Growth layers can be found in any mineralized tissue, such as bone, tooth or shell. Much of the basic research into growth marks in mineralized tissues has been carried out on bone. Although useful, this analogy is not perfect and important differences exist between the two tissues.
Teeth are often well-preserved on archaeological sites.
This means that dental cementum offers a complete record of individual growth. For this reason, dental cementum is particularly interesting to archaeologists. Cells in cement, cementocytes, are secreted by cementoblasts embedded in the tissue. The organic matrix which forms the basic structural component of bone and cement is composed of collagen fibres. Cementum growth pattern.