Thread by @BrusselsBioarch

It's session 3 time at the Cremations in Archaeology conference! This session focuses on new developments used in the study of cremation and cremated human remains 🔥🦴🦷⚱️🗓

Five talks this afternoon and come back tomorrow morning for five more talks 👍🏻

First up, we are at Tilburg in the Netherlands. Joris Brattinga presents an efficient method of block-lifting and excavating cremation burials which enables detailed post-excavation analysis and maximises the recording of archaeological information!

Jumping across the Channel to the UK, Benjamin Neil discusses the approach of a commercial archaeological unit and highlights the potential of CT scanning, sexing methods and excavation techniques for recording cremation deposits!

Now @fazeelah8 investigates the potential preservation of proteins in burnt tooth enamel! Experiments on animal (🐎+🐄+🐑) teeth provides invaluable data on how heat impacts protein degradation. 🔥🦷

Julianne Sarancha highlights that experimental design in cremation research matters 🔥: it can impact the interpretation of isotope results. This is especially important in the context of forensic casework!

Burning of human remains makes sex estimation difficult. Alexandra Boucherie presents her experimental research on the impact of burning on the morphology of the bony labryrinth! 🔥👂 #CIA22

Good morning ☀️ we start the day with @IKontopoulos13, presenting a multi-method approach for assessing structural and chemical modifications in archaeological burnt bone 🔥🔥 FTIR, light microscopy, & SEM for the win!

Decoding the dead in Roman Colchester now! Emily Carroll talks about re-examining musuem collections from the famous Romano-British site using isotopic, osteological and artefactual analysis on the cremation deposits! #CIA22

Off to Italy, where Mattia Bischeri presents on the study of the Etruscan anthropomorphic urns from the necropolis of Tolle! By combining urn features & archaeological data with new bioarchaeological data from cremated remains, complex funerary, social & gender patterns emerge!

More than bones? @LukWaltenberger discusses how more information can be extracted from prehistoric urns. Using interdisciplinary research methods such as CT scanning, microexcavation, osteology, botany, zooarchaeology, isotopes & soil analysis reveal previously hidden info!

Urnfields, cremation graves, urns, cremains and grave goods! Matija Črešnar highlights the exciting interdisciplinary methods and techniques being applied to old and new collections across Slovenia.