Analytical methods

Various analytical destructive and non-destructive methods will be employed on selected samples from published and unpublished skeletal assemblages, which will identify degrees of burning intensity in archaeological bones, discrete temperature variation between samples burned at low, medium, and high intensities, as well as will distinguish burned from unburned bones. Non-destructive methods include the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, and color spectrophotometry.

In addition, a set of carbon and oxygen isotope ratios will be measured to assess vital information about the way bodies were burned (size of the pyre, with or without fuel, position of the corpse, degree of ventilation, oxygen availability) and will offer the opportunity to improve our knowledge regarding funerary practices in places and times where cremation was practiced. In addition to observations related to fire technology, strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) will be measured as markers of residence or mobility because they reflect the local geological isotope proxy. Modern vegetation around each site will also be sampled to characterize biologically available strontium. This novel analysis of burned human remains will make it possible to identify isotopic differences between individuals buried at the same site.