Fig.2 - Average normalised ATR-FTIR spectra set
for bone samples from each stratigraphic unit
(Del Valle et al., 2025).

Speaker

Héctor Del Valle

Ph.D. Student, IPHES-CERCA & Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Avinguda de Catalunya (Tarragone, Espagne)

From Molecules to Archaeological Context: bone diagenesis applied to Stratigraphy and cultural Heritage

Bone diagenesis encompasses the physicochemical processes that modify the composition and structure of bone as a function of burial conditions. Therefore, it provides a key framework for reconstructing microenvironments and archaeological deposit formation processes. This talk presents the results of a study of the complete Pleistocene sequence of the Galería site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain), using an integrated approach based on X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

The results show the existence of common fossilization dynamics throughout the stratigraphy (units GII–GIV), dominated by dissolution–(re)precipitation processes, and identify two main diagenetic pathways: (i) a pathway toward hydroxyapatite, associated with wet, acidic, and phosphatized environments characterized by intense leaching, and (ii) a pathway toward fluorine replacement in apatite nanocrystals, characterized by the intrusion of carbonates and fluorine under drier and slightly alkaline conditions. Based on these diagenetic patterns, machine-learning classification models were developed to support the recontextualization of unprovenanced fossil bone remains.

References

Del Valle, H., Rodríguez-Navarro, A. B., Moclán, A., García-Medrano, P., & Cáceres, I. (2025). Bone diagenesis and stratigraphic implications from Pleistocene karst systems. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 5496. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88968-4

Place

  • Salle 410, bât. B35 (3ème étage, aile nord), université de Poitiers.

July 18 2026

Midi Libre press article on the conference in Villeveyrac

July 21-22 2026

2nd International Colloquium on Paleoanthropology in Chad

July 2026

PhD position Palevoprim & Wits University

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