Technical Note: Post-burial alteration of bones: Quantitative characterization with solid-state ¹H MAS NMR.

Area of Science:

• Paleo-osteology
• Biogeochemistry
• Forensic Anthropology

Background:

• Understanding post-mortem bone modifications is crucial for various scientific disciplines.
• Assessing bone preservation requires reliable markers for diagenetic processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel spectral index for evaluating the preservation state of the organic fraction in human bones.
• To correlate this index with established methods of assessing bone degradation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized spectral deconvolution of ¹H MAS NMR spectra of bone samples.
• Developed a new index relating organic protons to bioapatite hydroxyl groups.
• Correlated the new index with collagen loss data from infrared spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• The proposed index showed a positive correlation with collagen loss, indicating its effectiveness in measuring organic degradation.
• The index demonstrated sensitivity to physical and chemical changes in bone.
• Distinct diagenetic pathways and trajectories were identified across different archaeological sites.

Conclusions:

• The new spectral index serves as a reliable indicator of the organic preservation state in human bones.
• This method aids in characterizing site-specific diagenetic alterations and bone degradation trajectories.
• The findings have implications for archaeological site characterization and forensic investigations.