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Papers by Stacey L Lander
Biology
Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated.... more Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated. An unmarked cemetery was buried beneath a mine dump which resulted in macroscopically stained and poorly preserved bones. Histological assessments were conducted to understand the postmortem treatment of the remains, determine the extent of bone degradation, and understand how this environment affected the bone’s microstructure. Various diagenetic alterations and the general histological index were assessed using normal and polarized light microscopy of thin anterior midshaft femur sections (n = 50). Degradation was identified in the periosteal and endosteal regions, while the intra-cortical region remained well-preserved. Bacterial bioerosion, microcracks, infiltrations, inclusions, and staining were found throughout the sample. Numerous non-Wedl micro-foci of destruction were observed, filled with exogenous material. The degradation suggested that the remains were buried in neutral so...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2015
To assess bone histology, ground bone sections can be prepared mechanically (automated technique)... more To assess bone histology, ground bone sections can be prepared mechanically (automated technique) or manually by grinding the bone by hand (manual method). Recently the manual grinding method proposed by Maat et al. (2001) has received increased interest compared to other grinding techniques commonly used to investigate histochemical staining to diagnose pathological changes and age-at-death. Although automated techniques are thought to be qualitatively equivalent to Maat et al.'s (2001) method, a quantitative comparison has not been done. The aim therefore was to quantitatively compare Maat et al.'s (2001) manual method to an automated grinding technique by measuring the maximum and minimum diameters, and calculating the area, of Haversian systems and Haversian canals from the anterior midshaft of five cadaveric tibiae. Statistical tests were used to assess the differences between the variables. Quantitatively there was no significant difference between the two techniques, illustrating that the quality of the sections produced by the manual method was equally suitable for qualitative and quantitative examination. Future researchers interested in doing quantitative research on ground sections are therefore not limited by a lack of access to specialized automated equipment because manual ground sections are sufficient for histological assessment.
Biology, 2023
Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated.... more Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated. An unmarked cemetery was buried beneath a mine dump which resulted in macroscopically stained and poorly preserved bones. Histological assessments were conducted to understand the postmortem treatment of the remains, determine the extent of bone degradation, and understand how this environment affected the bone’s microstructure. Various diagenetic alterations and the general histological index were assessed using normal and polarized light microscopy of thin anterior midshaft femur sections (n = 50). Degradation was identified in the periosteal and endosteal regions, while the intra-cortical region remained well-preserved. Bacterial bioerosion, microcracks, infiltrations, inclusions, and staining were found throughout the sample. Numerous non-Wedl micro-foci of destruction were observed, filled with exogenous material. The degradation suggested that the remains were buried in neutral soil that was subsequently covered by acidic mine dumps which resulted in a corrosive environment. Although the skeletons were poorly preserved, their histological integrity was more promising, especially the intra-cortical area. This is important for future investigations of archaeological bone, as this area can lead to more accurate descriptions of skeletal assemblages. Targeted sampling of this region could produce promising estimates of age, descriptions of pathology, and biomolecular results, which require further study.
Article published in the April issue of a South African archaeological magazine, The Digging Stick.
HOMO - Journal of Comparative Human Biology, 2014
The histology of bone has been a useful tool in research. It is commonly used to estimate the age... more The histology of bone has been a useful tool in research. It is commonly used to estimate the age of an individual at death, to assess if the bone is of human or non-human origin and in trauma analysis. Factors that affect the histology of bone include age, sex, population affinity and burning to name but a few. Other factors expected to affect bone histology are freezing, boiling and degreasing but very little information is available for freezing and the effect thereof, and it is unknown if boiling and degreasing affects bone histology. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of freezing, freezing and boiling, and freezing, boiling and degreasing on the histological structure of compact bone. Five cadaver tibiae were frozen at −20 °C for 21 days followed by segments being boiled in water for three days and degreased in trichloroethylene at 82 °C for three days. Anterior midshaft sections were prepared as ground sections and for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Quantitatively, there were no significant differences between freezing, boiling and degreasing; however, qualitative differences were observed using SEM. After being frozen the bone displayed cracks and after boiling the bones displayed erosion pits on the surface. It is suggested that further research, using different durations and temperatures for boiling and freezing be undertaken on bone samples representing different ages and various skeletal elements.
