Cells and soft tissues in fossil bone: A review of preservation mechanisms, with corrections of misconceptions

Abstract

In the most recent three decades, there has been an outpouring of research on the preservation of cells and soft tissues within fossil bones. Cells and soft tissues that are documented to have been preserved in fossil bones include osteocytes, chondrocytes, blood vessels, nerve fibers, nerves, and the sheets of collagen in bone matrix. Recent studies identify Fenton reactions as a plausible preservation mechanism for cells and soft tissues within bones, document the chemical signatures of Fenton reactions in the cells and soft tissues of fossil bones, and indicate that such preservation occurs early in diagenesis and is facilitated by oxidizing depositional environments and by protection via external concretions and other factors. Additionally, recent advances in the study of archaeological bone have identified a suite of factors that enable a bone and its cellular and soft tissue contents to survive into the fossil record. Despite these advances, two unfortunate situations persist. One is that there is little connection between the literature on archaeological bone and the literature on fossil bone. The other is that the literature of science voices numerous misconceptions regarding the preservation of cells and soft tissues in fossil bones, many of which are rooted in young-Earth creationist (YEC) opposition to the hypothesized role of Fenton reactions. To alleviate these problems, this review corrects misconceptions and links studies of archaeological bone to studies of fossil bone, to elucidate the mechanisms by which cells and soft tissues are preserved in bones for hundreds, then thousands, then millions of years. Philip J. Senter. Department of Biological and Forensic Sciences, Fayetteville State University, 1200 Murchison Road, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28301, U.S.A, psenter@uncfsu.edu