Contribution of strontium to the human diet from querns and millstones: an experiment in digestive strontium isotope uptake

Johnson, Lucie; Montgomery, Janet; Evans, Jane; Hamilton, Elliott M.

doi:10.1111/arcm.12485

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Beyond isoscape mapping, variations in plant 87 Sr/ 86 Sr with root depth could have implications for the reconstruction of human and animal mobility patterns in archaeology. Humans make choices about what they consume and when and where they source those foods, and are thus not passive recipients of environmental strontium (Johnson et al, 2019). Furthermore, while it has been long known that strontium inputs are normalized to dietary calcium budgets (e.g., Comar, 1963), the influence of dietary composition on 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in humans has received little attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sampling Plants and Malacofauna in 87Sr/86Sr Bioavailability Studies: Implications for Isoscape Mapping and Reconstructing of Past Mobility Patterns

et al. 2020

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Establishing strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) geographical variability is a key component of any study that seeks to utilize strontium isotopes as tracers of provenance or mobility. Although lithological maps can provide a guideline, estimations of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr are often necessary, both in qualitative estimates of local strontium isotope “catchments” and for informing/refining isoscape models. Local soils, plants and/or animal remains are commonly included in bioavailability studies, although consensus on what (and how extensively) to sample is lacking. In this study, 96 biological samples (plants and snails) were collected at 17 locations spanning 6 lithological units, within a region of south-west France and an area with a high concentration of Paleolithic archaeological sites. Sampling sites aligned with those from a previous study on soil bioavailable strontium, and comparison with these values, and the influence of environmental and anthropogenic variables, was explored. Data confirm a broad correspondence of plant and snail 87Sr/86Sr values with lithological unit/soil values, although the correlation between expected 87Sr/86Sr values from lithology and bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr ratios from biological samples was higher for plants than for snails. Grass, shrub and tree 87Sr/86Sr values were similar but grasses had a stronger relationship with topsoil values than trees, reflecting differences in root architecture. Variability in 87Sr/86Sr ratios from all plant samples was lower for sites located on homogeneous geological substrates than for those on heterogeneous substrates, such as granite. Among environmental and anthropogenic variables, only an effect of proximity to water was detected, with increased 87Sr/86Sr values in plants from sites close to rivers originating from radiogenic bedrock. The results highlight the importance of analyzing biological samples to complement, inform and refine strontium isoscape models. The sampling of plants rather than snails is recommended, including plants of varying root depth, and (if sample size is a limitation) to collect a greater number of samples from areas with heterogeneous geological substrates to improve the characterizations of those regions. Finally, we call for new experimental studies on the mineralized tissues of grazers, browsers, frugivores and/or tree leaf feeders to explore the influence of 87Sr/86Sr variability with soil profile/root architecture on 87Sr/86Sr values of locally-feeding fauna.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sampling Plants and Malacofauna in 87Sr/86Sr Bioavailability Studies: Implications for Isoscape Mapping and Reconstructing of Past Mobility Patterns

et al. 2020

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“…Radiocarbon dating of a sample of stratigraphically unassociated remains from the linear mortuary structure estimates that they date to between 3760-3660 cal BC (95 per cent probability; Griffiths, 2011: 85). (Johnson et al, 2019). Clays associated with coal measures give bioavailable values between 0.7095 and 0.7113 (n = 10).…”

Section: Isotope Constraints On Location and Surrounding Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Carboniferous limestone is well defined in terms of biosphere value, giving a plant interquartile range of 0.7090–0.7098 (n = 22). The gritstones that crop out in the Pennines give biosphere values between 0.7107 and 0.7114 (n = 11); a recent study which determined the bio-accessible Sr isotope composition from the Millstone Grit gives a value of 0.7115 (Johnson et al, 2019). Clays associated with coal measures give bioavailable values between 0.7095 and 0.7113 (n = 10).…”

Section: Isotope Constraints On Location and Surrounding Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic Evidence for Human Movement into Central England during the Early Neolithic

