New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain: A histological case study

Booth, Thomas J.; Madgwick, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.01.010

Cited by 67 publications

(62 citation statements)

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“…The extent of cementum loss has been evaluated using two histological indexes: one exclusively considering microbial action: the Oxford histological index modified (OHIm) originally developed for bone tissue by Hedges, Millard, and Pike (), adapted by Millard () and applied in numerous archeological publications (Booth, Chamberlain, & Pearson, ; Booth & Madgwick, ; Jans, Nielsen‐Marsh, Smith, Collins, & Kars, ; Smith et al, ), forensic anthropology (Jans, ), paleontology (Grine, Bromage, Daegling, Burr, & Brain, ), or experimental taphonomy (Kontopoulos, Nystrom, & White, ); the other considering microbial action and other types of physical and chemical alterations such as infiltrations or fractures: the general histological index modified (GHIm) originally developed for bone tissue by Hollund et al (). These modified indexes were assigned by the same operator and range from 0 to 5 as follow:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age at death estimation by cementochronology: Too precise to be true or too precise to be accurate?

Bertrand

Cunha

Bécart

et al. 2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: Cementochronology based on annual deposition of acellular cementum is acknowledged for its superior performance for estimating age-at-death but is also disregarded because of its suspicious effectiveness. This article aims to provide a standardized framework for the validation of the technique and to define and test cementochronology's performance and limitations. Materials and methods:To determine the boundaries of the cementum aging technique, we applied a certified protocol on a sample of 200 healthy canines from individuals of known age, sex, postmortem, and inhumation intervals from anthropological and anatomical collections. We scored readability and preservation of cementum and measured the agreement between estimates, i.e., the precision, and assessed the quality of the accordance between estimates and chronological age, i.e., the accuracy. To investigate the applicability on ancient material, 200 additional canines extracted from archeological assemblages were included. Accuracy and precision were analyzed for each age group in considering postmortem intervals and taphonomical conditions.Results: A strong correlation was found between chronological age and estimates (r = .927; p = .000) but results reveal an association between readability of incremental lines and chronological age (p < .05) and a notable difference in both precision and accuracy between individuals under and over 50 years. Results also demonstrate that taphonomy can be a serious obstacle increasing imprecision by a factor of three.Discussion: Improperly adopted, cementochronology can lead to precise but inaccurate estimations. If methodological, physiological, and taphonomical factors are taken into account, then, and only then, cementochronology will serve as a versatile and powerful tool for age-at-death estimation. K E Y W O R D Sage-at-death estimation, cementochronology, dental cementum, taphonomy

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age at death estimation by cementochronology: Too precise to be true or too precise to be accurate?

Bertrand

Cunha

Bécart

et al. 2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…As only a limited number of studies has ever examined bone diagenesis in commingled, disarticulated secondary burials (e.g., Booth and Madgwick 2016), the aim of this study is to explore the characteristics of bone diagenesis in a secondary burial environment. Histological (light microscopy), physical (FTIR-ATR), and biochemical (collagen) analyses of human and animal bones were undertaken in order to explore any differences in the diagenetic changes occurred in those commingled archaeological bones.…”

Section: The Mycenaean Secondary Burial In Kastroulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone diagenesis in a Mycenaean secondary burial (Kastrouli, Greece)

Kontopoulos

Penkman

Liritzis

et al. 2019

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This paper presents the characteristics of bone diagenesis in a secondary commingled Mycenaean burial in Kastrouli (Phocis, Greece) through the histological (light microscopy), physical (FTIR-ATR), and biochemical (collagen) analysis of seventeen human (including two petrous bones) and seven animal bones. Post-mortem modifications in bone microstructure, bioapatite, and collagen were characteristic of burial environments with seasonal groundwater and temperature fluctuations. The two human petrous bones displayed a lack of microscopic focal destruction (MFD) sites and a generally good histological preservation, but although a small sample size, did not show any better bioapatite and collagen preservation compared with human femora. Intra-site variations were defined by three main diagenetic patterns that display differences in histological modifications, crystallinity changes, and collagen degradation. These different patterns were either related to different microenvironment conditions and/or influenced by possible differences in the early taphonomic histories experienced by bones prior to secondary deposition. Further, this study highlights the importance of infrared splitting factor (IRSF), carbonate/phosphate ratio (C/P), and general histological index (GHI) for the qualitative assessment of archaeological bone, and the potential use of amide/phosphate ratio (Am/P) as a collagen predictor.

