Abstract:The measurement of lead in archaeological bone forms the basis for providing insight into ancient societies, including disease, lifestyle and eating habits. It is sometimes asserted that in the 5th century AD lead toxicity played a key role in the eventual fall of the western Roman Empire. Others view the effect of lead exposure at that time to be less significant. The debate concerns the idea that clinical lead poisoning mainly affected the aristocratic population and caused a strong reduction in fertility an… Show more
Set email alert for when this publication receives citations?
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.