The air-abrasive technique: A re-evaluation of its use in fossil preparation

Graham, Mark R.; Allington-Jones, Lu

doi:10.26879/815

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Additionally, besides the implication of the experimental results on erosion due to aeolian sediment transport, there are implications on the effect of sample preparation using air-abrasive techniques, i.e., sandblasting during preparation of fossils from the embedding sediment/rock. In general, various materials, such as Aluminium oxide, crushed glass, plastic, but also walnut shells or wheat starch, with different hardness, shapes and particle size are used for sample preparation (for detailed information see Graham & Allington-Jones, 2018 ). The commercial sandblasters used for sample preparation are comparable to the one used in the performed experiment, with similar air-pressure, however, even closer distance to the sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-mortem enamel surface texture alteration during taphonomic processes—do experimental approaches reflect natural phenomena?

Weber

Winkler

Schulz‐Kornas

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Experimental approaches are often used to better understand the mechanisms behind and consequences of post-mortem alteration on proxies for diet reconstruction. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is such a dietary proxy, using dental wear features in extant and extinct taxa to reconstruct feeding behaviour and mechanical food properties. In fossil specimens especially, DMTA can be biased by post-mortem alteration caused by mechanical or chemical alteration of the enamel surface. Here we performed three different dental surface alteration experiments to assess the effect of common taphonomic processes by simplifying them: (1) tumbling in sediment suspension to simulate fluvial transport, (2) sandblasting to simulate mechanical erosion due to aeolian sediment transport, (3) acid etching to simulate chemical dissolution by stomach acid. For tumbling (1) we found alteration to be mainly dependent on sediment grain size fraction and that on specimens tumbled with sand fractions mainly post-mortem scratches formed on the dental surface, while specimens tumbled with a fine-gravel fraction showed post-mortem formed dales. Sandblasting (2) with loess caused only negligible alteration, however blasting with fine sand quartz particles resulted in significant destruction of enamel surfaces and formation of large post-mortem dales. Acid etching (3) using diluted hydrochloric acid solutions in concentrations similar to that of predator stomachs led to a complete etching of the whole dental surface, which did not resemble those of teeth recovered from owl pellets. The experiments resulted in post-mortem alteration comparable, but not identical to naturally occurring post-mortem alteration features. Nevertheless, this study serves as a first assessment and step towards further, more refined taphonomic experiments evaluating post-mortem alteration of dental microwear texture (DMT).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-mortem enamel surface texture alteration during taphonomic processes—do experimental approaches reflect natural phenomena?

Weber

Winkler

Schulz‐Kornas

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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“…The microabasimeters treatment has not been effective in the tests on the fossil vertebrate remains in Lo Hueco. Different types of aggregates and potencies have been tested (Graham and Allington-Jones 2018;Ratkevich 1998) but in none of the cases the removal of the iron crust has been achieved. On the other hand, the treatment causes material loss when affects directly the surface of the fossil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlled chemical cleaning in paleontological preparation: the use of gels on vertebrate fossil remains from the Late Cretaceous of Spain

Fernández

et al. 2020

J Iber Geol

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The conservation of paleontological heritage depends greatly on the diversity and complexity of the materials that compose both the fossils and the matrix that includes and fills them. A common practice in fossil preparation treatments consists in removing part of the surrounding matrix that, in some cases, prevents direct access to the specimens or puts its conservation at risk. For this reasons, it is necessary the use of reliable treatments that do not compromise the fossil stability during the process. Cleaning methods based on the use of gelified solutions can be a remedy for some of those treatments in which the use of traditional techniques put in danger the preservation of the fossils. Here it is discussed the efficacy of different chemical cleaning techniques with gelled solutions using different thickening agents, acids, chelants and surfactants that can be applied to the fossils from Lo Hueco fossil site (Cuenca, Spain).

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“…Although cleaning is a necessary procedure, there is always the potential risk of introducing surface modifications. This may imply the loss of important information for subsequent research (Caldararo, 1993(Caldararo, , 2005L opez-Polín, 2012), such as taphonomic studies, and several applications that have noted the possible modifications that different cleaning treatments can introduce on archaeological bone (Bromage, 1984;Fernández-Jalvo & Marín-Monfort, 2008;Graham & Allington-Jones, 2018;Marín-Monfort et al, 2018;Valtierra et al, 2020Valtierra et al, , 2022Wiest et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cleaning archaeological bones: Influence of water, ethanol, and acetone on microhardness

Valtierra

Courtenay

Fabregat‐Sanjuan

et al. 2023

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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The application of conservation treatments on archaeological bone is, in many cases, a necessary step for its study. Cleaning interventions can generate modifications on the surface of the material or even modify elements of the study. The variables involved in this process have been scarcely characterized. The present study reports on the characterization of how different liquids commonly used in cleaning processes can contribute to the onset of modifications by influencing microhardness. Three media were experimented with water, ethanol, and acetone. The Knoop microhardness test was used to measure the hardness of bone samples from two archaeological sites: Gran Dolina and two localities at Barranc de la Boella, before and during exposure to the liquids. Results note that all the solvents produce a decrease in sample microhardness. These variations in hardness should be considered when cleaning because they make it simpler to damage the bone surface with cleaning tools.

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The air-abrasive technique: A re-evaluation of its use in fossil preparation

Cited by 10 publications

References 8 publications

Post-mortem enamel surface texture alteration during taphonomic processes—do experimental approaches reflect natural phenomena?

Post-mortem enamel surface texture alteration during taphonomic processes—do experimental approaches reflect natural phenomena?

Controlled chemical cleaning in paleontological preparation: the use of gels on vertebrate fossil remains from the Late Cretaceous of Spain

Cleaning archaeological bones: Influence of water, ethanol, and acetone on microhardness

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