Abstract
The effects of diagenesis during sedimentation and fossilization on the chemistry of bones and teeth are rarely taken into account in quantitative paleoenvironmental reconstructions. We demonstrate here that each present-day tissue displays its own chemical composition. Moreover, comparison between major and minor chemical contents between modern and fossil rodent skeletal elements through localized microanalyses further indicates the importance of the diagenetic factors. Alterations of the contents of chemical elements of fossilized tissues are found in comparison with recent ones, and variability occurs from one tissue to the other, and for different elements. The tissue that is most modified by fossilization is the incisor dentine. The most variable element is Mg. Sr varies in bone, while Ca varies in all the tissues. Thus the reliability of using Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in paleodiets is discussed and their limits defined. The necessity of localized analyses is here demonstrated as well as the importance of further investigations in diagenetic processes.
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