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Trace elements in buried human bones: intra-population variability of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios – diet or diagenesis?

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Abstract.

A comparative analysis of trace element data of human skeletal material from four archaeological sites is presented. We show that the state of histomorphological preservation of bone, which is a measurement for the degree of its diagenetic alteration, closely corresponds to the Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios at an intra-population level. This study challenges the validity of dietary studies that are based on the presently used procedures for sample preparation and subsequent evaluation of strontium and barium concentrations.

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  1. Department of Historical Anthropology and Human Ecology, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Bürgerstrasse 50, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, Germany

    Alexander Fabig & Bernd Herrmann

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  1. Alexander Fabig
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  2. Bernd Herrmann
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Fabig, A., Herrmann, B. Trace elements in buried human bones: intra-population variability of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios – diet or diagenesis?. Naturwissenschaften 89, 115–119 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-001-0294-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-001-0294-7

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