Cited by 615Archaeology and ancient environmental studiesCultural Heritage Materials AnalysisSoil and Environmental Studies

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The survival of organic matter in bone: a review

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Collins, M. J., Nielsen–Marsh, C. M., Hiller, J., Smith, C. I., Roberts, J. P., Prigodich, R. V., Wess, T. J., Csapò, J., Millard, A. R., Turner–Walker, G.·2002·Archaeometry

DOI 10.1111/1475-4754.t01-1-00071

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Abstract

If bone is considered as a composite of collagen (protein) and bioapatite (mineral), then three pathways of diagenesis are identified: (1) chemical deterioration of the organic phase; (2) chemical deterioration of the mineral phase; and (3) (micro) biological attack of the composite. The first of these three pathways is relatively unusual and will only occur in environments that are geochemically stable for bone mineral. However, because rates of biomolecular deterioration in the burial environment are slow, such bones would yield useful biomolecular information. In most environments, bones are not in thermodynamic equilibrium with the soil solution, and undergo chemical deterioration (path 2). Dissolution of the mineral exposes collagen to biodeterioration, and in most cases the initial phase of dissolution will be followed by microbial attack (path 3). Biological attack (3) also proceeds by initial demineralization; therefore paths 2 and 3 are functionally equivalent. However,in a bone that follows path 3 the damage is more localized than in path 2, and regions equivalent to path 1 may therefore exist outside these zones of destruction. Other biomolecules, such as blood proteins, cellular lipids and DNA, exist within the physiological spaces within bone.For these biomolecules, death history may be particularly important for their survival.

