Cameron
A long time ago..... calcified tissue chemists showed that hydrazine
gives by far the best results for deproteinating bone. I tried their
method, which works well, but in the end decided that hydrazine was
a little too dangerous for the benefits received - at that time I did
not need to eliminate organics entirely. The reference:
Termine, JD et al (1973) Hydrazine-deproteinated bone mineral. Calc.
Tiss. Res. 12, 73-90. (This journal is now called Calc. Tiss.
International I think).
In my opinion any serious heating procedure is bad news for
isotopes in any components of bone.

Good luck
Julia Lee-Thorp
Dr Julia Lee-Thorp
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Science
University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701
South Africa
Tel. 027-21 6502350
Fax. 027-21 6502352