From riches to rags: organic deterioration at Star Carr

Benjamin Elliott, Nicky Milner, Chantal Conneller, Kirsty Penkman, Hannah Koon, Ian Panter, Barry Taylor, Maisie Taylor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The 11,000-year old lake edge archaeological site of Star Carr in the Vale of Pickering of North Yorkshire is one of the most famous Mesolithic sites in Europe, and one of the earliest, dated to the period of climatic warming that immediately followed the final termination of the last ice age. One of the main reasons for this international importance is the richness of its organic artefacts, faunal assemblage and environmental data. However, recent investigations have demonstrated that these organic remains have severely deteriorated over the last 60 years due to the decay and acidification of the surrounding peat. This paper presents research into the effects on the bone (histological analysis using light and polarising microscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy, bulk collagen analysis, and amino acid analysis), antler (visual and metrical analysis, loss on ignition and Scanning Electron Microscopy) and wood (visual analysis, decay assessment tests and Scanning Electron Microscopy).
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Archaeological Science
Volume38
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Feb 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'From riches to rags: organic deterioration at Star Carr'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this