The Dutch whalers: a test of a human migration in the oxygen, carbon and nitrogen isotopes of cortical bone collagen

Koon, Hannah; Tuross, Noreen

doi:10.1080/00438243.2013.823884

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Chemical signals from bulk samples and multiple separately sampled osteons are not necessarily the same, as shown by an isotopic study of the organic fraction of centuries old bones [7]. Although much remains to be learned about what can be gained from sampling individual microstructural features, doing so has the potential of providing more finegrained and informative chemical life histories [7]. Improvements in our ability to document chemical life histories are especially noteworthy in situations where there is a reason to be interested in what happened to a specific person.…”

Section: Microstructure Versus Bulk Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bone turnover in adults, the speed of which varies by age, is sufficiently slow in the inorganic fraction of bone that it captures a biogenetic signal that might span well over a decade [75][76][77]. Chemical signals from bulk samples and multiple separately sampled osteons are not necessarily the same, as shown by an isotopic study of the organic fraction of centuries old bones [7]. Although much remains to be learned about what can be gained from sampling individual microstructural features, doing so has the potential of providing more finegrained and informative chemical life histories [7].…”

Section: Microstructure Versus Bulk Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These results parallel those of Swanston et al [2,3] and Choudhury et al [4] who characterized the distributions of Sr and Pb by means of synchrotron radiation in long bone cross sections from archaeological skeletons that were about two centuries old, and the work of Pemmer et al [5] and Wittig et al [6] who examined microstructural variation in trace element concentrations in modern bones. Collagen in the bone microstructure of Dutch whalers interred in Spitsbergen has likewise been investigated for stable isotopes by Koon and Tuross [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace element distribution in human cortical bone microstructure: the potential for unravelling diet and social status in archaeological bones

et al. 2020

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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.

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Section: Microstructure Versus Bulk Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Microstructure Versus Bulk Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace element distribution in human cortical bone microstructure: the potential for unravelling diet and social status in archaeological bones

et al. 2020

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“…This impacts the recovery of isotope data from teeth, and there has been extensive discussion of methodological approaches that could mediate these effects, including alternative sampling strategies and mathematical corrections (Bendrey et al, 2015;Blumenthal et al, 2014;Green et al, 2018;Hoppe et al, 2004b;Kohn, 2004;Passey et al, 2005a;Trayler and Kohn, 2016;Zazzo et al, 2005Zazzo et al, , 2012. In bone, while serial sampling is not possible due to remodelling (see section 3.1), differences in remodelling rates in different skeletal elements and/or bone regions have been exploited to access seasonality or mobility information, along with the sampling of individual osteons (Koon and Tuross, 2013;Lamb et al, 2014;Meier-Augenstein and Fraser, 2008;Tütken et al, 2004).…”

Section: Sampling and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxygen isotopes in bioarchaeology: Principles and applications, challenges and opportunities

Pederzani

Britton

2019

Earth-Science Reviews

166

161

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Oxygen isotope analyses of skeletal remains (18 O/ 16 O, δ 18 O) are a powerful tool for exploring major themes in bioarchaeology (the study of biological archaeological remains) and can aid in the reconstruction of past human-environment interactions, socio-cultural decisions and individual life histories. Making use of the preserved animal and human tooth and bone commonly found at archaeological sites, applications include the reconstruction of palaeoclimate and palaeoseasonality; animal husbandry and management practices; human and animal lifetime mobility and provenance; and cultural practices such as breastfeeding, weaning and even past culinary preparation techniques. With a range of other uses across the natural, physical, chemical and biological sciences, oxygen isotope analyses are also highly cross-disciplinary, with developments in the field of isotope bioarchaeology potentially feeding into other fields and vice-versa. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the biogeochemical background of oxygen isotope systematics from the water cycle to human and animal skeletal tissues for archaeologists and other scientists, and to explore how these have been utilised in terrestrial bioarchaeological research. In this way, we aim to provide an overview resource for stable isotope analysts in archaeology and the wider earth science community, as well as for archaeological practitioners and consumers interested in specific applications. By providing a summary of fundamental isotope mechanics alongside a review of recent developments in the field, we hope to highlight the potential of oxygen isotope bioarchaeology to not only reveal environmental and ecological aspects of the past relevant to human groups using archaeological materials, but also to illuminate past human decisions and behaviours. Current limitations and caveats of the approaches used are also explored.

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“…The δ 18 O values recorded in the protein fraction of bone provide such an alternative data source. This has so far been little used for provenance information, although its applications are becoming more commonly reported …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collagen proteins exchange oxygen with demineralisation and gelatinisation reagents and also with atmospheric moisture

Holstein

Tersch

Coutu

et al. 2018

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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The Dutch whalers: a test of a human migration in the oxygen, carbon and nitrogen isotopes of cortical bone collagen

Abstract: Bradford Scholars -how to deposit your paper Overview Copyright check• Check if your publisher allows submission to a repository.• Use the Sherpa RoMEO database if you are not sure about your publisher's position or email openaccess@bradford.ac.uk.

Cited by 15 publications

References 29 publications

Trace element distribution in human cortical bone microstructure: the potential for unravelling diet and social status in archaeological bones

Trace element distribution in human cortical bone microstructure: the potential for unravelling diet and social status in archaeological bones

Oxygen isotopes in bioarchaeology: Principles and applications, challenges and opportunities

Collagen proteins exchange oxygen with demineralisation and gelatinisation reagents and also with atmospheric moisture

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