Assessing pathological conditions in archaeological bone using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF)

Kilburn, Naomi N.; Gowland, Rebecca L.; Halldórsdóttir, Hrafnhildur H.; Williams, Rhys; Thompson, Tim J.U.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102980

Assessing pathological conditions in archaeological bone using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF)

Kilburn, Naomi N.; Gowland, Rebecca L.; Halldórsdóttir, Hrafnhildur H.; Williams, Rhys; Thompson, Tim J.U.

Authors

Naomi N. Kilburn

Professor Rebecca Gowland rebecca.gowland@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Hrafnhildur H. Halldórsdóttir

Rhys Williams

Tim J.U. Thompson

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the potential of portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) for identifying pathological conditions in archaeological human skeletal remains. Bone element distribution in relation to known disease categories is analyzed using pXRF from the femora of 73 individuals (34 adult; 39 non-adult) from the post-Medieval Coach Lane skeletal collection (Durham University). There were no significant differences in the elemental ratios of individuals with scurvy, rickets, and cribra orbitalia. Potential alterations in elemental content were observed in relation to syphilis (Mn/S, Mn/Cl, and Ba/Cl) and neoplastic disease (Ba/Sr, S/Sr, Mn/Fe, and Zn/Cl). It is likely that post-depositional diagenetic changes, potentially exacerbated by the industrial location of the burial site, altered the elemental content of the individuals sampled and thereby effectively obscured any pathological changes detectable by pXRF.

Citation

Kilburn, N. N., Gowland, R. L., Halldórsdóttir, H. H., Williams, R., & Thompson, T. J. (2021). Assessing pathological conditions in archaeological bone using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 37, Article 102980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102980

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Apr 5, 2021
Online Publication Date	Apr 25, 2021
Publication Date	2021-06
Deposit Date	Aug 9, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Apr 25, 2023
Journal	Journal of archaeological science, reports.
Print ISSN	2352-409X
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	37
Article Number	102980
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102980

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2021 This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/