Experimental taphonomy of fish bone from warm and cold water species: Testing the effects of amino acid composition on collagen breakdown in modern fish bone using thermal maturation experiments

Decay experiments have the potential to provide useful analogues in interpretation of archaeological remains. Previous studies focused on how physical properties or processing methods can influence fish bone distributions within sites. However, means by which intrinsic chemical bone, such as baseline collagen type I [‘collagen (I)’] chemistry, may affect both biomolecule and whole degradation has not been focus any prior study. The variation facies resulting impact taphonomy is a new concept, but an understanding discrete relationship between temperature breakdown (I) material well explored. Here, modern powder subjected differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) water-immersed heat experiments. This test whether taxa with less thermally stable configurations, cold-water species reduced proline hydroxyproline concentrations (Pro+Hyp), will generate products (TOC TN) more rapidly than those arrangements, warm-water typically increased Pro+Hyp. Our results show that this study (cod herring lower Pro+Hyp concentrations) display significantly decomposition rates from fishes (amberjack tilapia higher concentrations), given same experimental conditions (heating water at 75 °C for up eight days). Initial reaction rate estimates, based TOC TN product concentrations, suggest cod (15.6% Pro+Hyp) reacts ~9 times faster (20.3% Pro+Hyp). We primary influencer stability concentration residues function structure. reduction likely lead decrease following deposition, due intimate association organic inorganic phases bone. Therefore, composition upon remains vary palaeontological sites, thermal (I).