Comment on: Fruit and seed biomineralization and its effect on preservation by E. Messager et al.; in: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2010) 2:25–34. DOI 10.1007/s12520-010-0024-1

Abstract

This article provides a brief critique of a recent article on biomineralisation and preservation. It gives a summary of the difference between biomineralisation and mineral replacement, and addresses problems with the interpretation of FT-IR data. The lack of contextual information for the samples studied is another problem which is highlighted.

Rapid deterioration in buried leather: archaeological implications

“…The role of post-burial perimineralisation on long term survival of non-mineral organic material like plant remains and coprolites have been researched in detail 22,23,[45][46][47][48] and shown that elemental cementation can carry an important role for the preservation of vegetable-tanned leather. Possibly, a role for post-burial elemental accumulation in leather samples, impacted by the charge of the vegetable-tannin species present in the leather, could be important for long-term stability.…”