Faunal Tooth Research Articles

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

87Sr/86Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries (“Thuringians”, 5–6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize 87Sr/86Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context to provide a reliable 87Sr/86Sr baseline for investigating past human migration. Archeological faunal teeth data (pig, sheep/goat, and cattle) indicates a different feeding area compared to that of the human population and modern deer teeth 87Sr/86Sr suggest the influence of chemical fertilizers. Soil leachates do not yield consistent 87Sr/86Sr, and 87Sr/86Sr of snail shells are biased towards values for soil carbonates. In contrast, water and vegetation samples seem to provide the most accurate estimates of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr to generate Sr isoscapes in the study area. Long-term environmental archives of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr such as freshwater bivalve shells and tree cores were examined in order to track potential historic anthropogenic contamination of the water and the vegetation. The data obtained from the archeological bivalve shells show that the modern rivers yield 87Sr/86Sr ratios which are similar to those of the past. However, the tree cores registered decreasing 87Sr/86Sr values over time towards present day likely mirroring anthropogenic activities such as forest liming, coal mining and/or soil acidification. The comparison of 87Sr/86Sr of the Thuringian skeletons excavated in the same area also shows that the vegetation samples are very likely anthropogenically influenced to some extent, affecting especially 87Sr/86Sr of the shallow rooted plants.

ESR dating of tooth enamel in Mousterian layer 20, El Castillo, Spain

AbstractNine faunal teeth from layer 20 of El Castillo cave in Cantabrian Spain were dated using electron spin resonance (ESR). Two teeth were rejected due to inconsistent subsample ages, while the remaining teeth yielded a mean age that is consistent with the stratigraphic expectations: 42.7±3.5. Uncertainty in the external γ dose rate results in a potential systematic uncertainty of±6.4ka that should affect all samples equally. The results provide independent confirmation of previously reported 14C ages for layer 20. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Late Pleistocene human remains from Wezmeh Cave, western Iran

Paleontological analysis of remains from Wezmeh Cave in western Iran have yielded a Holocene Chalcolithic archeological assemblage, a rich Late Pleistocene carnivore faunal assemblage, and an isolated unerupted human maxillary premolar (P(3) or possibly P(4)). Species representation and U-series dating of faunal teeth place the carnivore assemblage during oxygen isotope stages (OIS) 3 and 2, and noninvasive gamma spectrometry dating of the human premolar places it at least as old as early OIS 2. The human premolar crown morphology is not diagnostic of late archaic versus early modern human affinities, but its buccolingual diameter places it at the upper limits of Late Pleistocene human P(3) and P(4) dimensions and separate from a terminal Pleistocene regional sample. Wezmeh Cave therefore provides additional Paleolithic human remains from the Zagros Mountains and further documents Late Pleistocene human association with otherwise carnivore-dominated cave assemblages.

238U, 232Th profiling and U-series isotope analysis of fossil teeth by laser ablation-ICPMS

U and Th concentration profiles in fossil hominid and faunal teeth have been measured by laser ablation ICPMS. These profiles record diverse modes of U and Th uptake, particularly within enamel, that can be broadly related to the state of sample preservation. Observed U profiles are in general inconsistent with existing diffusion–adsorption models developed for U-uptake in bone and teeth. Where the models appear applicable, calculated diffusion rates are several orders of magnitude smaller than previous estimates. Laser ablation ICPMS offers a means of rapidly characterizing U and Th distributions in the enamel and dentine components of teeth as a precursor to ESR and U-series dating. In particular, it should allow the identification of teeth (and also bone) samples that have simple U-uptake histories and are amenable to precise dating by time-consuming and expensive Th–U and Pa–U TIMS techniques. We also demonstrated the use of laser ablation ICPMS to measure U-series isotopes in dentine and enamel samples with relatively high U concentrations (>20 ppm). These results, obtained using a quadrupole ICPMS, illustrate significant promise for in situ U-series isotope analysis, particularly when combined with the greater sensitivity and multi-collection capabilities of new sector ICPMS instrumentation. The latter may permit precise isotope ratio measurements on samples containing only a few ppm of U.

