One of the ENIGMA objectives is how Synchrotron Radiation and Virtual Bone histology can be used to examine the preservation status of archaeological bone. And for this, the ENIGMA PI has teamed up with the ARETI project PI, Anna Spyrou from the Cyprus Institute!
Dr Spyrou’s research focusses ancient Cattle species. She compares Neolithic and and Bronze Age cattle since they seem to have very different functions, with Bronze Age cattle being heavily used in agricultural activities, whereas Neolithic cattle from the upland seem to be mainly used in ritual, and they were not moving a lot in the landscape. With DNA research, she hopes to find out more about hybridization of the breeds. DNA analysis however are known to be difficult in Cyprus, and preservation of remains is often a very serious problem.
Since tomography can be an excellent tool to analyse bone preservation, Dr Spyrou and I put together a Synchrotron microCT proposal together for the BEATS beamline in Jordan. Our proposal was successful, so, we are now in full preparation mode for the experiment!
During the international conference ICAS EMME 4, our project made an appearance during Dr Spyrou’s talk, which was very well received by the audience.
If you would like to learn more about Dr Spyrou’s project, follow this link: https://leventis-chair.cyi.ac.cy/the-project/areti/meet-the-team/