Histomorphometrische Analyse der Tangentiallamellenbucht (Endosteal Lamellar Pocket, ELP), Archäologische Bedeutung lokalisiert auftretender Variationen innerhalb der Compacta auf mikrostruktureller Ebene.

• Applicant: Dr. Isabel Sora Maggiano
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: from 2009 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 118108140

Within a cross section, the morphology of compact bone can display dramatic variation in microarchitecture and therefore strength properties. The endosteal lamellar pocket (ELP), an easily-defined, dense, lamellar region of the long bone is perhaps the most obvious and informative of these regions (Wanner et al. 2007; Maggiano et al. 2008b; Maggiano et al. 2008a). Our previous pilot study identified ELPs in the majority of femora and humeri found at the Maya site of Xcambó. We suggest the formation of the ELP could coincide with periods of growth before about twenty years of age and, for unknown reasons, persists for decades, documenting the diaphysis’ drift during growth. This diachronic perspective of the ELP’s formation and persistence is ultimately vital for differentiating the influences of bone modeling (bone resorption and formation) and remodeling (bone maintenance) on its macro- and microstructure. Unfortunately, analyses of modeling and modeling drift in long bones are rare, whereas remodeling studies take advantage of distinct representative structures, called osteons, precisely permitting quantitative methodological approaches. The ELP can be recognized as a feature histologically representing quantifiable modelling processes. However, the relative magnitude and direction of drift and the composition of new bone apposition during ontogenetic development has yet to be connected to determinant factors such as growth rate, disease, age, sex, or activity level. Connections like these could offer a new source for hypotheses driven experimentation in archaeology as well as information regarding skeletal growth, maintenance, and adaptation for biomechanical or medical applications. Our continued investigation of the ELP in archaeological and modern skeletal remains will take advantage of this unique indicator of long-term growth and modelling processes to find applications for ELP analyses and its use in biomechanics, bioarchaeology and forensics, aiding in analyses of growth variation, mechanical adaptation, as well as identification methods including siding, age estimation, and possibly sex determination from even fragmentary bony remains.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Sam Stout