Calcium–iron–phosphate features in archaeological sediments: characterization through microfocus synchrotron X-ray scattering analyses

• Published in: Journal of Archaeological Science
• Main Authors: Adderley, W Paul, Alberts, Ian L, Simpson, Ian, Wess, Timothy J
• Other Authors: Biological and Environmental Sciences, De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Cardiff University, orcid:0000-0001-5552-1696, orcid:0000-0003-2447-7877
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2004
• Subjects: Soil Micromorphology; Synchrotron; Fish Bone; X-ray; North Atlantic; Cod; Settlement; Norway; X-ray optics Instruments; Archaeology Methodology; Archaeological geology; atlantic cod; Gadus morhua
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/1508; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2002.03.001; http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/1508/1/Adderley_fishbone_JAS2004.pdf

The occurrence of amorphous calcium (Ca)iron (Fe)phosphate infilling features in thin-section samples from archaeological stratigraphies is increasingly being reported and used in the cultural interpretations of sites. In some contexts, these materials are the product of dissolution and recrystallization of bone material within pores of the soil or sediment matrix. This study uses transmitted microfocus X-ray scattering to characterize and measure features of known cod fish bone (Gadus morhua) materials, and compare them to archaeological samples of amorphous Ca-Fe-phosphate infilling material found in thin section from early fishing community sites. The analyses characterize the structure of these features for the first time, and allow discussion of the diagenetic processes that lead to their formation.