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Brief communication: Two and three‐dimensional analysis of bone mass and microstructure in a bog body from the Iron Age
Author(s) -
Schilling Arndt F.,
Kummer Tobias,
Marshall Robert P.,
Bauerochse Andreas,
Jopp Eilin,
Pueschel Klaus,
Amling Michael
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.20751
Subject(s) - demineralization , bog , peat , computed tomography , multislice computed tomography , geology , anatomy , radiology , medicine , dentistry , archaeology , geography , enamel paint
Human remains from peat bogs, called “bog bodies,” have yielded valuable insights into human history because of their excellent preservation of soft tissue. On the other hand, the acidic environment of the peat leads to an extensive demineralization of skeletal elements, complicating their analysis. We studied the skeleton of the bog body “Moora” dated to ∼650 B.C. Nondestructive evaluation of the bone was made using contact X‐rays, peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) analysis, multislice computed tomography (CT) and high resolution micro computed tomography (μCT) imaging. Two thousand seven hundred years in the acidic environment of the bog led to a loss of 92.7% of bone mineral density. Despite this demineralization and in contrast to other bog bodies, the spatial structure of the bones of “Moora” is exceptionally well preserved. We found Harris lines and were able to obtain the first three‐dimensional data on the trabecular microstructure of the bone of a young woman from the early Iron Age. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.