New dimensions in burnt bone taphonomy through X-ray, neutron imaging and multivariate analysis

Accurate forensic characterization of thermally altered human bone is challenging because of complex, multiscale changes induced by high-temperature exposure. Here, we carried out an exploratory single-donor study integrating X-ray and neutron imaging with multivariate analysis to quantitatively characterize burned human femur samples heated in air between 25 and 1000 °C. Heat-induced morphometric changes associated with chemical and microcrystalline alterations are quantified through extraction of volumetric and micromorphological features, including total bone volume, void-space fraction, trabecular thickness, connectivity, and eccentricity. The results highlight the potential of the framework to investigate thermal alteration patterns and reconstruct thermal exposure histories in burned bone, thereby supporting forensic and bioarchaeological analyses of burned skeletal remains.