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A lot of it is terrestrial and lacustrine rather than just marine arthropods, but Derek Briggs has worked on chitin taphonomy for fossils, so that might provide some clues: http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Taph/Report10/taphonomy10 http://palaios.sepmonline.org/cgi/reprint/13/4/386.pdf Stankiewicz, B.A., Briggs, D.E.G., Evershed, R.P., Miller, R.F. and Bierstedt, A. 1998 The fate of chitin in Quaternary and Tertiary strata. in Stankiewicz, B.A. and Van Bergen, P.F. (eds.) Nitrogen containing molecules in the biosphere and geosphere, American Chemical Society Symposium Series 707, 211-225. And here's some experimental work we did in the lab on non-calcified shrimps, if that's any help. Baas, M., Briggs, D. E. G., van Heemst, J. D. H., Kear, A. J. and de Leeuw, J. W. 1995. Selective preservation of chitin during the decay of shrimp. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 945-951. Cheers Amanda BBC Natural History Unit Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR, UK tel +44 117 973 2211 (switchboard) 97 47804 (direct) fax +44 117 974 7544 -----Original Message----- From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bruce J. Bourque Sent: 14 June 2006 15:14 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [ZOOARCH] crustaceans A colleague and I have been puzzling about the absence of crustacean remains in Northwest Atlantic, Gulf of Maine shell middens. He points out that lobster and crab chitin in particular is well calcified and therefore should survive in this carbonate-rich environment. I counter that in over forty sites I have examined I have recovered a single small carbonized fragment of crab claw. Even accidental inclusions should have produced many more recoveries if chitin is preserved in shell middens. So my basic question is where in the world and under what conditions have archaeologists recovered crustacean shell? And secondarily, has anyone examined the structure of chitin in this regard? Bruce J. Bourque Chief Archaeologist Maine State Museum Augusta, Maine 04333 and Senior Lecturer in Anthropology Bates College Lewiston, Maine 04240 http://www.bbc.co.uk/ This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately. Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received. Further communication will signify your consent to this.