Evidence for long-term averaging of strontium in bovine enamel using TIMS and LA-MC-ICP-MS strontium isotope intra-molar profiles

Abstract

. (2010) 'Evidence for long-term averaging of strontium in bovine enamel using TIMS and LA-MC-ICP-MS strontium isotope intra-molar proles.', Environmental archaeology., 15 (1). pp. 32-42. Further information on publisher's website:http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/146141010X12640787648694Publisher's copyright statement:Additional information: Visit Maney's website at http://www.maneypublishing.com Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. months. Averaging of the input signal may result from both long-term retention of strontium in the skeleton and recirculation in the body pool, or long-term maturation of enamel on a microscopic scale. Whichever mechanism is responsible, it may not be possible to recover strontium isotope ratios with a high time resolution from cattle molar enamel unless there is a large imbalance in the amount of strontium supplied by different sources. Consequently, strontium isotope profiles may not be synchronous with those of lighter isotope systems.

An improved protocol for 87 Sr/ 86 Sr by laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using oxide reduction and a customised plasma interface

“…Furthermore, in some teeth, such as those of cattle, with extended enamel, maturation times strontium incorporated into tooth enamel may average dietary strontium over a prolonged time period. This makes such teeth particularly unsuitable for resolving migration with high temporal resolution (Montgomery et al, 2010). Nevertheless, the level of mobility in past populations remains a key archaeological question, even if the timescales of migration are yet to be accurately determined.…”

Differentiating mobility and migration in middle Holocene Cis-Baikal, Siberia

“…Intratooth isotopic and chemical variability should be viewed as a source of further information, but could be problematic when trying to compare with either older datasets, or employing explanatory structures that rely on homogenizing multiple years of life. Montgomery and Evans (2006) and Montgomery et al (2010) recommended against the use of micro-sampling techniques because of difficulties in determining the extent of delay in the maturation of mineralization in different microstructures (i.e., striae of Retzius) and uncertainties of the relevance of intra-tooth variations. Studies using large animals (Britton et al, 2011;Montgomery et al, 2010) found that intra-tooth sampling could produce evidence for long-term averaging effects that result from the long-duration that some elements have within the body.…”

“…Montgomery and Evans (2006) and Montgomery et al (2010) recommended against the use of micro-sampling techniques because of difficulties in determining the extent of delay in the maturation of mineralization in different microstructures (i.e., striae of Retzius) and uncertainties of the relevance of intra-tooth variations. Studies using large animals (Britton et al, 2011;Montgomery et al, 2010) found that intra-tooth sampling could produce evidence for long-term averaging effects that result from the long-duration that some elements have within the body. One problem may be that studies focusing on a single tooth may lack broader applicability in terms of the relationship between body averages and mineral deposition or maturation rates.…”

On the hoof: exploring the supply of animals to the Roman legionary fortress at Caerleon using strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analysis

“…The approach has been used extensively on humans, but in recent years, methodological research (e.g. Madgwick et al 2012;Montgomery et al 2010b) and case studies (e.g. Bendrey et al 2009;Towers et al 2010;Viner et al 2010) have demonstrated the value of the method for examining the movement of domestic animals in Britain.…”