Bone chemistry and palaeodiet: Bioarchaeoiogical research at Roonka Flat, lower Murray River, South Australia 1983–1999.

The predominance of stone and bone in prehistoric archaeological deposits has resulted in the development of a range of methods to extract information from these important cultural resources. Since the development of radiocarbon dating in the late 1940s, a variety of analytical techniques derived from chemistry have been applied to archaeological research problems. Many of these methods have been employed in the analysis of archaeological skeletal remains, both human and faunal. In addition to providing information about chronology, chemical analyses of bones and teeth offer independent scientific methods to address past diet, climate and ecology that supplement conventional approaches (Price 1989; Schoeninger and Moore 1992; MacFadden and Bryant 1994; Pate 1994, 1997a; Bocherens et al. 1999). During the 1970s and early 1980s a variety of analytical techniques derived from chemistry emerged in the archaeological literature as a means to reconstruct past dietary patterns. The inorganic and organic chemical constituents of bone provide a record of long-term dietary intake. Elements and amino acids liberated by the digestion of foods are incorporated into the inorganic hydroxyapatite, organic collagen, and non-collagenous protein components of bone throughout a vertebrate's lifetime. In contrast, the chemical composition of teeth reflect the early stages of life during dental development. In some cases, chemical concentrations in bones and teeth can be related quantitatively to the chemical composition of past diet. Thus, chemical analyses of archaeological teeth and bones have the potential to provide information about juvenile and long-term dietary patterns, respectively, in both humans and associated fauna. Elemental analyses of inorganic hydroxyapatite focused primarily on strontium (Sr), barium (Ba) and magnesium (Mg). The concentrations of these alkaline earth metals in bone and tooth mineral reflect percentages of meat vs. plant foods and marine vs. terrestrial foods in the diet (Boaz and Hampel 1978; Sillen and Kavanagh 1982; Connor and Slaughter 1984; Klepinger 1984). In addition, strontium isotope ratios in bones and teeth were employed to distinguish marine vs. terrestrial inputs to prehistoric human diets (Ericson 1985). Many of these early elemental studies addressed relationships between dietary variability and mortuary variability as a means to assess past social differentiation (Brown 1974; Gilbert 1977; Lambert et al. 1979; Schoeninger 1979; Blakely and Beck l98 1; Pate 1984). Stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope ratios in the collagen and non-collagenous protein components of bones and teeth record the relative amounts of marine vs. terrestrial foods and C 3 vs C 4 , plants in individual diets (Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984; Peterson and Fry 1987). Stable carbon and oxygen  isotope ratios in the inorganic carbonate and phosphate portions of bone and tooth apatite can supplement these organic analyses (Krueger and Sullivan 1984; Sponheimer and Lee-Thorp 1999). Initial archaeological applications involved stable carbon isotopes in bone collagen. These studies addressed the relative contribution of photosynthetically distinct plants, e.g. corn (C 3 ) vs. wheat (C 4 ), to prehistoric human diets (van der Merwe and Vogel 1978; Bender et al. 1981; van der Merwe 1982). Subsequent research involved stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of prehistoric human bone collagen to infer relative consumption of marine vs. terrestrial foods (Norr; 1981, 1982; Chisholm et al. 1982; 1983; Schoeninger et al. 1983; Hobson and Collier 1984). More recently, stable oxygen isotopes have been employed to provide information about trophic level and diets based on browsing vs. grazing (Kohn et al. 1996; Wright and Schwarcz 1999). Because of the substantial difficulties associated with quantitative inferences regarding prehistoric human dietary composition from archaeological food remains and artefacts, chemical palaeodietary techniques involving analyses of human and faunal bones and teeth received great attention following their introduction in various parts of the world and became widespread in the archaeological and physical anthropological literature during the 1990s. Â