Estimating the amount and duration of heat that bones have been exposed to is a difficult task, but can be an important question for both forensic and archaeological casework. Temperature related...Show moreEstimating the amount and duration of heat that bones have been exposed to is a difficult task, but can be an important question for both forensic and archaeological casework. Temperature related changes can be estimated by histology. For this method most researchers focus on the changes to the inorganic component of bone, because the organic component is often not as well preserved. However, it has proved difficult to estimate lower temperatures based on the inorganic component of bone. Therefore, the organic component of bone should be analysed to determine if it is possible to estimate temperatures below 400 °C. To answer the question if histological analysis of the organic component of bone can be used to estimates temperatures below 400°C, two hundred transverse sections of six dissection room cadavers, composed of both the radius and ulna, where heated to temperatures ranging from 100°C to 400°C at three different time intervals; ten, twenty, and thirty minutes. The transverse bone sections where then processed into histological slides for microscopic analysis. The results showed that both time and temperature are significant dependents for the alterations that bone undergoes when it is exposed to thermal stress. Interestingly, time seems to play a bigger role, than temperature, in alterations in the organic component by heat. By using histology to examine the organic component of bone it is possible to differentiate between temperatures ranging between 200°C and 400°C but it was difficult to distinguish between 200°C and 250°C after twenty minutes. The most discriminative feature is the birefringence of the collagen structures, which is greatly reduced when time is extended. By combing the histological view and the birefringence of the collagen structures it might be possible to estimate temperature and time in the range of 200°C to 400°C. Most important, by using this method it may be possible to exclude samples that, based on colour, have been suggested to be exposed to heat. This method can improve the toolbox of physical anthropologists by answering difficult questions in both archaeological and forensic cases.Show less
