Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T08:59:07.054Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Methods for Casting Ancient Bone and Teeth for Viewing under the SEM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Christopher W. Schmidt
Christopher W. Schmidt*
Affiliation:
Archeology and Forensics Laboratory University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

While using casts in place of original bones and teeth for study with the SEM is a rather common practice, periodic updates and introductions of unique casting methods help to keep the process of improving cast quality cumulative, limiting unnecessary repetition of ineffectual procedures. The following is a summary of casting methods that I have synthesized from several published reports as well as some that I have developed independently (e.g., Waters and Savage 1971; Scott 1982; Rose 1983; Gordon 1984; Teaford 1991; Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994; Schmidt, 1998). The study for which I first employed these methods consisted of hundreds of archeologically- derived human teeth dating from about 1,000 to around 10,000 years ago. The study required detailed views of dental surfaces magnified 500X (Figure 1). The casts that I produced routinely had features that were distinct at magnifications of 2.000X and higher.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 7 , Issue 5 , June 1999 , pp. 14 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1999

References

References Cited

Buikstra, J.E., Ubelaker, D.H. (1994) Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains, Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research Series No.44.Google Scholar
Gordon, K.D. (1984) Pitting and bubbling artifacts in surface replicas made with silicone elastomers. J. Microsc. 134:183-188.Google Scholar
Rose, JJ. (1983) A replication technique for scanning electron microscopy: applications for anthropologists. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol, 62:255-261.Google Scholar
Schmidt, C.W. (1998) Dietary Reconstruction in Prehistoric Humans fr`om Indiana: An Analysis of Dental Macrowear, Dental Pathology, and Dental Microwear, Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue University.Google Scholar
Scott, E.C. (1982) Replica production for scanning electron microscopy: A test of materials suitable for use in fieid settings. J. Microsc. 125:337-341.Google Scholar
Teaford, M.F. (1991) Dental Microwear: What can it tell us about diet and dental function? In Kelley, M.A., Larsen, C.S. Advances in Dental Anthropology. New York: Wiley-Liss. pp 341-356.Google Scholar
Waters, B.T., Savage, D.E. (1971) Making duplicates of small vertebrate fossils for teaching and for research collections. Curator 14:123-132.Google Scholar