Effects of Buried Environment on the Morphology and Trace Element Profile of Faunal Remains: An Experimental Study

Present study was carried out mainly to know the effects of buried environment on morphology as well as the elemental profile of the faunal remains. For this purpose, we have collected 50 modern bone samples of goat, sheep and ox from different locations of the Garhwal region and these samples were buried in the ground in various places, at different levels of depth and with different pHs as well. After four years, all the buried bone samples were recovered and pretreated sequentially in the laboratory, examined morphologically and processed for getting the ash of each sample. Trace elements were estimated through spectrometry methods in laboratory for archaeological chemistry, Wisconsin University, Madison, USA. The morphological examination revealed that the bones buried in highly acidic and alkaline soil and at the level of 50–75 cm were proceeding towards the disintegration as they were recovered in bad condition, while other faunal remains which were buried in normal acidic and alkaline soil and beyond the level of 100 cm were recovered in a well-preserved condition. However, elemental analysis also revealed that no any major changes in trace element profile have been observed among the faunal remains recovered in good conditions, but in morphologically disintegrated faunal remains, a significant change in the concentration level of different elements has been noticed. It clearly showed that both the factors are positively responsible for the disintegration of archaeological remains.