SEM technology for the analysis of tiny calcifiedremains from a pre-Hispanic burial from El Hierro(Canary Islands)

Abstract

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) enables the determination of the composition and structure of tiny calcified remains occasionally recovered during burial excavations. To deepen the practical application of this technique, we performed SEM/EDX analysis on three different tiny mineralized, roughly rounded struc tures with a diameter of less than 5 mm recovered from a pre-Hispanic collective funerary cave from El Hierro (Canary Islands) and a mineral spherulite of similar size and outer aspect. After SEM imaging and spectro scopic analysis, we conclude that the three samples rep resent a sesamoid bone, a kidney stone, and a possible case of sialolithiasis. In contrast, the spherulite is a mineral formation composed of calcium carbonate. Our data confirm SEM analysis’s usefulness in identify ing small, mineralized remains recovered during burial excavations and its contribution to studying past populations. However, we are aware that taphonomic changes may alter, at least partially, the structure, and/or elemental composition of archaeological sam ples, obscuring differential diagnosis.