Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) originated in materials science and has transferred to biomineral research providing insight into fossil and modern biominerals. An electron microscopy technique, EBSD requires a fine polished sample surface where the electron beam diffracts in the first few lattice layers, identifying mineral, polymorph and crystallographic orientation. The technique is ...

1Institute of Geosciences and Earth System Science Research Center, University of Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becherweg 21, 55128 Mainz, Germany 2Department of Earth Science and Geography, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, U.S.A. 3Steinmann Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Palaeontology, University of Bonn, Poppelsdorf Castle, 53115 Bonn, Germany 4Institute of Geosciences, University of Kie...

a Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa b Department of Paleobiology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, United States c Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States d Council for Geosciences, Silverton, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa e Department of Geology, Co...

*University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Institute of Botany, Gregor Mendel-Strasse 33, 1180 Wien, Austria, and Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS), Archaeobotany, c/o Institute of Palaeontology, Geozentrum, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Wien, Austria; yUniversity of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Institute of Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Greg...

ABSTRACT In the last decade, identification of bone fragments by peptide mass fingerprinting or zooarchaeology spectrometry is developing as a powerful tool in Quaternary palaeontology. The sequence amino acids that make up collagen molecule shows slight variations between taxa, which can be studied for taxonomic purposes. This requires reference databases allow identification. Although cave be...