Aa. Qureshi et al., APPLICATION OF SOLID-STATE NUCLEAR TRACK DETECTION TECHNIQUE IN THE STUDY OF FOSSIL BONES, Radiation measurements, 28(1-6), 1997, pp. 571-574
Mammalian fossil bones have been discovered in the rocks of 16 my old
Siwalik System in Pakistan. These bones belonging to some animal simil
ar to the rhinoceros of our present days, have been studied using petr
ography, X-ray diffraction, gamma-spectrometry, fission track dating,
and alpha-autoradiography techniques. Presence of uranium in bones, no
w petrified to apatite, has been identified by fission track and alpha
autoradiography methods. Interestingly, the petrified bones still con
tain well preserved bone cells and blood vessels in their original sha
pe and red colour, perhaps due to the sudden burial of the animal in a
n anaerobic atmosphere.