Adipocere withstands 1600 years of fluctuating groundwater levels in soil

Fiedler, Sabine; Buegger, Franz; Klaubert, B.; Zipp, K.; Dohrmann, R.; Witteyer, M.; Zarei, Mehdi; Graw, Matthias

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2009.01.017

Cited by 33 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…5C). Micron-scale textures revealed by the SEM photos are similar to adipocere crusts reported from the bottom of a 1600-year-old stone sarcophagus (Fiedler et al 2009). …”

supporting

confidence: 70%

The Unusual Occurrence of Adipocere Spheres on the Hypersaline Lacustrine Shoreline, Salton Sea, California

Betts

Heness

Semian

et al. 2014

PALAIOS

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The Salton Sea, California, a hypersaline, closed-system lake, experiences high wind event-associated tilapia fish kills. This study reports on the occurrence of several tons of organic spheres taphonomically associated with disarticulated tilapia skeletal parts occurring along the Salton Sea's shorelines. Chemical analyses demonstrate that sphere composition is consistent with soft tissue degradation of tilapia by anaerobic bacteria producing adipocere. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and gas chromatography (GC) reveal the presence of both triglycerides and salts of free fatty acids. Specifically, GC-MS FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) analysis identified the presence of relatively high concentrations of palmitic, oleic, stearic, pentadecanoic, and myristic acids in the adipocere spheres which are nearly identical to the fatty acid profile of Salton Sea tilapia. SEM studies document the incorporation of fragmented fish bones and detrital grains within the spheres. Formation of adipocere masses in the Salton Sea affects the buoyancy and hydrodynamic equivalence of fish bone fragments, thereby influencing deposition of disarticulated bone materials, and may affect local redox conditions at the burial site.

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“…5C). Micron-scale textures revealed by the SEM photos are similar to adipocere crusts reported from the bottom of a 1600-year-old stone sarcophagus (Fiedler et al 2009). …”

supporting

confidence: 70%

The Unusual Occurrence of Adipocere Spheres on the Hypersaline Lacustrine Shoreline, Salton Sea, California

Betts

Heness

Semian

et al. 2014

PALAIOS

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show abstract

“…Fiedler et al (2009) report a burial in which adipocere was still found after 1600 years even though the water table was thought to have varied considerably. However it is not the final product of decomposition and will itself decay over time.…”

Section: Suggested Mechanisms For Preservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington, Yorkshire, UK

O'Connor

Ali

Al-Sabah

et al. 2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Subsequent to Evans' work in 1963 [32], a robust literature has formed related to adipocere research including key reviews by Takatori [33], Fiedler and Graw [34] and Aufderheide [15]. Knowledge also has been advanced by numerous case reports [10,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] and research, especially on chemical composition.…”

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Denmark, adipocere was found within skulls with an antiquity of 440 to 740 years. Adipocere was found on child remains dating from the Late Roman era 1600 years ago near Mainz Germany [38].…”

Section: Persistencementioning

confidence: 99%