Neil

Evans²,

Montgomery

et al. 2020

Eur. j. archaeol

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Isotope ratios of tooth enamel from ten Early Neolithic individuals buried in a long cairn at Whitwell in central England were measured to determine where they sourced their childhood diet. Five individuals have low Sr concentrations (11–66 ppm) and high 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7164–0.7212). Three individuals have relatively low 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.712–0.711) and Sr concentrations ranging between 54 and 109 ppm. Two individuals have strontium isotope values that bridge the gap between the isotope compositions of these two groups. The high 87Sr/86Sr values are rare in human enamel and exclude sources within the biosphere of central England. Oxygen isotope values are comparable to those found within human archaeological populations buried in temperate regions of Europe. The strontium isotope results should be interpreted in the context of other evidence for migration from northern France to Britain during the Early Neolithic.

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“…Knudson et al (2014) also found that archeological human and faunal samples were consistently offset from soil 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in many locations. This makes sense since soils and rocks are generally not directly consumed, although rock contributions to the diet might be nominal in groups that process food with grinding stones (Johnson et al, 2019), practice geophagy, or consume geological materials as digestive aids-all were done in the ancient Andes (Johns, 1990). These inconsistencies between bedrock, soil, and skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr could be due to differential weathering of bedrock throughout the steep Andes and/or the overall paucity of bedrock and soil samples from the region; nonetheless, this illustrates the need for a deeper examination of different substrates for the analysis of bioavailable Sr in the region.…”

Section: Strontium Isotopes In the Andes: From Dietary Catchments To mentioning

confidence: 99%

Drinking Locally: A Water 87Sr/86Sr Isoscape for Geolocation of Archeological Samples in the Peruvian Andes

et al. 2020

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The analysis of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr has become a robust tool for identifying non-local individuals at archeological sites. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in human bioapatite reflects the geological signature of food and water consumed during tissue development. Modeling relationships between 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in human environments, food webs, and archeological human tissues is critical for moving from identifying non-locals to determining their likely provenience. In the Andes, obstacles to sample geolocation include overlapping 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of distant geographies and a poor understanding of mixed strontium sources in food and drink. Here, water is investigated as a proxy for bioavailable strontium in archeological human skeletal and dental tissues. This study develops a water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape from 262 samples (220 new and 42 published samples), testing the model with published archeological human skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr trimmed of probable non-locals. Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and prediction error between the predicted and measured 87 Sr/ 86 Sr for the archeological test set are compared by elevation, underlying geology, and watershed size. Across the Peruvian Andes, water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges from 0.7049 to 0.7227 (M = 0.7081, SD = 0.0027). Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr is higher in the highlands, in areas overlying older bedrock, and in larger watersheds, characteristics which are geographically correlated. Spatial outliers identified are from canals, wells, and one stream, suggesting those sources could show non-representative 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The best-fit water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape achieves prediction errors for archeological samples ranging from 0.0017-0.0031 (M = 0.0012, n = 493). The water isoscape explains only 7.0% of the variation in archeological skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (R 2 = 0.07), but 90.0% of archeological skeleton 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fall within the site isoscape prediction ± site prediction standard error. Due to lower sampling density and higher geological variability in the highlands, the water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape is more useful for ruling out geographic origins for lowland

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Contribution of strontium to the human diet from querns and millstones: an experiment in digestive strontium isotope uptake

Cited by 9 publications

References 38 publications

Sampling Plants and Malacofauna in 87Sr/86Sr Bioavailability Studies: Implications for Isoscape Mapping and Reconstructing of Past Mobility Patterns

Sampling Plants and Malacofauna in 87Sr/86Sr Bioavailability Studies: Implications for Isoscape Mapping and Reconstructing of Past Mobility Patterns

Isotopic Evidence for Human Movement into Central England during the Early Neolithic

Drinking Locally: A Water 87Sr/86Sr Isoscape for Geolocation of Archeological Samples in the Peruvian Andes

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