Journal of Archaeological Science最新文献

{"title":"Ancient DNA implicates Salmonella Paratyphi C as a candidate pathogen in a thirteenth-century East Asian epidemic","authors":"Jiayu He ,&nbsp;Linxuan Wang ,&nbsp;Li Yu ,&nbsp;Xiyan Wu ,&nbsp;Yan Zhen ,&nbsp;Chao Ning ,&nbsp;Fan Zhang ,&nbsp;Ge Song","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We screened ancient metagenomic data from 15 individuals from a mortuary context archaeologically dated to the 13th century at the Xiyang site (Shanxi, North China). Authentic <em>Salmonella enterica</em> subsp. <em>enterica</em> serovar Paratyphi C (SPC) reads were detected in 5/15 individuals, of which three met the damage-pattern and coverage criteria for downstream analyses. Ancient authenticity was supported by terminal deamination signatures, short fragment-length distributions, mapping stringency, and negative controls. Human genomic profiles indicate affinities consistent with contemporaneous North China agricultural populations. Archaeological and genetic context shows that these 15 individuals derived from six multi-individual burials and that they share no biological kinship ties across burials, indicating multi-household exposure rather than a single-family cluster. Given DNA preservation and assay sensitivity, pathogen detections represent a conservative lower bound, and the true number of infections likely exceeded the five SPC-positive cases observed. Read alongside contemporaneous reports of severe febrile outbreaks (1213–1232 CE), these detections are temporally and contextually concordant with epidemic activity, supporting a working hypothesis that SPC contributed to disease episodes in this period without implying exclusive event-level causation. We outline archaeological context and textual sources as non-exclusive lines of evidence and emphasize limitations, including modest sample size (n = 15; positives = 5), uncertain within-tomb simultaneity, and incomplete chronological precision. These findings extend the documented temporal and geographic range of SPC to 13th-century North China and motivate targeted capture, direct dating of sampled individuals, and broader regional screening to evaluate scale, timing, and aetiological heterogeneity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 106452"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feeding on giants: Neotaphonomic evidence of hyena exploitation of megafaunal skulls and its implications for Pleistocene archaeology","authors":"Clara Mielgo ,&nbsp;Sorina Venter ,&nbsp;Almero Bosch ,&nbsp;Rosa Huguet ,&nbsp;Jan A. Venter","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106458","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106458","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The role of hominins in the hunting and processing of megafauna is one of the most contentious topics in Pleistocene archaeology. Determining whether the remains of very large mammals (&gt;800 kg) were shaped by human activity or carnivore modification requires robust neotaphonomic frameworks. Systematic patterns of carcass consumption by carnivores have been established, particularly for long bones. Yet research on megafauna, and especially on their cranial remains, are scarce despite their recurrent presence in archaeological contexts. This study investigates bone surface modification patterns on rhinoceros (<em>Ceratotherium simum</em>) and elephant (<em>Loxodonta africana</em>) cranial elements consumed by free-ranging spotted hyenas (<em>Crocuta crocuta</em>) in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, South Africa. The sample includes 20 cranial specimens (MNE = 20; 12 rhinoceros, 8 elephant) from individuals of different age groups that died naturally and were subsequently scavenged. Analyses using 40x hand lenses and Dino-Lite digital microscope to document bone surface modifications. Distinct patterns emerged: in rhinoceroses, near-complete destruction of mandibular condyles, coronoid processes, nuchal crest, and maxilla; in elephants, pronounced furrowing on mandibular condyles and the symphyseal region. Integrating these observations with published taphonomic analyses of Eurasian assemblages, a five-stage sequence of cranial exploitation is proposed, paralleling models established for long bone consumption. These results highlight prey species-specific differences in modification intensity linked to bone density, tissue distribution, and feeding strategies. More broadly, they provide comparative criteria for distinguishing hyena from hominin-induced modifications, and the paleoecological significance of megafauna in Pleistocene ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 106458"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beachy Head Woman: clarifying her origins using a multiproxy anthropological and biomolecular approach","authors":"Andy Walton ,&nbsp;William Marsh ,&nbsp;Alex Strang ,&nbsp;Jonathan Seaman ,&nbsp;Kelly Van Doorn ,&nbsp;Hella Eckardt ,&nbsp;Caroline Wilkinson ,&nbsp;Ian Barnes ,&nbsp;Selina Brace","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The skeletal remains of an individual colloquially referred to as Beachy Head Woman (BHW) were re-discovered in the Eastbourne Town Hall collection in 2012, and have remained the subject of significant public interest since. Radiocarbon dating yielded a calibrated date of between 129 and 311 calCE indicating that she lived during the period of the Roman occupation of Britain and, over more than a decade, there have been several attempts to unravel her geographical origins and ancestry. Here, we present results of all bioanthropological and biomolecular analyses performed to date. Initial osteological analyses indicated possible sub-Saharan origin, with BHW thus presented as one of the earliest Africans in Britain. However, her story was complicated by subsequent (unpublished) biomolecular analyses, which suggested she likely grew up on the south coast of Britain and had recent European ancestry. Here we