Amino acid racemization of fossil bone

Abstract A study of aspartic acid racemization in different fractions of 51 fossil bones of various ages, shows that the collagen-rich fractions do manifest increasing D-aspartic acid contents with increasing age. No such correlation exists for the fractions rich in non-collagenous proteins. More collagen-rich samples, particularly from bones in older sites, are needed to verify the generality of this trend.