Bone

The connective tissues of the body, consisting of crystallite minerals and collagen. After death, the proteins slowly decompose and the remaining mineral is subject to solution in acid soil conditions. Bones are preserved on a wide variety of archaeological sites. From early prehistory, the bones, horns, or antlers of animals man hunted or kept provided him with a vital source of raw material for constructing artifacts. There are many types of bone. There are a variety of relative age determination techniques applicable to bone material, including measurements of the depletion of nitrogen (bone dating) and the accumulation of fluorine and uranium.

In life, bone is one of the connective tissues of the body and consists of crystallites of the mineral hydroxyapatite, deposited on a fibrous matrix of the protein collagen. Mineral occupies 71 per cent of the volume, collagen 19 per cent, other proteins 2 per cent, and water 8 per cent. After death, the proteins slowly decompose (this gradual decomposition forms the basis of a bone dating method — nitrogen analysis). The remaining mineral is subject to solution in acid soil conditions. Bones are preserved on a wide variety of archaeological sites, and the state of bone preservation varies widely. Two main types of bone are found in mature animals: compact, or cortical bone and cancellous, spongy or trabecular Compact bone forms the dense outer layer in a particular structure of the skeleton. Cancellous bone is found inside, forming a light internal framework. Bones as elements of the skeleton have a number of forms: long bones — as in the limbs; flat bones — as in the cranial vault of the skull; cuboidal bones — as in the wrists and ankles; irregular bones — vertebrae and bones of the face and jaws. For the study of bones from archaeological sites, see skeleton. Bone was also used as a raw material for making artefacts.

Connective tissues of the body, consisting of crystallite minerals and collagen. After death, the proteins slowly decompose and the remaining mineral is subject to solution in acid soil conditions. Bones are preserved on a wide variety of archaeological sites. From early prehistory, the bones, horns, or antlers of animals that people hunted or kept provided people with a vital source of raw material for constructing artifacts. There are many types of bone. There are a variety of relative age-determination techniques applicable to bone material, including measurements of the depletion of nitrogen (bone dating) and the accumulation of fluorine and uranium.