Conference Presentations by Stacey L Lander
Archaeological human skeletal remains were rescued and exhumed from the Crown Mines historical ce... more Archaeological human skeletal remains were rescued and exhumed from the Crown Mines historical cemetery in Johannesburg. Due to poor preservation, estimates of age, sex, ancestry and stature could not be accurately assessed from morphological criteria. In such circumstances, histology has been shown to be a helpful technique for acquiring additional information. The assessment of the histological alterations associated with poor bone preservation, also known as diagenesis, may lead to more accurate interpretations of the above estimates. The aim therefore was to describe the histological integrity of the bones and to assess the chemical interactions between bones and the soil during diagenesis. Fifty femora were selected and midshaft cross-sections were manually ground to describe the histological integrity using light and polarized microscopy. Five additional midshaft cross-sections were manually ground and assessed using Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. Histologically, a variety of microcracks, infiltrations, inclusions and staining were qualitatively identified however no biodegradation was present. Chemically, there were a number of elements (Fe, Al, K, Mn, Ca, P, Na and Mo) that were altered due to diagenesis and a transfer of elements from the soil to the bone and vice versa were shown. Overall, the preservation of the bone microstructure was good, allowing for future histological assessment to improve the accuracies of estimates, such as age-at-death.
Bone histology has been used in biological anthropology in determining the age of an individual a... more Bone histology has been used in biological anthropology in determining the age of an individual at death, in determining if bone was of human or non-human origin and in trauma analysis. Most research in this regard is done using bone specimens from the skeletal collections found in museums or universities where these specimens have been macerated and degreased, but little is known about the effects of these treatments on the microstructure of bone. Five tibiae were dissected from cadavers under South Africa’s Human Tissues Act. Control segments were removed before the inferior and superior halves were frozen and the inferior halves being subsequently boiled. Anterior midshaft segments were prepared as ground sections with no histological staining required and for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A Three-way Factorial ANOVA and a Tukey HSD post-hoc test were used for statistical analyses. Quantitatively, there were no significant differences between the control, frozen, and boiled samples with regard to the histological structure of bone; however, qualitative differences were observed. Frozen samples displayed cracks whereas macerated samples displayed ‘‘holes’’ on the surface of the bone. Age related bone loss consistent with osteoporosis was also observed. It is suggested that a similar study be conducted using a larger sample size that includes younger individuals and that bone samples
should be further investigated with regards to using different
temperatures in boiling and freezing, and for different time periods. Furthermore, it is also suggested that further investigations be performed on the tibia because very little research has been done on the histology thereof.
Biology
Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated.... more Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated. An unmarked cemetery was buried beneath a mine dump which resulted in macroscopically stained and poorly preserved bones. Histological assessments were conducted to understand the postmortem treatment of the remains, determine the extent of bone degradation, and understand how this environment affected the bone’s microstructure. Various diagenetic alterations and the general histological index were assessed using normal and polarized light microscopy of thin anterior midshaft femur sections (n = 50). Degradation was identified in the periosteal and endosteal regions, while the intra-cortical region remained well-preserved. Bacterial bioerosion, microcracks, infiltrations, inclusions, and staining were found throughout the sample. Numerous non-Wedl micro-foci of destruction were observed, filled with exogenous material. The degradation suggested that the remains were buried in neutral so...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2015
To assess bone histology, ground bone sections can be prepared mechanically (automated technique)... more To assess bone histology, ground bone sections can be prepared mechanically (automated technique) or manually by grinding the bone by hand (manual method). Recently the manual grinding method proposed by Maat et al. (2001) has received increased interest compared to other grinding techniques commonly used to investigate histochemical staining to diagnose pathological changes and age-at-death. Although automated techniques are thought to be qualitatively equivalent to Maat et al.'s (2001) method, a quantitative comparison has not been done. The aim therefore was to quantitatively compare Maat et al.'s (2001) manual method to an automated grinding technique by measuring the maximum and minimum diameters, and calculating the area, of Haversian systems and Haversian canals from the anterior midshaft of five cadaveric tibiae. Statistical tests were used to assess the differences between the variables. Quantitatively there was no significant difference between the two techniques, illustrating that the quality of the sections produced by the manual method was equally suitable for qualitative and quantitative examination. Future researchers interested in doing quantitative research on ground sections are therefore not limited by a lack of access to specialized automated equipment because manual ground sections are sufficient for histological assessment.
