Elsevier, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, (10), p. 15-29, 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.09.001
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Data presented here demonstrates the utility of quantitative analysis of sediment-induced microabrasion on bone's surface. Fresh sheep (Ovis aries) bone, acting as a human analogue, was bombarded by mobile sediments from silt, sand and gravel classes (ranging 20 μm–3.35 mm) in a series of flume-based experiments. Controlled bombardment produced unique abrasion patterns on bone which were recordable using scanning electron microscopy. Imaging abrasion at both × 100 and × 1000 magnifications allowed quantitative and qualitative distinction to be made concerning the sediment class that the bone was abraded by; bombardment by gravel classes caused abrasion to advance through cyclical cracking, whereas smoothing of bone's surface occurred more frequently in sand and silt classes. A stepwise multi-linear regression model identified changes in sediment grain size (p