Stratigraphy and Depositional Environments of the Hillbank and Yalbac Formations, Corozal Basin, Northern Belize

Gill, Karena K.; King, David T.; Smith, Fay

doi:10.1130/abs/2016am-279231

Cited by 1 publication

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“…As such, biologically available 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, which is soluble and is taken up by biotic agents, can substantially differ in its values between the lithosphere and the biosphere [ 12 , 15 , 63 , 64 ]. As a result, direct bedrock 87 Sr/ 86 Sr measurements typically conducted for geological dating studies [ 65 – 70 ] are not necessarily accurate for applications in archaeological science. Besides Sr deriving from the weathering of local bedrock, atmospheric and surface sources, such as rainfall, rivers, sea-spray, and wind-dust, also contribute to the bioavailable Sr in the food chain [ 15 , 59 , 71 – 74 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A strontium isoscape for the Conchucos region of highland Peru and its application to Andean archaeology

et al. 2021

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Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of human skeletal remains is an important method in archaeology to examine past human mobility and landscape use. 87Sr/86Sr signatures of a given location are largely determined by the underlying bedrock, and these geology specific isotope signatures are incorporated into skeletal tissue through food and water, often permitting the differentiation of local and non-local individuals in past human populations. This study presents the results of a systematic survey of modern flora and fauna (n = 100) from 14 locations to map the bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr signatures of the Conchucos region, an area where the extent of geologic variability was previously unknown. We illustrate the necessity to examine the variation in 87Sr/86Sr values of the different geological formations available to human land use to document the range of possible local 87Sr/86Sr values. Within the Conchucos region we found significant variation in environmental 87Sr/86Sr values (0.7078–0.7214). The resulting isoscape represents the largest regionally specific bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr map (3,840 km2) to date for the Andes, and will serve as a baseline for future archaeological studies of human mobility in this part of the Peruvian highlands.

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