present high quality ancient DNA data indicating that Beachy Head Woman has a strong genetic affinity to individuals from rural Britain during the Roman occupation and modern day Britons. We find no signals of admixture that would suggest recent sub-Saharan ancestry. Phenotypic predictions suggest she had blue eyes, intermediate (between pale and dark) skin pigmentation and light hair. Combined, our multiproxy approach indicates that Beachy Head Woman was of local British ancestry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"185 ","pages":"Article 106445"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genomic insights into the ancestry and mortality of a historical era population from Southwest China","authors":"Jiayi Dong ,&nbsp;Wan Peng ,&nbsp;Jiaqi Jin ,&nbsp;Lei Yang ,&nbsp;Ruojing Zhang ,&nbsp;Jiange Jia ,&nbsp;Chen Duan ,&nbsp;Ge Song ,&nbsp;Fei Zhao ,&nbsp;Rurui Ye ,&nbsp;Zhandong Gao ,&nbsp;Haibing Yuan ,&nbsp;Deyuan Wang ,&nbsp;Xinglong Zhang ,&nbsp;Fan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106459","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106459","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Yun-Gui (Yunnan and Guizhou) Plateau of Southwest China has long been characterized by long-standing ethnolinguistic diversity shaped by complex demographic history. Although numerous groups belonging to distinct language families have inhabited the region over recent centuries, the nature and extent of their interactions remain poorly understood. At a natural karst cave located in a multiethnic area of southern Guizhou, archaeologists uncovered scattered skeletal remains of several dozen individuals dated to the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties (575–685 cal BP). The genetic origins of these individuals and the context of their deaths were previously unknown. Here, we present genome-wide ancient DNA analysis from 22 individuals recovered from the cave. The results reveal a strikingly genetically homogeneous population, exhibiting admixed ancient northern and southern East Asian ancestry, yet showing clear genetic differentiation from contemporaneous neighboring groups. This ancestry profile represents a genetic component that contributed to present-day ethnolinguistic groups in Southwest China. Genetic kinship analyses indicate that the group comprised several family units and was dominated by females. Furthermore, we detected authentic <em>Salmonella enterica</em> (<em>S. enterica</em>) DNA in one individual, supported by high sequence similarity to reference genomes of serovars <em>S.</em> Choleraesuis and <em>S.</em> Paratyphi C, along with characteristic ancient DNA damage patterns. No similar pathogen DNA was identified in other individuals. Integrating genomic evidence with historical records, we infer that these individuals most likely represent collective mortality associated with conflict rather than a widespread epidemic.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 106459"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identifying the Genus origin of historic leather using DNA mini-barcoding and DNA meta-barcoding technologies","authors":"Qian Wu ,&nbsp;Hailiang Yang ,&nbsp;Yang Zhou ,&nbsp;Xiaojing Kang ,&nbsp;Liping Bao ,&nbsp;Zvezdana Dode ,&nbsp;Bingjian Zhang ,&nbsp;Yulan Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The utilization of leather products dates back to the Upper Paleolithic era, serving diverse aspects of human life and production. Species identification of archaeological leather artifacts provides material evidence for understanding the development of ancient pastoralism and technological levels, while also informing critical decisions in conservation material selection and the reconstruction of historical craftsmanship. Archaeological leathers uncovered worldwide exhibit considerable diversity. However, due to complex burial environments, the epidermal structures of these artifacts are often damaged or entirely lost, making them unidentifiable through traditional morphological methods. Contamination and complex sample matrices impair the biomolecular specificity of existing techniques, limiting taxonomic resolution. DNA analysis has thus provided a novel pathway for species identification of leather artifacts. DNA barcoding represents a prevalent methodology within this domain. Unlike previous DNA barcoding studies that required preliminary identification of relic sources to design specific primers—often leading to sample waste—this study introduces a novel technique that uses only one pair of universal primers to identify unknown species in a single experiment. Moreover, it enables the identification of mixed samples via second-generation sequencing. Specifically, we designed a pair of universal primers based on DNA mini-barcoding and meta-barcoding concepts, allowing accurate species-level identification of 11 historical leather specimens from different periods and preservation conditions. Notably, this method requires only minimal sample input, as little as 1 mg per artifact. This study attempts to identify historical leathers from five different species using a single pair of primers in one experiment. The proposed \"DNA mini-barcode and DNA meta-barcode technologies\" enable highly efficient analysis, reducing sample consumption compared to traditional DNA techniques that rely on screening multiple primers for unknown samples. Furthermore, it enhances taxonomic resolution from the genus to the species level. This approach holds great promise for the species identification of historical leather artifacts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 106450"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multimodal micro-area analysis deciphers Qing Dynasty guqin lacquer technology and acoustic design principles","authors":"Xinying Hao ,&nbsp;Li You ,&nbsp;Lan Li ,&nbsp;Liya Ma ,&nbsp;Meiying Li ,&nbsp;Michael R. Schilling ,&nbsp;Xinyu Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents the first