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Archaeological human hair in a burial context: Microscopical evaluation of samples from Iași, Romania (18th–19th centuries)
Author(s) -
Petraru O.M.,
Groza V.M.,
Neagu A.N.,
Bejenaru L.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12528
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , scalp , scanning electron microscope , hair shaft , archaeology , biology , anatomy , geography , materials science , hair follicle , composite material , microbiology and biotechnology
Owing to its resistance to degradation, hair is an important bio‐sample with unique properties used to study post mortem decompositional changes. The present paper is a microscopical approach to preserved human scalp hair discovered at the 18th–19th‐century archaeological site of Iași, Romania. The hair fibre alterations were assessed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, image analysis and hair histological scores. External alterations showed a statistically significant heterogeneous degradation. Image analysis results of the internal degradation of hairs were correlated to external lesions. The results consider the implication of intrinsic biological factors in the post mortem degradation of human hair preserved in graves with comparable environmental conditions.