1. Introduction
Bone remains constitute an important part of archaeological records. Traces of heating are often observed on bone fragments and artefacts in the form of color changes and increased mechanical fragility (Stiner et al.,1995 Shahack-Gross et al., 1998; Weiner et al., 1998, Reiche et al., 2000; Chadefaux et al., 2009). In many cases, however, these effects are difficult to distinguish from other diagenetic phenomena which could induce similar changes (Bennett, 1999; Reiche, 2009). In some cases, they are identified as burned on the basis of the context in which they are found on the field (e.g. urns), despite of the absence of any color changes. This often leaves unanswered a number of questions relating to the identification, conservation and understanding of the accidental or intentional origins of the heating process (Koon et al., 2003, 2010). Due to the importance of this topic in the fields of archaeology, paleo-anthropology and forensic science, an important literat...