comprehensive, molecule-to-microstructure reconstruction of formulations and lacquer technology used in Qing Dynasty <em>Guqins</em>—UNESCO-recognized musical instruments—through a multimodal micro-area approach. By integrating stereomicroscopy, SEM-EDS, micro-Raman, FT-IR, and thermally assisted hydrolysis-methylation pyrolysis-GC/MS (THM-Py-GC/MS), research decode the micromorphological features, material stratigraphy, functional fillers and tailored organic modifiers in both <em>guqin</em>-body and silk–string. Results reveal a highly engineered trilayer lacquer architecture composed of (i) a surface lacquer–film pigmented with carbon black and/or magnetite (Fe₃O₄), (ii) a lacquer-ash ground composed of porous bio-derived deer antler ash (hydroxyapatite, Ca₅(PO₄)₃(OH)) and dense porcelain fragments (calcite, CaCO₃; quartz, SiO₂), applied in graded sublayers (from coarse to fine), and (iii) a wooden body. Critically, THM-Py-GC/MS identified diverse organic additives that modify the urushi matrix, including drying oils (linseed oil), proteins (blood or animal glue), resins (benzoin, cedar), and functional modifiers (starch, gall, tannins). The silk–string exhibited unique processing with perilla oil, benzoin resin, starch, and tannins, enhancing its shifting stiffness and damping. Together, these data reveal a deliberately engineered composite with potential vibro-acoustic functions. This study delivers the first layer-resolved, multi-technique reconstruction of Qing <em>guqin</em> formulation and provides a replicable analytical framework for conservation and for testing historically informed acoustic hypotheses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 106455"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fueling draught power: A multi-isotopic study of draught cattle husbandry in Bronze and Iron Age Gordion (Central Anatolia, Türkiye)","authors":"Audrey Crabbé ,&nbsp;Marcel T.J. van der Meer ,&nbsp;John M. Marston ,&nbsp;Willemien de Kock ,&nbsp;Canan Çakırlar","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106451","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106451","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study integrates stable isotope, zooarchaeological, and paleopathological analysis with archaeobotanical, textual, ethnographic, and modern zootechnical evidence to explore diachronic trends in cattle management and agricultural practices in Bronze and Iron Age central Anatolia, focusing on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gordion from the Late Bronze Age to the Middle Phrygian period. Periods of agricultural intensification are linked with higher ratios of adult cattle, more severe traction-related pathologies on the lower hind limb bones, and larger-bodied pathological cattle. Isotopic evidence reveals that draught cattle received specific diets with more regulated feeding strategies involving cultivated cereals, legumes and wild forage, compared to non-pathological cattle. These nutritional investments underscore the economic importance of draught cattle in the transportation network and a surplus-oriented agricultural system of a settlement with political and economic ambitions over a large territory. Decreasing δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in bulk bone collagen over time confirm a shift from diverse strategies of agropastoralism to more intensive, cereal-focused land use likely linked to political centralization and population growth during the rise of the Phrygian Kingdom. Our findings contribute to the broader understanding of the interactions between animal labor and management, political-economic developments with population and territorial expansions, and environmental changes in shaping agrarian polities in central Anatolia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 106451"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rolling through time: Scarab remains reveal 4,000 years of coastal pastoralism and biodiversity dynamics in western France","authors":"Lisa Richelmi ,&nbsp;Jean-Bernard Huchet ,&nbsp;Frédéric Santos ,&nbsp;Florence Verdin","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106442","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106442","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Erosion along the French Atlantic coastline is revealing unrecorded archaeological sites, while the shoreline retreat threatens this fragile heritage with irreversible loss. In waterlogged, anoxic sediments, insect remains are preserved in exceptional condition, enabling reconstruction of past human activities through archaeoentomological analysis. A diverse assemblage of dung beetles provides robust evidence of livestock farming from the Neolithic to Antiquity, revealing spatial and temporal variation in grazing intensity. High proportions of dung-associated species in a Middle Neolithic well indicate substantial herds as early as 5500 years ago. This provides the first evidence of coastal livestock farming in Neolithic France, illuminating a tipping point in the history of humankind. In other contexts, lower proportions imply limited grazing, potentially constrained by saline water sources. The diversity and dominance of aquatic and riparian taxa reflect a water-rich environment used for animal watering, while abundant pasture-associated taxa indicate an open landscape favorable to agropastoral practices. Comparisons between fossil and modern entomofaunas from the Gironde region reveal biodiversity shifts shaped by climatic change and human influence over millennia. These multi-millennial bioarchaeological archives offer unique insights into the deep history of biodiversity dynamics and inform debates on ecological change and evolution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"185 ","pages":"Article 106442"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145784430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A study of modern and archaeological goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) from