During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, arsenic was used as an embalming agent in the United States. In 1996, Konefes and McGee brought the potential danger of arsenic poisoning during excavation to the attention of archaeologists. They developed methodology that was later refined by the present authors. This article discusses the history of arsenic as an embalming agent, explores socioeconomic and demographic factors that might suggest the presence of arsenic in certain burials, and presents methods for testing arsenic in archaeological contexts. We also discuss environmental impact mitigation considerations and review examples of arsenic testing in archaeological contexts.

中文翻译：

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砷和老坟墓

在 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初，砷在美国被用作防腐剂。1996 年，Konefes 和 McGee 将挖掘过程中砷中毒的潜在危险提请考古学家注意。他们开发了后来由本作者改进的方法。本文讨论了砷作为防腐剂的历史，探讨了可能表明某些墓葬中存在砷的社会经济和人口因素，并介绍了在考古环境中测试砷的方法。我们还讨论了减轻环境影响的考虑因素，并回顾了考古背景下的砷测试示例。