Chemical elemental composition and human taphonomy: A comparative analysis between skeletonised and preserved individuals from six Portuguese public cemeteries

IF 3.6 3区 医学 Q2 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Angela Silva-Bessa , Rui Azevedo , Agostinho Almeida , Lorna Dawson , Shari L. Forbes , Maria Teresa Ferreira , Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

In Portugal, it is common practice to reuse burial graves in cemeteries with exhumations occurring after a minimum period of three years after entombment. However, if the human remains still retain soft tissues when the grave is opened, inhumations must continue for successive periods of two years until complete skeletonization is achieved. For the past decade, several Portuguese public cemeteries have been struggling with the lack of burial space mainly due to a slow cadaveric decomposition. As such, this work aims to understand if the chemical elemental concentrations found in the depositional environment of deceased individuals is influencing human taphonomy.

Methods

A total of 112 soil samples were collected from graves of five Portuguese public cemeteries and the concentration of 28 chemical elements was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A total of 56 head hair samples and 19 fingernail samples were also collected from cadaveric remains and analysed for the same purpose.

Results

Overall, all matrices showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between skeletonised and preserved individuals. Although it was considered that the preserved bodies would display higher elemental concentrations than the skeletonised ones, this hypothesis was not confirmed.

Conclusions

The authors believe that changes in the burial conditions over time may have enable the disintegration of soft tissues even if they were initially preserved due to the presence of chemical elements. Similar studies on a global scale should be considered as they could bring together distinct perspectives and lead to more comprehensive and innovative solutions for cemetery management.
化学元素组成与人类的出土研究:对葡萄牙六个公共墓地的骸骨和保存下来的个体进行比较分析。
导言:在葡萄牙,墓地中的墓穴通常在埋葬后至少三年后才进行挖掘。但是,如果在打开墓穴时遗骸仍保留软组织,则必须连续两年进行掘墓,直到完全骨骼化为止。在过去十年中,葡萄牙的几个公共墓地一直在为缺乏埋葬空间而苦苦挣扎,这主要是由于尸体分解缓慢造成的。因此,这项工作旨在了解死者沉积环境中的化学元素浓度是否会影响人类的岩石学:方法:从葡萄牙五个公共墓地的坟墓中收集了 112 份土壤样本,并通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测量了 28 种化学元素的浓度。此外,还从尸体遗骸中采集了 56 个头发样本和 19 个指甲样本,并进行了同样的分析:总体而言,骸骨化个体和保存完好的个体之间在所有基质上都存在显著的统计学差异(p < 0.05)。尽管人们认为保存下来的遗体会比骸骨化的遗体显示出更高的元素浓度,但这一假设并未得到证实:作者认为,随着时间的推移,埋葬条件的变化可能会使软组织解体,即使它们最初因化学元素的存在而被保存下来。应考虑在全球范围内开展类似的研究,因为这些研究可以汇集不同的观点,为墓地管理提供更全面、更创新的解决方案。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
6.60
自引率
2.90%
发文量
202
审稿时长
85 days
期刊介绍: The journal provides the reader with a thorough description of theoretical and applied aspects of trace elements in medicine and biology and is devoted to the advancement of scientific knowledge about trace elements and trace element species. Trace elements play essential roles in the maintenance of physiological processes. During the last decades there has been a great deal of scientific investigation about the function and binding of trace elements. The Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology focuses on the description and dissemination of scientific results concerning the role of trace elements with respect to their mode of action in health and disease and nutritional importance. Progress in the knowledge of the biological role of trace elements depends, however, on advances in trace elements chemistry. Thus the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology will include only those papers that base their results on proven analytical methods. Also, we only publish those articles in which the quality assurance regarding the execution of experiments and achievement of results is guaranteed.
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