Abstract
Diagenesis in human remains is a subject of growing interest due to the increase in bone chemical studies aimed at reconstructing pre- and post-mortem features in archaeological and forensic sciences. The efforts made over recent decades have solidified our understanding of diagenetic processes; however, their high complexity demands further research to address them empirically, specifically considering factors such as soil substratum types and skeletal elements. In this study, a geochemical analysis of human remains from the archaeological site of A Lanzada (NW Spain) was conducted to understand diagenesis (i.e., chemical alteration) and environmental exposure during life. Three types of bone (thoracic, long, and cranial) from 30 skeletons of two periods (9 Roman, 21 post-Roman) were analysed by X-ray fluorescence. The bones were recovered from burials located in slightly alkaline (Haplic Arenosol (calcaric)) and acidic (Cambic Umbrisol (humic)) soils. Principal components analysis was applied to extract the main chemical signatures, and analysis of variance was used to determine the influence of different factors.
