The chemical (e.g., preservation/embalming) treatment of skeletal remains can reduce overall DNA quality and quantity. The histological and stable isotope examination of treated and untreated human remains improves our understanding of how chemical preservatives impact bone diagenesis and will determine if chemical treatment adversely affects stable isotope ratio analysis of collagen. Fidelity in the application(s) of stable isotope interpretations requires that the isotope delta (δ) values have not been altered postmortem. Re-associated antimeres and refits of chemically treated and untreated rib and long bones from eight casualties [thin-sectioned human bone (n = 43) and collagen extraction/stable isotope analysis (n = 42)] from the World War II Battle of Tarawa were examined to compare skeletal elements from the same individual that had different taphonomic histories. Histological analyses included scoring upon the Oxford Histological Index (OHI) and Birefringence scale, recording microbial invasion, and general observations. The collected data were analyzed via simple descriptive statistics and paired samples t-tests. Treated remains scored higher on the OHI and for Birefringence, indicating that bone quality was good to excellent. The untreated samples scored lower on the OHI and Birefringence scales suggesting poorer preservation than the treated remains. Histology results were supported by the isotope sample preparation results: the collagen % yield was higher for treated bone than untreated bone. Additionally, chemical preservation had no meaningful impact on isotope δ values of treated and untreated remains from the same element or pair-matched elements. Overall, treated remains exhibited good preservation while untreated remains exhibit poorer preservation with significant microfocal destruction to the extent that little histological analyses can be applied. Stable isotope ratio analysis is viable for both treated and untreated remains indicating this testing modality likely can be used for most treated remains, regardless of origin.

骨骼遗骸的化学（例如保存/防腐）处理可能会降低总体 DNA 质量和数量。对经过处理和未经处理的人类遗骸进行组织学和稳定同位素检查，可以提高我们对化学防腐剂如何影响骨成岩作用的理解，并将确定化学处理是否会对胶原蛋白的稳定同位素比率分析产生不利影响。稳定同位素解释应用中的保真度要求同位素 δ ( δ ) 值在死后未被改变。第二次世界大战塔拉瓦战役中八名伤员经过化学处理和未经处理的肋骨和长骨的重新关联和修复[薄切片人骨 (n = 43) 和胶原蛋白提取/稳定同位素分析 (n = 42)]进行了检查，以比较具有不同埋藏历史的同一个体的骨骼元素。组织学分析包括根据牛津组织学指数（OHI）和双折射量表进行评分、记录微生物入侵以及一般观察。通过简单的描述性统计和配对样本 t 检验对收集的数据进行分析。治疗后的遗体在 OHI 和双折射方面得分较高，表明骨质量为良好至优秀。未经处理的样本在 OHI 和双折射等级上的得分较低，表明其保存状况比处理过的遗骸更差。组织学结果得到了同位素样品制备结果的支持：处理过的骨的胶原蛋白产量百分比高于未处理过的骨。此外，化学保存对相同元素或配对元素的已处理和未处理遗骸的同位素δ值没有有意义的影响。总体而言，经过处理的遗骸表现出良好的保存性，而未经处理的遗骸表现出较差的保存性，具有显着的微焦点破坏，以至于几乎无法进行组织学分析。稳定同位素比分析对于经过处理和未经处理的遗骸都是可行的，这表明这种测试方式可能适用于大多数经过处理的遗骸，无论其来源如何。