The Effects of Dry Ashing on the Composition of Human and Animal Bone J. B. EDWARD, *'1 R. A. BENFER, 2 AND J. S. MORRIS 3 ~Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Nilitary College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; 2Department of Anthropology, University of Nissouri, Columbia, NO 65211; and 3Department of Chemistry and Research Reactor Facility, University of Nissouri, Columbia, NO 65211 Received June 19, 1989; Accepted December 4, 1989 ABSTRACT Elemental analysis of archaeological bones, particularly for ele- ments such as fluorine, strontium, and zinc, has been carried out for many years, with the aim of determining their age or relating their composition to diet. Bone samples are commonly dry ashed before analysis to remove organic material and render them more readily soluble. In this study, the recoveries of strontium, zinc, and nine other elements are reported for a range of ashing times and tempera- tures. Recoveries of sodium, potassium, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and zinc are significantly affected by ashing under some conditions, but recoveries of strontium, calcium, magnesium, and manganese are not. Index Entries: Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA); bone composition; trace element analysis; ashing; radioactive tracers; archaeological bone. INTRODUCTION The dry ashing of bone samples is carried out to render them more readily soluble and to remove a variable content of organic matter that *Author to whom all correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. Biological Trace Element Research, Vol. 25 9 1990 by the Humana Press Inc. Biological Trace ElementResearch 2 1 9 VoL 25, ]990