For medieval and post-medieval Denmark and northern Germany, trace elements can potentially contribute to our understanding of diet, migration, social status, exposure to urban settings, and disease treatment. Copper, of particular interest as a marker of access to everyday metal items, can be used to clarify socioeconomic distinctions between and within communities. Postmortem alteration of bone (diagenesis), however, must be ruled out before the elements can be used to characterize life in the past. Femoral cortical bone samples of ca. 40 mg were thoroughly decontaminated, and the concentrations of Al, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, As, Sr, Ba, and Pb were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations of these elements were quantified in bone samples from 553 skeletons from 9 rural and urban cemeteries, and 34 soil samples obtained near three burials. Copper, the primary element of interest in this work, is generally absent from the femoral cortical bone of rural people, although it occurs in high concentrations in the skeletons of the inhabitants of towns. The Cu in medieval to post-medieval bones likely originated from everyday objects, notably kitchen utensils. A rural to urban distinction in Cu concentrations, found repeatedly at two sites, likely resulted from differential access to much-desired, although still utilitarian, household items. An uneven distribution of metal objects used in domestic contexts, demonstrated through bone chemistry, was greater between rural and urban communities than it was within urban centres, at least among the socioeconomic positions sampled in this study.

Variation in the trace element chemistry of cortical bone microstructure is delineated for interred and non-interred human femora. This was done to investigate the range of element concentrations that might occur within single bones, specifically the original laminar bone and later osteons, and its potential for investigating chemical life histories. To do so, femora were chosen from individuals who experienced quite different ways of life over the past two millennia. The distributions of Sr, Ba, Cu, and Pb, mostly in partial (early) and complete (late) osteons, in cross-sections of proximal femora were characterized through Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Absolute calibrations of these data were obtained using solution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry on adjacent dissolved bulk samples. Chemical life histories were approximated by classifying bone microstructure into four categories: laminar bone and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation osteons. This four-part sequence, on average, charts the temporal dimension of an individual’s life. Consistent with recent studies of medieval bones, Sr and Ba are thought to be mainly responsive to diet, presumably related to the consumption of mostly locally produced food, while Cu and Pb do the same for heavy metal exposure often attributable to social status or occupation. No systematic differences in these elements were found between interred and non-interred individuals. The effect of diagenesis on interpretations of life histories based on archaeological bone, therefore, are minimized by plotting element concentrations across cortical bone cross-sections.

Fragments of painted limestone reliefs from the Palace of Apries in Upper Egypt excavated by Flinders Petrie in 1908-1910 have been investigated using visible-induced luminescence imaging, micro X-ray fluorescence, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, micro X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The pigments have been mapped, and the use and previous reports of use of pigments are discussed. Mainly lead-antimonate yellow, lead-tin yellow, orpiment, atacamite, gypsum/anhydrite, and Egyptian blue have been detected. It is the first time that lead-antimonate yellow and lead-tin yellow have been identified in ancient Egyptian painting. In fact, this is the earliest examples known of both of these yellow pigments in the world.

Individuals buried in two 17th-18th Century private chapels, each attached to a Franciscan Friary-one in Italy the other in Denmark-have been studied and sampled for trace element analysis. This selection of individuals allows a comparison of the trace element inventory of members of noble families against friars and townspeople, as well as a comparison between two very similar situations in Denmark and Italy. The relevance of this study is to see if and how differences in social status, and therefore likely differences in dietary habits, are reflected in the trace element chemistry of the bones. Samples of cortical and trabecular tissues have been procured from a long bone, preferentially the femur. The samples have been thoroughly decontaminated. 87 samples from 69 individuals have been analysed for Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Sr, Ba, and Pb by ICP-MS and Hg by CV-AAS. Sex and age at death have been established by anthropological analysis for all members of the two noble families. We find systematic differences between the noble family members and the friars (or townspeople) in both Italy and Denmark. The noble families are in both cases low in Sr and Ba compared to the friars and townspeople, which is interpreted as a dietary signal resulting from higher meat consumption than in the comparative groups. Lead concentrations are found to be higher in the noble family members than in the comparative groups, and the Pb concentration seems to increase with age in the Italian noble family, where both young and middle-aged individuals were investigated. Mercury concentrations are higher in some of the Italian noble family members compared to friars and townspeople; whereas in Denmark it seems that Hg was equally available to the noble family members and the friars alike. This is the first comprehensive and comparative study of post-medieval noble families in Denmark and Italy. The results show that there are distinct similarities in the trace element distribution patterns in the noble family members irrespective of country, which is tentatively suggested to be due to their higher social status.

Lead-glazed potsherds from archaeological excavations at six Renaissance (1536–1660 CE) sites in southern Denmark and northern Germany have been subjected to etching experiments using 4 wt% acetic acid. The extracts of 45 sherds were analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. At one site, the ducal hunting castle of Grøngaard, Pb levels in acid extracts from glazed dishes were so high (up to 29,000 µg Pb cm−2 day−1) that acute toxic effects likely occurred if the dishes were used for serving food containing vinegar. More moderate acid-etching Pb levels were found in dishes from other sites, but they still exceed the WHO critical level if used daily. Acetic acid etching experiments performed on pipkins (three-legged cooking pots with a handle) yielded somewhat lower Pb extract values, averaging ca. 25 µg Pb cm−2 day−1. Taking into account the widespread use of pipkins for cooking, they might easily have led to a higher weekly Pb intake than the use of the moderate-level dishes. The question remains whether such high levels of Pb exposure during meals led to injurious Pb intake. Prior skeletal analyses have shown that medieval to early modern individuals from the area, especially in towns, were exposed to Pb. While exposure could have come from various sources other than lead-glazed ceramics, such as cosmetics, paint, antibacterial ointments, and lead water pipes, widely distributed lead-glazed ceramics had the potential of being a main source of Pb. How the pottery was actually used is uncertain, and it certainly was not evenly distributed across all segments of society, but the etching experiment results suggest that severe poisonous effects could have resulted from the use of lead-glazed Renaissance ceramics.