Objectives

Recent histotaphonomic studies have focused on the presence of features thought to be caused either by bacteria (microscopic focal destruction/MFD and cyanobacterial tunnelling) or fungal (Wedl tunnelling types 1 and 2) attack on unburnt bone. Identifying these characteristics on burnt bones could indicate the state of decomposition before burning, with important repercussions for both archaeological and forensic contexts.

Materials and Methods

Fleshed pig (Sus scrofa, N = 25) tibiae were left exposed on a field, then collected at 14-, 34-, 91-, 180-, 365-day intervals before being burnt in an outdoor fire (≤750 °C). Fresh (fleshed) legs (N = 10) acted as unburnt and burnt controls. Thin sections were examined using transmitted light microscopy and backscattered scanning electron microscopy. Diagenetic traits were quantitatively and systematically assessed by a novel data labelling application developed for this study.

Results

Features meeting the published characteristics of microbial bioerosion (‘Wedl tunnelling’, ‘lamellate’ and ‘budded MFD’) were significantly correlated with time since deposition on the unburnt bones. Only budded MFD increased significantly over time in the burnt groups. However, the presence features meeting the published characteristics of Wedl 2 tunnelling were present on the fresh burnt bones, indicating that they are an artefact.

Discussion

The presence of many features seemingly indistinguishable from those caused by bioerosion on the freshly burnt control bones suggests that burning is not only able to conceal features thought to be the result of bioerosion but can produce them as well. Thus, such features are not a reliable indication of bioerosion. Budded MFD may be a viable indicator but more research is required.

中文翻译：

---

评估烧伤骨骼中微生物生物侵蚀特征的可靠性：在组织恐怖性分析中使用特征标记的新方法

目标

最近的组织病理学研究集中于认为是由细菌（显微局灶性破坏/ MFD和蓝细菌隧穿）或真菌（Wedl隧穿1型和2型）对未燃骨的攻击所引起的特征的存在。鉴定出烧焦骨头上的这些特征可能表明烧毁前的分解状态，并对考古和法医环境都具有重要影响。

材料和方法

将有肉的猪（Sus scrofa，N = 25）胫骨暴露在野外，然后在室外火烧（≤750°C）下，以14、34、91、180、365天的间隔收集。新鲜（肉嫩的）腿（N = 10）充当未烧伤和烧伤的对照。使用透射光显微镜和反向散射扫描电子显微镜检查薄片。通过为该研究开发的新型数据标记应用程序，对成岩性状进行了定量和系统的评估。

结果

满足已发表的微生物侵蚀特征的特征（“ Wedl隧道效应”，“层状组织”和“预算的MFD”）与沉积在未燃烧骨骼上的时间显着相关。随着时间的推移，烧伤组中只有发芽的MFD显着增加。但是，在刚烧过的骨头上出现了符合Wedl 2隧道已公开特征的存在特征，表明它们是人工制品。

讨论

在刚烧过的对照骨骼上，许多特征似乎与生物侵蚀所引起的特征没有区别，这表明燃烧不仅能够掩盖被认为是生物侵蚀的结果，而且还可以产生这些特征。因此，这些特征不是生物侵蚀的可靠指示。流行的MFD可能是一个可行的指标，但需要更多的研究。