Palaeopathology and diagenesis: an SEM evaluation of structural changes using backscattered electron imaging

Abstract This study addresses the problem of diagenetic change in normal and palaeopathological human skeletal material. Invasive sections were taken from adult human femora and tibiae for a structural and qualitative assessment of bone density changes using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in backscattered electron (BSE) mode. The results obtained suggest that macroscopic and X-ray interpretations of archaeological bone, both normal and pathological, run the risk of misinterpretation due to its extensive diagenetic change. The progression of diagenesis was found to be ordered to some extent by the collagenous arrangement of bone and so potentially affected by any bone pathology present.

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