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Radiographic Technique for Archaeological Human Dry Bones: a scoping review

James Elliott

Cite this as: Elliott, J. 2022 Radiographic Technique for Archaeological Human Dry Bones: a scoping review, Internet Archaeology 59. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.59.1

Summary

Composite images of bone X-rays
Example radiographs (from Elliott in press). Image credit: J. Elliott

Within archaeological research, radiography has been used with human dry bones to diagnose pathologies, demonstrate trauma and assist age estimation through dentition eruption status. This study concerns the acquisition of radiographs, including technical parameters, imaging workflow and associated quantitative analysis of bone. Collectively, these themes can be grouped under the term radiographic technique. Despite its indispensability, the available guidance literature for appropriate radiographic technique in archaeology appears sparse. The aim of this research was to quantify and characterise current knowledge and recommendations related to radiographic technique. A scoping review was conducted, involving a systematic search of academic literature within the last 20 years. Archaeological academic textbooks and journal articles from any geographical location or time period were included but were limited to studies involving human dry bone and written in the English language. Of 244 potential studies, results identified seventeen journal articles and four academic textbooks with direct recommendations or guidance for radiographic technique. The primary reason for exclusion was the omission of methodological detail. The majority of included texts addressed the identification of pathologies, cortical thickness or detection of Harris lines. While recommendations exist, gaps in the knowledge include dedicated guidelines for specific anatomy and the integration of photography during radiographic imaging.

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  • Keywords: radiographic technique, workflow, process, osteoarchaeology, paleopathology, protocol, scoping review
  • Accepted: 1 March 2022. Published: 21 March 2022
  • PDF download (main article text only)
  • Funding: This project has been funded by the College of Radiographers Industry Partnership Scheme Research Grant (Grant number 186, 2020).

Corresponding author: James ElliottORCID logo
james.elliott@canterbury.ac.uk
Canterbury Christ Church University

Full text

Figure 1: PRISMA 2020 flowchart of study selection and inclusion process

Figure 2: Literature map for radiography of human dry bones across 21 publications

Table 1: Inclusion and exclusion eligibility criteria

Table 2: Scoring system for inclusion during full reading of literature

Table 3: Recommendations for dry human bone radiography per publication

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