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'HORTOLÀ P, 2026: Blood residues on ethnographic artefacts: an experimental SEM study of human erythrocytes in blood-smeared engraved bone. Anthropologie (Brno) 64, 1: 0-0'. |
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| Abstract | | : New Guinea bone daggers constitute a distinctive class of artefacts that have traditionally been used, among other purposes, for ritual killing and close combat in warfare, thus having the potential to retain human blood residues. A number of these implements were decorated with engraved geometric or anthropomorphic motifs, or a combination of both, extending across much of their front surface. Understanding the microscopic preservation of blood residues on worked bone is relevant for interpreting organic residues on ethnographic artefacts. Previous SEM investigations have suggested that the thickness of plasma is the principal factor determining the morphological recognisability of erythrocytes (red blood cells, RBCs) in bloodstains, including on plain bone surfaces. However, their morphological recognisability on engraved bone surfaces has remained unexplored. To assess their long-term morphological recognisability and mechanical condition, the outer surface of a diaphyseal fragment of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) tibia was engraved with a schematic human motif, subsequently smeared with peripheral human blood directly from a fingertip moved across the stationary bone surface, stored for more than 17 years, and examined using a variable-pressure scanning electron microscope. Flattened erythrocytes, hecatocytes, and other deformed morphologies were identified in thinly bloodstained areas, whereas in thicker ones, plasma obscured the cells and exhibited macrocracking. The frictional passage of the bloodied fingertip across sharp bone engravings produced deformation but not fragmentation of RBCs, indicating that mechanical stress during deposition can stretch erythrocytes without obliterating their morphology. These results demonstrate that RBCs can remain morphologically recognisable after long-term storage, regardless of whether the bone surface is engraved or plain. They also suggest that smear thickness, rather than engraving relief, is the decisive factor governing their microscopic recognisability. | | | | Keywords | | Scanning electron microscopy – Red blood cells – Bloodstains – Bone artefacts – Organic residue analysis – Haemotaphonomy | | |
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