Soil loading
Definition
Fracture of bone by the compressive weight and shifting of overlying sediment over time. Produces fractures at structurally weak points, often with soil matrix wedged between fracture faces.
Related terms
- Green-bone fracture
- A fracture in bone that still has organic content: characterised by spiral or helical lines, smooth curved edges, and often some elastic...
- Peri-mortem
- At or around the time of death, when bone retains sufficient collagen to fracture in a ductile, green-bone manner. The precise biological...
- Periosteal reaction
- New bone formation on the outer cortex in response to infection, trauma, or inflammation during life. When present around a fracture site,...
- Post-mortem
- After death, once the organic matrix has significantly degraded. Post-mortem fractures show dry-bone morphology: transverse, angular, and without spiral curvature.
- Root etching
- Channels and furrows on bone cortex produced by plant root acids and microbial activity concentrated along the root-bone contact zone. A major...
Explained in
- Peri-mortem vs. Post-mortem AlterationFracture of bone by the compressive weight and shifting of overlying sediment over time. Produces fractures at structurally weak points, often with soil matrix...