Analyses

Teeth are often the preferred source material for isotopic and genetic assay involving ancient biomolecules. The assumption is that dental tissue preserves better due to its anatomically protected location, the enamel cap, and lower porosity compared to bone. However, this assumption has not been widely tested. Some similarities in diagenetic processes are to be expected due to similarities in structure and chemical composition of dentine and bone. This has led to the suggestion that bone can be used as an indicator of dental preservation, as a pre‐screening technique in the selection of suitable samples for biomolecular studies. Thus, direct testing of the correlation between bone and tooth preservation and diagenesis is needed. This paper reports the results of the histological characterization of diagenetic alterations within 25 human femur–tooth pairs, from a Medieval to modern (AD 1850) cemetery in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The results showed that teeth do indeed preserve better overall, but not always, and that this was dependent on the main diagenetic factor(s) at the burial location. Furthermore, good correlations are found between the microstructural preservation of bone and teeth; similar processes of decay were observed within bone and teeth of the same individual. Overall, the study demonstrated that histological analysis of bone is useful for the identification of degradation processes that affect biomolecular preservation in skeletal material. In this way, sample selection and analytical strategies can be optimized. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ṭūsī Reloaded: Ismāʿīlī Paths of Sufi Wayfaring and Sufi Paths of Ismāʿīlī Apophaticism

Much ink has been spilled on the tumultuous life and works of Na?īr al-Dīn ?ūsī. This paper re-evaluates his connections with Sufism and Ismā?īlism, and challenges the reduction of the former to a late interest, and the latter to an early affiliation abandoned in the wake of the Mongol invasion. The paper argues that Sufi and Ismā?īlī themes, sources, and ideas are in an organic interpenetration in ?ūsī’s works throughout his career. While his early Ismā?īlī eschatology has a fundamentally Sufi nature, his late Sufi treatise adopts the key components of Ismā?īlī negative theology of the divine nature. The case of ?ūsī illustrates that the Ismā?īlī double negation was preserved in Iran and Central Asia, and put into creative interactions with Sufism in the thirteenth century.     

Vertical Politics in Horizontal Policy Networks: Framework Setting as Coupling Arrangement

Horizontal governance arrangements potentially conflict with the very principles of the representative democracy and its political institutions. This conflict manifests itself in the interaction between representatives and the executive power: Although the former has the formal power to decide upon policies and to check their implementation, the latter participates in horizontal networks and therefore has more resources to influence the content, evolvement, and outcomes of the policy process. This erodes the power position of representatives. Framework setting is commonly suggested as an arrangement for representatives to enhance their grip on policy processes. The authors of this contribution examine the effects of framework setting as coupling mechanism between horizontal networks and vertical politics in six policy processes in a Dutch province. Based on network theory and research findings, they suggest redefining the concept of framework setting in order to make it more attuned to the complex, interdependent, and dynamic nature of policymaking in networks.     

In situ preservation of archaeological bone: a histological study within a multidisciplinary approach

To make preservation in situ a serious option for the management of archaeological sites, research has to be done on the factors affecting conservation of different archaeological materials, including bone. A European project has been started which deals with bone degradation in a multidisciplinary way. The goals of the project are to develop techniques to describe the preservation of archaeological bone, to make a classification of soil environments according to their preservation potential and to detect what factors in the environment of the bone affect its conservation. One technique used in this project to determine the state of preservation of archaeological bone is histology. The relevance of this technique for archaeological heritage management research is discussed.     

Sub‐micron spongiform porosity is the major ultra‐structural alteration occurring in archaeological bone

Total pore volume and pore size distribution are indicators of the degree of post‐mortem modification of bone. Direct measurements of pore size distribution in archaeological bones using mercury intrusion porosimetry (HgIP) and back scattered scanning electron microscopy (BSE‐SEM) reveal a common pattern in the changes seen in degraded bone as compared to modern samples. The estimates of pore size distribution from HgIP and direct measurement from the BSE‐SEM images show remarkable correspondence. The coupling of these two independent approaches has allowed the diagenetic porosity changes in human archaeological bone in the >0.01 µm range to be directly imaged, and their relationship to pre‐existing physiological pores to be explored. The increase in porosity in the archaeological bones is restricted to two discrete pore ranges. The smaller of these two ranges (0.007–0.1 µm) lies in the range of the collagen fibril (0.1 µm diameter) and is presumably formed by the loss of collagen, whereas the larger pore size distribution is evidence of direct microbial alteration of the bone. HgIP has great potential for the characterization of microbial and chemical alteration of bone. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Between the Piles. Studying Excavation Photographs to Determine the Area of Physical Disturbance Caused by Piling in the Netherlands

Excavation photographs that show piles can be used to determine and measure the area of disturbance around piles. Until now, this has only been done at a small scale and with ideal examples. The present study shows that less ideal photographs can also be used to determine the disturbance around piles, at a much larger scale. Using predefined methods of documentation and registration, data can be collected about the disturbance of different types of piles, with varied piling techniques, in various burial environments and archaeological contexts. This data will be used in the second phase of the research to determine the loss of archaeological information due to piling.     

Breaking Traditions: An Isotopic Study on the Changing Funerary Practices in the Dutch Iron Age (800–12 bc)

Urnfields in the Dutch river area were replaced by cemeteries with a mixture of cremation and inhumation graves around the sixth century bc . This study provides the first biogeochemical evidence that the Iron Age communities were heterogeneous in terms of geological origins. The high percentage of non‐locally born individuals (~48%) supports the hypothesis that the change in burial practice was the result of the influx of foreign people, who were being allowed to keep their own burial customs, whereas some of the local inhabitants adapted the burial rites of foreign cultures, leading to a heterogeneous burial rite for some centuries.