Quantifying bone weathering stages using the average roughness parameter Ra measured from 3D data

Abstract

Abstract Bone surface texture is known to degrade in a predictable fashion due to subaerial exposure, and can thus act as a relative proxy for estimating temporal information from modern and ancient bone assemblages. To date, the majority of bone weathering data is collected on a categorical scale based on descriptive terms. While this qualitative classification of weathering data is well established, textural analyses of bone surfaces may provide means to quantify weathering stages but have yet to be tested. Here, I examined the suitability of textural analyses for bone weathering studies by first establishing bone surface regions most appropriate for weathering analyses. I then measured and compared the roughness texture of weathered bones at different stages. To establish regions of bone most suitable for textural analyses, Ra was measured from 3D scans of dorsal ribs of four adult ungulate taxa. Results indicate that the rib-shafts from unweathered ungulate skeletons were similar and are likely good candidates because differences in surface texture will not be due to differences in initial bone texture. To test if textural measurements could reliably characterize weathering stages, the average roughness values (Ra) were measured from weathered ungulate rib-shafts assigned to four descriptive weathering stages. Results from analyses indicate that the Ra was statistically distinct for each weathering stage and that roughness positively correlates with the degree of weathering. As such, results suggest that textural analyses may provide the means for quantifying bone-weathering stages. Using Ra and other quantifiable texture parameters may enable more reliable and comparative taphonomic analyses by reducing inter-observer variations and by providing numerical data more compatible for multivariate statistics.

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