The Design of Evaluation of Assays of Trace Elements in a Fossil Bone*

Abstract

TheJIame atomic absorption spectroscopjj method of analysis of trace elements ( M n , Sr, and Cu) in a mammoth's bone and the method of estimation of the data using regression analysis are described. The concentration fields of the single elements in a cross-section through the bone are well described by a fourth degree polynomial. The minimum values and their coordinates have been determined. A method of determination ofthe original concentrations of trace elements in fossil bones is described further. The approximating features of the regression exponential equations and of the diffusion functions of various shapes were derermined and a method for calculating rhe concentrations and diffusion properties of the bones once deposited in the soil is suggested. The original trace element concentration can be estimated by extrapolation of a suitable exponential or diffusion function.