Biology, 2023
Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated.... more Human skeletons associated with early gold mining in Johannesburg, South Africa are investigated. An unmarked cemetery was buried beneath a mine dump which resulted in macroscopically stained and poorly preserved bones. Histological assessments were conducted to understand the postmortem treatment of the remains, determine the extent of bone degradation, and understand how this environment affected the bone’s microstructure. Various diagenetic alterations and the general histological index were assessed using normal and polarized light microscopy of thin anterior midshaft femur sections (n = 50). Degradation was identified in the periosteal and endosteal regions, while the intra-cortical region remained well-preserved. Bacterial bioerosion, microcracks, infiltrations, inclusions, and staining were found throughout the sample. Numerous non-Wedl micro-foci of destruction were observed, filled with exogenous material. The degradation suggested that the remains were buried in neutral soil that was subsequently covered by acidic mine dumps which resulted in a corrosive environment. Although the skeletons were poorly preserved, their histological integrity was more promising, especially the intra-cortical area. This is important for future investigations of archaeological bone, as this area can lead to more accurate descriptions of skeletal assemblages. Targeted sampling of this region could produce promising estimates of age, descriptions of pathology, and biomolecular results, which require further study.
Article published in the April issue of a South African archaeological magazine, The Digging Stick.
HOMO - Journal of Comparative Human Biology, 2014
The histology of bone has been a useful tool in research. It is commonly used to estimate the age... more The histology of bone has been a useful tool in research. It is commonly used to estimate the age of an individual at death, to assess if the bone is of human or non-human origin and in trauma analysis. Factors that affect the histology of bone include age, sex, population affinity and burning to name but a few. Other factors expected to affect bone histology are freezing, boiling and degreasing but very little information is available for freezing and the effect thereof, and it is unknown if boiling and degreasing affects bone histology. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of freezing, freezing and boiling, and freezing, boiling and degreasing on the histological structure of compact bone. Five cadaver tibiae were frozen at −20 °C for 21 days followed by segments being boiled in water for three days and degreased in trichloroethylene at 82 °C for three days. Anterior midshaft sections were prepared as ground sections and for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Quantitatively, there were no significant differences between freezing, boiling and degreasing; however, qualitative differences were observed using SEM. After being frozen the bone displayed cracks and after boiling the bones displayed erosion pits on the surface. It is suggested that further research, using different durations and temperatures for boiling and freezing be undertaken on bone samples representing different ages and various skeletal elements.
Archaeological human skeletal remains were rescued and exhumed from the Crown Mines historical ce... more Archaeological human skeletal remains were rescued and exhumed from the Crown Mines historical cemetery in Johannesburg. Due to poor preservation, estimates of age, sex, ancestry and stature could not be accurately assessed from morphological criteria. In such circumstances, histology has been shown to be a helpful technique for acquiring additional information. The assessment of the histological alterations associated with poor bone preservation, also known as diagenesis, may lead to more accurate interpretations of the above estimates. The aim therefore was to describe the histological integrity of the bones and to assess the chemical interactions between bones and the soil during diagenesis. Fifty femora were selected and midshaft cross-sections were manually ground to describe the histological integrity using light and polarized microscopy. Five additional midshaft cross-sections were manually ground and assessed using Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. Histologically, a variety of microcracks, infiltrations, inclusions and staining were qualitatively identified however no biodegradation was present. Chemically, there were a number of elements (Fe, Al, K, Mn, Ca, P, Na and Mo) that were altered due to diagenesis and a transfer of elements from the soil to the bone and vice versa were shown. Overall, the preservation of the bone microstructure was good, allowing for future histological assessment to improve the accuracies of estimates, such as age-at-death.
Bone histology has been used in biological anthropology in determining the age of an individual a... more Bone histology has been used in biological anthropology in determining the age of an individual at death, in determining if bone was of human or non-human origin and in trauma analysis. Most research in this regard is done using bone specimens from the skeletal collections found in museums or universities where these specimens have been macerated and degreased, but little is known about the effects of these treatments on the microstructure of bone. Five tibiae were dissected from cadavers under South Africa’s Human Tissues Act. Control segments were removed before the inferior and superior halves were frozen and the inferior halves being subsequently boiled. Anterior midshaft segments were prepared as ground sections with no histological staining required and for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A Three-way Factorial ANOVA and a Tukey HSD post-hoc test were used for statistical analyses. Quantitatively, there were no significant differences between the control, frozen, and boiled samples with regard to the histological structure of bone; however, qualitative differences were observed. Frozen samples displayed cracks whereas macerated samples displayed ‘‘holes’’ on the surface of the bone. Age related bone loss consistent with osteoporosis was also observed. It is suggested that a similar study be conducted using a larger sample size that includes younger individuals and that bone samples
should be further investigated with regards to using different
temperatures in boiling and freezing, and for different time periods. Furthermore, it is also suggested that further investigations be performed on the tibia because very little research has been done on the histology thereof.