Iraq and Iran","authors":"Melinda A. Zeder","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106449","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106449","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;This study offers new insights into the exploitation of goitered gazelle (&lt;em&gt;Gazella subgutturosa&lt;/em&gt;) from the Paleolithic up to the Chalcolithic in the steppe, foothills, and higher elevations of the Zagros Mountains. It begins with analysis of an assemblage of the skeletal remains of 23 modern goitered gazelle specimens from Iraq and Iran. This analysis first focuses on a new sequence of post-cranial skeletal element fusion that builds on earlier long-bone fusion and dental eruption and wear sequences produced for dorcas (&lt;em&gt;G. dorcas&lt;/em&gt;) and mountain (&lt;em&gt;G. gazella&lt;/em&gt;) gazelle. The study of the modern gazelle also examines the various factors affecting body size in goitered gazelle using the logarithm size index (LSI) scaling method. Differential scaling of normalized values of individual dimensions noted in earlier studies is determined to be a function of allometric relationships among the elements of the reference specimen chosen to serve as a standard in the normalization process. Using the mean value of multiple specimens, preferably of animals from the same region and time period, evens out these differences, making it possible to avoid having to separate dimensions into different scaling groups when using LSI data to reconstruct demographic profiles. The evaluation of metric data normalized in this way finds that region has a significant impact on body size in goitered gazelle, while age, even in juvenile animals older than about six months of age, has little impact. Even though there is a significant difference in the LSI values of females and males, there is too much overlap in these values to allow use these values to reliably identify the sex of individual specimens in modern and archaeological gazelle assemblages. The degree of dimorphism in goitered gazelle is great enough, however, to enable general conclusions to be drawn about the sex composition in larger assemblages. The analysis of goitered gazelle skeletal remains from 20 different components of 16 archaeological sites in Iraq and Iran reveals different trends in the proportions of gazelle relative to caprines over time, with an unexpected increase in gazelle in Ceramic Neolithic age assemblages in most areas. There are also regional size variations in assemblages with a decline in body size that is most marked among gazelle from steppe environments in lowland Iran. Changes in body size from the Paleolithic to the Ceramic Neolithic are argued to be, in large part, a reflection of shifting demographics of prey populations that signal changes in hunting strategies. Earlier strategies focused primarily on males while there was a more even mix of females and males among prey assemblages from Ceramic Neolithic sites. Actual body size reduction in goitered gazelle appears to have occurred sometime after the Ceramic Neolithic. Application of the new sequence of long-bone fusion sequence to archaeological assemblages also shows a shift from a focus on older, prim","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"185 ","pages":"Article 106449"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Refining near-infrared spectroscopy for collagen quantification: A new predictive model for archaeological bone","authors":"Christina Ryder ,&nbsp;Gerardo Celis ,&nbsp;Thibaut Devièse ,&nbsp;Sahra Talamo ,&nbsp;Katerina Douka ,&nbsp;Matthew Collins ,&nbsp;Angela Perri ,&nbsp;Heather Thakar ,&nbsp;William Pestle ,&nbsp;Matt Sponheimer","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106448","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106448","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Collagen is a vital archaeological material, preserving biochemical signatures that provide insights into past environments, diets, and human-animal interactions. However, diagenesis can lead to rapid and inconspicuous collagen degradation. Given the variability in collagen preservation and its significance for analyses such as radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and ZooMS, researchers have developed prescreening techniques to assess collagen preservation before destructive sampling. Current prescreening approaches, including %N and C:N ratios, typically require sample destruction and access to equipped laboratories. Spectroscopic techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy have been explored as alternatives, but they are limited in penetration depth, generalizability (at present at least), and are often still destructive, if minimally.</div><div>Here, we further develop single-point near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a fully non-destructive, rapid, and field-portable method for prescreening bone for collagen preservation. Unlike FTIR and Raman spectroscopic techniques, NIR light penetrates below the surface of bone, enabling assessment of internal collagen preservation without destructive sample preparation. Using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) and Random Forest (RF) modeling, we trained predictive models on whole bones with known collagen yields and validated the models on an independent archaeological collection. Both PLSR and RF models, when restricted to the 2030–2060 nm range, demonstrate strong and comparable performance while avoiding wavelengths associated with consolidants in our reference library. The models outperform traditional % N-based methods in identifying suitable samples for radiocarbon dating. These models enable the high-throughput screening of large collections of bone, improving sample selection and minimizing unnecessary destructive analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"185 ","pages":"Article 106448"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}