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“…been a result of the slight difference in the pH levels for both layers of bones, accompanied by the difference in the presence of water, greater near the bottom of the container due to gravity, which might have facilitated chemical exchange between the bone and the soil (Collins et al., 2002).”
BackgroundInfluential
Extraction of Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles from Cooked Bone Wastes by Supercritical Water
Zhang, H., Zhang, C., Zheng, Q., & Zeng, X. (2022) · Waste and Biomass Valorization · doi:10.1007/s12649-021-01667-9 · Cited by 2
“, protein and fat) [6, 7], and the primary compound in mineral matters is calcium phosphate (Ca-P) [8].”
Background
Stable isotope differences of polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea
Smith, M. E. K., Horstmann, L. A., & Stimmelmayr, R. (2022) · Journal of Wildlife Management · doi:10.1002/jwmg.22225 · Cited by 2
Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectroscopy Sensitivity to the Thermal Decay of Bone Collagen
Thomas, B., Anderson, K., Silva, I. W. D., Verbeck, G. F., & Taylor, S. (2022) · Applied Spectroscopy · doi:10.1177/00037028221135634 · Cited by 2
Challenges in forensic genetic investigations of decomposed or skeletonized human remains: Environmental exposure, DNA degradation, inhibitors, and low copy number (LCN)
Ambers, A. (2023) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-815766-4.00002-9 · Cited by 2
Geochemical explorations of trophic interactions in the past and present: Beyond “who's eating whom”
Chritz, K. L. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-99762-1.00044-9 · Cited by 2
Do counts of radiocarbon-dated archaeological sites reflect human population density? A preliminary empirical validation examining spatial variation across late Holocene California
Codding, B. F., Meyer, J., Brewer, S., Kelly, R. L., & Jones, T. L. (2024) · Radiocarbon · doi:10.1017/rdc.2024.81 · Cited by 3
“Specifically, counties with lower than expected site counts may experience preservation bias which limits the availability of organic material (Collins et al. 2002) especially in acidic soils or regions with higher precipitation, a lower intensity of archaeological investigations (Bird et al. 2022;…”
Application of lipid biomarkers in deciphering quaternary human evolution in the Indian subcontinent: An integrative review
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An unclean slate, discrepancies between food input and recovered protein signal from experimental foodcrusts
Dekker, J. A. A., Hagan, R. W., Collins, M. J., & Hendy, J. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0330195 · Cited by 3
“Such a decrease in protein recovery is not unexpected as it is well known that proteins are vulnerable to high temperatures [67,68] and a decrease in protein recovery from fresh foodstuffs to foodcrust has been observed in previous studies [30].”
Self-citation
Stable Isotope Applications in Bone Collagen with Emphasis on Deuterium/Hydrogen Ratios
Topalov, K., Schimmelmann, A., David, P., & Peter, E. (2012) · InTech eBooks · doi:10.5772/34787 · Cited by 2
“Collins et al. (2002) recognize three pathways in bone degradation, namely organic-chemical deterioration of collagen, bone mineral breakdown, and microbial (biochemical) deterioration of collagen.”
BackgroundInfluential
Bone Taphonomy in Deep Urban Stratigraphy: Case Studies from York, United Kingdom
Rainsford, C., & O’Connor, T. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64763-0_5 · Cited by 2
Bromine, a possible marine diet indicator? A hypothesis revisited
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DIAGÉNESIS ÓSEA EN EL BOSQUE CADUCIFOLIO DE PATAGONIA MERIDIONAL AL ESTE DE LOS ANDES: MODELO TEÓRICO Y EVIDENCIA EMPÍRICA
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“…modelos de diagénesis ósea a diferentes niveles, particularmente el microestructural y el molecular (v.gr. Berna et al. 2004; Bocherens et al. 1997; Collins et al. 1995, 2002; Hedges, 2002; Hedges et al. 1995, 2007; Kendall et al. 2018; NielsenMarsh & Hedges, 2000; Pike et al. 2001; Smith et al.…”
Background
No longer the 1%: Optimizing ancient DNA yield from Saharan African samples
Sirak, K. A., Fernandes, D., Connell, S., & Pinhasi, R. (2015) · The 84th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, St. Louis, MO · Cited by 2
Bone Degradation under Differing Environments
Trovillo, K. A. (2015) · Cited by 2
Ancient pathogens in museal dry bone specimens: analysis of paleocytology and aDNA
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Impacto da composição química de microambientes em bens culturais: reatividade e monitoramento
Puglieri, T. S. (2015) · doi:10.11606/t.46.2015.tde-20072015-140812 · Cited by 2
Conservation of Bone, Horn, and Ivory
O’Connor, S. (2018) · The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences · doi:10.1002/9781119188230.saseas0115 · Cited by 2
Modelos de preservación ósea diferencial en la cuenca fluvial Salado-Coronda (provincia de Santa Fe): Tafonomía regional en perspectiva arqueológica
Galligani, P. E. (2019) · doi:10.35537/10915/87843 · Cited by 2
The Effects of Inter-Individual Biological Differences and Taphonomic Alteration on Human Bone Protein Profiles: Implications for the Development of PMI/AAD Estimation MethodsPreprint
Mickleburgh, H. L., Schwalbe, E. C., Mizukami, H., Sellitto, F., Starace, S., Wescott, D. J., Carter, D. O., & Procopio, N. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.10.15.341156 · Cited by 2
Forensic Identification
Meester, R. W. J., & Slooten, K. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108596176.005 · Cited by 2
Ancient DNA
Sawchuk, E. (2021) · The Encyclopedia of Ancient History · doi:10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00606 · Cited by 2
Fossilization
Keenan, S. W. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-409548-9.12067-6 · Cited by 2
EDITORIAL
Pollard, A. M. (2009) · Archaeometry · doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2009.00471.x · Cited by 2
Archaeological Proteomics
Hendy, J. (2023) · doi:10.1002/9781119592112.ch24 · Cited by 2
First screening of collagen quality in Lebanese archaeological bones
Baydoun, R., & Morr, Z. E. (2019) · Lebanese Science Journal · doi:10.22453/lsj-020.3.495-502 · Cited by 1
Technical Note: Post-burial alteration of bones: Quantitative characterization with solid-state 1H MAS NMR
Viani, A., Mácová, P., Machová, D., & Mali, G. (2021) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110783 · Cited by 1
A demineralized osteostracan fossil from the Silurian Kalana Lagerstätte of Estonia: revealing its internal anatomy and uncovering a unique type of fossilization
Tinn, O., Lang, L., Märss, T., Vahur, S., & Kirsimäe, K. (2021) · Lethaia · doi:10.1111/let.12452 · Cited by 2
Can transport costs explain the near absence of marmot bones at shoreline archaeological sites on Vancouver Island? Finding input values for central place modelling with biological scaling
Steffen, M. L. (2023) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2023.105725 · Cited by 1

Authors: Collins, M. J., Nielsen–Marsh, C. M., Hiller, J., Smith, C. I., Roberts, J. P., Prigodich, R. V., Wess, T. J., Csapò, J., Millard, A. R., & Turner–Walker, G.
Affiliations: Newcastle University (GB)
Trinity College (US)
University of Stirling (GB)
Durham University (GB)
ORCID: Collins, M. J.
Smith, C. I.
Millard, A. R.
Venue: Archaeometry
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2002-08
Volume: 44
Issue: 3
Pages: 383-394
ISSN: 0003-813X (ISSN-L)
1475-4754
DOI: 10.1111/1475-4754.t01-1-00071
OpenAlex: W1980807649
Semantic Scholar: 4c01539cadd487be926e662eff3dc1e017160333
Cited by: 615
References: 113
Citations by year: 2026: 28 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 23
FWCI: 4.25
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: bronze
doi.org
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 137 d)
Locations: Archaeometry (publishedVersion)
Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion)
Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion)
White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion)
Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
Funders: Durham University
Topics: Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil and Environmental Studies
Keywords: bone diagenesis, organic matter preservation, collagen degradation, demineralization, bone DNA, plasma proteins, cellular lipids

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The survival of organic matter in bone: a review

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