A guide for an anatomically sensitive dentine microsampling and age‐alignment approach for human teeth isotopic sequences

Abstract

Objectives: Stable isotope analysis of sequential dentine samples is a potentially powerful method to reveal insights into early life-histories of individuals in the past. Dentine incremental growth structures are complex, however, and current approaches that apply horizontal sectioning of demineralized tooth halves or quarters risk combining multiple growth layers and may include unwanted cementum or secondary dentine. They also require destruction of large parts of a tooth. Here, we present a less destructive and relatively straightforward protocol that reduces damage, increases temporal resolution, and improves the accuracy of age-alignment between individuals. Material and methods: We outline a protocol that includes the sampling of small (1 mm diameter) cylindrical plug transects from a thin section, along with an age-alignment scheme predicated on average growth rates for dentine areas. Results and discussion: The proposed protocol is readily applicable and more anatomically sensitive than horizontal slicing. Micro-samples are smaller (in both length and depth), hence minimizing temporal overlap and avoid directions that may contravene growth pattern. They completely avoid areas where secondary and tertiary dentine or cementum can be deposited. Age-alignment is improved by using growth ratios of anatomical tooth zones. Conclusion: This method minimizes destruction, enables finer temporal resolution and facilitates data comparison. It can be readily combined with fluorescence imaging-based or other pre-screening methods of dentine collagen preservation.

Sidon on the breadth of the wild sea: Movement and diet on the Mediterranean coast in the Middle Bronze Age

“…Future research would benefit from a local biospheric baseline including animals of the hinterlands to better represent the human range of movement. Bulk bone collagen of infant and young children from Sidon were utilized as evidence of weaning and childhood feeding practices in a previous Bayesian analysis (Stantis, Schutkowski, & Sołtysiak, 2020 ), but the generally good collagen preservation of Sidon could allow expansion of investigation of age and agency in the future with incremental sampling of dentine collagen (Beaumont et al, 2015 ; Czermak et al, 2020 ) to create dietary profiles with high temporal resolution.…”

A reflection of the unfavorable living conditions caused by the First World War in the diet and health of a 10‐year‐old boy (1907–1917) from Vetlá cemetery, Bohemia

“…Moreover, time averaging differs between the crown and the root, where increments become much more convex, as well as between different tooth types. Second, mean ages at which the stages of tooth formation are completed are used to simplify age calculations, ignoring the interindividual variability in dental growth (Czermak et al, 2020). And finally, although the developmental scheme of the teeth is considered relatively stable, variation in dentine initiation ages and growth rate may be found between populations (Scharlotta et al, 2018).…”

Incremental enamel and dentine isotopic data of faunal remains from the United Kingdom

“…In principle, these techniques can be applied to the majority of mammals (i.e., kangaroo [8] , domestic dogs [22] , human [27] , [28] ). However, the most common subjects are domesticated mammals, predominantly those with hypsodont molars — high crowning teeth that mineralise over a longer period, subsequently giving an elongated isotopic timeline (e.g.…”