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“…Aunque la Arqueología ha demostrado repetidamente su competencia para acreditar, desde diferentes ópticas, conductas de estas características en la Prehistoria Reciente del Viejo Mundo (Larsson, 2003;Brück, 2006: 80-85;Kólar, 2012;Booth y Madgwick, 2016), en nuestro caso topamos todavía con muchas dificultades a la hora de rastrear paso a paso la secuencia del mencionado ritual de las dobles exequias. Pero ello no impide que, a partir de los datos de que se dispone, creamos posible rastrear en diferentes yacimientos de la Cuenca del Duero las distintas fases que conformarían una secuencia de funerales dobles:…”

Section: Secuenciaunclassified

Dobles exequias y circulación de reliquias en el Calcolítico Inicial de la Cuenca del Duero: Sobre las inhumaciones parciales del “recinto de fosos” de Santa Cruz III (Cabezón de Pisuerga, Valladolid)

Castro

Arroyo

Vázquez

et al. 2019

CuPAUAM

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ResumenEl fenómeno de las "dobles exequias", tempranamente teorizado por R. Hertz (1907), ha servido como marco interpretativo en numerosos estudios de Antropología y Arqueología funerarias. En este trabajo se ensaya su aplicación al Calcolítico Inicial de la Cuenca de Duero (ca. 3000-2400 cal AC), utilizando como punto de partida el estudio bioarqueológico de los restos de dos inhumaciones parciales localizadas en sendos hoyos del recinto de fosos de Santa Cruz III, en Cabezón de Pisuerga. En un intento de trascender este limitado caso de estudio, se pasa revista a otros enterramientos de este tipo documentados en el mismo ámbito cultural. A partir de la descripción de casos -sin recurrir a la analogía etnográfica para explicar cada hecho particular-, se propone una interpretación de conjunto fundamentada en aquella teoría, integrando las heterogéneas manifestaciones conocidas en una compleja secuencia que trata de dar cuenta de la extrema variabilidad (desde sepulturas primarias a huesos-reliquia) que se viene observando en el registro arqueológico. Abstract'Double burials' concept, early theorized by R. Hertz (1907), has been a frequent interpreting framework in many studies of Anthropology and Archaeology of Death. This paper applies Hertz's approach to the funerary rituals of the Early Copper Age in Duero Basin (c. 3000-2400 cal BC), starting from a bioarchaeological study of the partial burials located in two pits of the Santa Cruz III causewayed enclosure (Cabezón de Pisuerga, province of Valladolid, Spain). Looking for a broader picture, the heterogeneous funerary practices of the area during Early Copper Age (from primary burials to relics) are reviewed. From their description, a general reading based on 'double burials' theory is proposed, without using the ethnographic analogy for a direct explanation of each particular event.

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New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain: A histological case study

Cited by 67 publications

References 50 publications

Age at death estimation by cementochronology: Too precise to be true or too precise to be accurate?

Age at death estimation by cementochronology: Too precise to be true or too precise to be accurate?

Bone diagenesis in a Mycenaean secondary burial (Kastrouli, Greece)

Dobles exequias y circulación de reliquias en el Calcolítico Inicial de la Cuenca del Duero: Sobre las inhumaciones parciales del “recinto de fosos” de Santa Cruz III (Cabezón de Pisuerga, Valladolid)

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