Human bone probed by neutron diffraction: the burning process

• Autor(a) principal: Mamede, A. P.
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Marques, M. P. M., Vassalo, A. R., Cunha, E., Gonçalves, D., Parker, S. F., Kockelmann, W, Batista de Carvalho, L. A. E.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/107364; https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ra07728f

The first neutron diffraction study of human burned bone is reported, aiming at a comprehensive elucidation of the heat-induced bone diagenesis process. Chemical and crystallinity changes were probed in different types of bone (femur, humerus and tibia) upon heating to different maximum temperatures (from 400 to 1000 °C, under aerobic conditions). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has provided valuable complementary information. Noticeable crystallographic and domain size variations were detected, mainly between 700 and 900 °C, the high temperature interval (>700 °C) corresponding to an organized, highly symmetric inorganic bone matrix, virtually devoid of carbonates and organic constituents, while the lower range (<700 °C) revealed a considerably lower crystallinity associated with the presence of carbonates, lipids and collagen. This work contributes to a better understanding of heat-induced changes in bone and is therefore relevant for archaeology, biomaterials and forensic science.