Electron microprobe analysis of elemental distribution in excavated human femurs

Abstract

Elemental distributions have been determined for femur cross sections of eight individuals from the Gibson and Ledders Woodland sites. The analyses were obtained by x-ray fluorescence with a scanning electron microscope. Movement of an element from soil to bone should give rise to inhomogeneous distributions within the bone. We found that the distributions of zinc, strontium, and lead are homogeneous throughout the femur. In contrast, iron, aluminum, potassium, and manganese show clear buildup along the outer surface of the femur and sometimes along the inner (endosteal) surface, as the result of postmortem enrichment. The buildup penetrates 10-400 micron into the femur. The major elements calcium and sodium show homogeneous distributions, but considerable material could be lost by leaching (10-15%) without causing a palpable effect on the electron maps. Magnesium shows buildup on the outer edge of some samples. These results suggest that diagenetic contamination may exclude Fe, Al, K, Mn, and probably Mg from use as indicators of ancient data. The homogeneous distributions of Zn, Sr, and Pb suggest that these elements are not altered appreciably and may serve as useful dietary indicators.

An elemental analysis of archaeological bone from Sicily as a test of predictability of diagenetic change

“…In 27 of 50 cases the element concentration in the total cortical cross-section sample lay outside the range of values for the inside and outside halves. In other words, the total cortical sample could not be interpreted as an average or blend of the periosteal and endosteal portions as would be expected, nor did the group tend to show the more orderly element distribution reported by Lambert et al (1983).…”

Dental caries, enamel composition, and subsistence among prehistoric Amerindians of Ohio

“…Numerous studies have detailed the composition of bone (e.g., Sillen, 1981;Aufderheide et al, 1985;Lambert et al, 1982Lambert et al, , 1983. Despite the common crystallographic structure of bone and enamel, significant difference preclude their compositional comparison.…”

Methods for Assessing Bone Quality: A Review

“…Energy-dispersive xray (EDX) microanalysis involves analysis of xrays with energies characteristic of the atoms in the specimen emitted when an incident electron hits the specimen surface [40]. Analysis of these xrays can provide elemental maps of the distribution of important elements such as Ca, P, F, and Sr within the specimen [49,71].…”