Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40632747›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

The seasonality experiment: Investigating how seasons affect the burning conditions of cremations.

Elisavet Stamataki, Guy De Mulder, Rosalie Hermans, Martine Vercauteren, Christophe Snoeck

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Determining the roots of Urnfield Culture at Přáslavice, Czech Republic.Archaeological and anthropological sciences · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Elisavet StamatakiArchaeology, Environmental Changes, and Geo-Chemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7010-2585
Guy De MulderDepartment of Archaeology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4180-502X
Rosalie HermansArchaeology, Environmental Changes, and Geo-Chemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1675-191X
Martine VercauterenResearch Unit, Anthropology and Human Genetics, Department of Biology of Organisms and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Christophe SnoeckArchaeology, Environmental Changes, and Geo-Chemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3770-4055

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of seasons and weather conditions on cremation processes, using experimental archaeology and advanced analytical techniques. Four outdoor cremation experiments were conducted across different seasons in Greece, during which the four fleshed legs (front and hind) of the same domestic pig (Sus scrofa) were burned. The study highlights the effects of variables such as temperature, dryness of fuelwood, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation on the structural and chemical composition of burned bones. Results demonstrate a strong correlation between burning conditions and isotopic (δ13C, δ18O) as well as infrared indices (Infrared Splitting Factor (IRSF), Carbonyl-to-Carbonate ratio (C/C)), which are temperature-related. Comparisons with archaeological data from Belgium reveal potential seasonal patterns in past cremation practices. The findings underscore the need for expanded experimental research in various geographical areas with different altitudes and weather conditions to further investigate how the location in which burning was performed in combination with weather conditions affected the cremation settings and therefore past funerary practices.

Indexed as

CremationFiresSeasonsAnimalsArchaeologyBelgiumGreeceSus scrofaSwineTemperatureWeather

Identifiers

PMID40632747
PMCPMC12240392

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.