Small-angle X-ray scattering reveals characteristics of medieval human bones
October 4, 2025
A new study, first-authored by graduate student Laura Gardner and published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, demonstrates the capacity and limitations of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in the assessment of diagenesis in archeological second metacarpal bones of adult humans. The bone samples were obtained from a medieval cemetery in Bavaria, Germany, which was discovered during the construction of a new railway line. The experimental set-up for this study was at a beamline of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory and the analysis was carried out at Northwestern in a collaboration between researchers in DEEPS and the Feinberg School of Medicine. The results were compared with Raman spectroscopy, laboratory microcomputed tomography, and microscopy with backscattered electrons, reflected light, and polarized transmitted light. The team hypothesized that diagenesis would be evident from the way these X-rays would diffract through the lattice of carbonated apatite nanoplatelets in the bones. Instead, the researchers found that diagenesis intensity is not correlated with the lattice parameters revealed by SAXS. The study illustrates how minerals like apatite are not only of geological significance, but are also important in archeological sleuthing.