A multi-technique approach by XRD, XRF, FT-IR to characterize the diagenesis of dinosaur bones from Spain

Piga, Giampaolo; Santos-Cubedo, Andrés; Brunetti, Antonio; Piccinini, M.; Malgosa, Assumpció; Napolitano, Emilio; Enzo, Stefano

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.05.018

“…[42][43]. These findings support previous observations [44,3] who reports that fossilisation involves the transformation from bioapatite to francolite (i.e., authigenic bioapatite) by dissolution-reprecipitation mechanisms in long times of reaction. Typically, fluorapatite is preserved in fossil teeth and fossil bones: during the burial of bones and teeth (in some cases for millions of years), fluoride in the water-bearing soil and sediments substitutes into the original bone and tooth bioapatite [45][46].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

“…In addition to this, severe changes involving the structure and chemical composition of bones may also occur during the fossilization process. [2][3].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A structural approach in the study of bones: fossil and burnt bones at nanosize scale

Piga

¹

,

Baró

²

,

Golvano-Escobal

³

et al. 2016

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We review the different factors affecting significantly mineral structure and composition of bones.Particularly, it is assessed that micro-nano-structural and chemical properties of skeleton bones change drastically during burning; the micro-and nano-structural changes attending those phases manifest themselves, amongst others, in observable alterations to the bones colour, morphology, microstructure, mechanical strength and crystallinity.Intense changes involving the structure and chemical composition of bones also occur during the fossilization process. Bioapatite material is contaminated by an heavy fluorination process which, on a long-time scale reduces sensibly the volume of the original unit cell, mainly the a-axis of the 2 hexagonal P63/m space group. Moreover, the bioapatite suffers to a varying degree of extent by phase contamination from the nearby environment, to the point that rarely a fluorapatite single phase may be found in fossil bones here examined.TEM images supply precise and localized information, on apatite crystal shape and dimension, and on different processes that occur during thermal processes or fossilization of ancient bone.complementary to that given by X-ray Diffraction and Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared spectroscopy. We are presenting a synthesis of XRD, ATR-IR and TEM results on the nanostructure of various modern, burned and palaeontological bones.

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“…Bones and teeth are often the only direct remains of animals and humans and hence represent valuable archives that are able to give stratigraphic, paleontological and archaeological data [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A structural approach in the study of bones: fossil and burnt bones at nanosize scale

Piga¹,

Baró²,

et al. 2017

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We review the different factors affecting significantly mineral structure and composition of bones.Particularly, it is assessed that micro-nano-structural and chemical properties of skeleton bones change drastically during burning; the micro-and nano-structural changes attending those phases manifest themselves, amongst others, in observable alterations to the bones colour, morphology, microstructure, mechanical strength and crystallinity.Intense changes involving the structure and chemical composition of bones also occur during the fossilization process. Bioapatite material is contaminated by an heavy fluorination process which, on a long-time scale reduces sensibly the volume of the original unit cell, mainly the a-axis of the 2 hexagonal P63/m space group. Moreover, the bioapatite suffers to a varying degree of extent by phase contamination from the nearby environment, to the point that rarely a fluorapatite single phase may be found in fossil bones here examined.TEM images supply precise and localized information, on apatite crystal shape and dimension, and on different processes that occur during thermal processes or fossilization of ancient bone.complementary to that given by X-ray Diffraction and Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared spectroscopy. We are presenting a synthesis of XRD, ATR-IR and TEM results on the nanostructure of various modern, burned and palaeontological bones.

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“…On the other hand, the bone macro-porosity such as blood vessel canals or bone cell voids, as well as diagenetic cracks, are often filled with secondary mineral infillings such as calcite, quartz, manganese or iron (hydr)oxides and others [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To characterize and quantify diagenetic processes and their influence on the structural and chemical integrity of fossil bones, different physico-chemical techniques can be applied [4,[9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights about the presence of celestite into fossil bones from Molí del Baró 1 site (Isona i Conca Dellá, Lleida, Spain)

Piga

¹

,

Brunetti

²

,

Lasio

³

et al. 2014

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We have addressed an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) on a collection of thirteen fossil bone belonging to the Molí del Baró 1 paleontological site located near Sant Romà d'Abella (Isona i Conca Dellà Municipality, Lleida Province, Spain, dated to about 66.5 Ma, to investigate the fossilization occurred in this site in terms of physico-chemical properties. As a general behaviour, the XRD patterns showed the bioapatite mineral at a varying level of percentage, and accordingly, the correspondent XRF spectra turned out to be mainly dominated by the presence of Ca, obviously accompanied by phosphorus. Simultaneously, other elements such as Sr, Fe, Ba and Zn were found at non-negligible concentration levels and helped to assign the phase components in the XRD spectra. In three specimens, it was observed by XRD the rather unusual case where the original bioapatite bone mineral was completely substituted for by other mineralogical phases. In addition to this, celestite was also found as an important phase in ten specimens out of the thirteen examined. The occurrence of celestite in the bone structure appears a rather unusual observation within the literature of bones diagenesis. Its provenance is generally ascribed to marine vertebrate organisms, but the presence in the fossil bones of this site, where no evidence of marine environment exists, can be reconciled with occurrence of refluxing processes involving diagenetically altered fluids which were discharged into beds containing strontium sulphate-rich waters.

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A multi-technique approach by XRD, XRF, FT-IR to characterize the diagenesis of dinosaur bones from Spain

Cited by 80 publications

References 51 publications

A structural approach in the study of bones: fossil and burnt bones at nanosize scale

A structural approach in the study of bones: fossil and burnt bones at nanosize scale

A structural approach in the study of bones: fossil and burnt bones at nanosize scale

New insights about the presence of celestite into fossil bones from Molí del Baró 1 site (Isona i Conca Dellá, Lleida, Spain)

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