You might use B-72 in either alcohol base or acetone base....it is removable later...PVA is not.
Cheers
Peter
Peter Burns
Zooarchaeology Laboratory
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Harvard University
11 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge,MA 02138 USA
Phone: 617-495-8317
________________________________________
From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Richard Wright [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2013 11:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] Bone preservation question
Sarah
You have had sound advice on using plaster bandages.
If you have relatively small, and irregularly shaped bones then you
could use a PVA based glue. I have used it successfully to stabilize
bones from a swampy deposit that became 'brittle to the touch' on drying
out.
PVA glue is a safe, household item used as a paper or wood glue. No
nasty chemicals or solvents.
It helps to dilute the PVA glue with water before painting it on to the
damp bone. I can't remember the proportions we used, but have 60% glue
to 40% water in the back of my mind.
To assist absorption, it is good to let the bones dry out a bit first.
Keep an eye on the bones as they dry out on their pedestals, and apply
the PVA glue when they have dried out a bit but have not started to
crack. You may need to make more than one application.
You end up with a glossy appearance to the bone.
You also end up with a bone that has carbon added, via the hydrocarbon
in the PVA. So keep some untreated bone if you want a radiocarbon date.
Richard
On 9/10/2013 14:09, Sarah Jenkins wrote:
> Dear fellow zooarchaeologists,
>
> I am currently excavating a site with complete faunal elements that are
> very fragile. The soil is very moist and has caused the bones to become
> brittle to the touch. We are pedestaling each element as it is exposed and
> plan to transport each element on a section of plywood, but there is some
> concern that the bones with shift and crack during transportation. Has
> anyone dealt with this kind of issue before, and if so found a solution to
> prevent the bones from breaking during transport?
>
> Thanks,
> Sarah
>
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