Lead and the Last Franklin Expedition

Farrer, K. T. H.

doi:10.1006/jasc.1993.1024

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This finding prompted Beattie and colleagues to conclude that lead poisoning was a significant factor in the loss of the expedition (Beattie and Geiger, 1987;Kowal et al, 1989Kowal et al, , 1991. Lead isotope ratio analysis revealed the source of this lead to be improperly soldered tin cans supplied to the expedition (Kowal et al, 1991), although this interpretation has recently been challenged (Farrer, 1993).…”

Section: Lead Poisoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

Keenleyside¹,

Bertulli²,

Fricke³

1997

ARCTIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. In 1992, a previously unrecorded site of Sir John Franklin's last expedition (1845 -1848) was discovered on King William Island in the central Canadian Arctic. Artifacts recovered from the site included iron and copper nails, glass, a clay pipe fragment, pieces of fabric and shoe leather, buttons, and a scatter of wood fragments, possibly representing the remains of a lifeboat or sledge. Nearly 400 human bones and bone fragments, representing a minimum of 11 men, were also found at the site. A combination of artifactual and oxygen isotope evidence indicated a European origin for at least two of these individuals. Skeletal pathology included periostitis, osteoarthritis, dental caries, abscesses, antemortem tooth loss, and periodontal disease. Mass spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence revealed elevated lead levels consistent with previous measurements, further supporting the conclusion that lead poisoning contributed to the demise of the expedition. Cut marks on approximately one-quarter of the remains support 19th-century Inuit accounts of cannibalism among Franklin's crew.Key words: Franklin Expedition, skeletal remains, oxygen isotope analysis, lead poisoning, cannibalism RÉSUMÉ. En 1992, on a découvert un site non mentionné auparavant, relié à la dernière expédition de sir John Franklin (1845-1848) dans l'île du Roi-Guillaume, située au centre de l'océan Arctique canadien. Les artefacts récupérés sur ce site comprenaient des clous en fer et en cuivre, du verre, un fragment de pipe en terre, des morceaux de tissu et de cuir de chaussure, des boutons et de multiples fragments de bois éparpillés, qui pourraient venir d'un canot de sauvetage ou d'un traîneau. On a aussi trouvé sur le site un total d'environ 400 fragments osseux ou os complets, représentant au moins 11 hommes. En se basant à la fois sur de la documentation archéologique et sur des analyses des isotopes de l'oxygène, on a pu attribuer une origine européenne à au moins deux de ces individus. Les lésions osseuses comprenaient périostites, ostéo-arthrite, caries dentaires, abcès, perte de dents précédant le décès et parodontolyses. La spectroscopie de masse et la fluorescence X ont révélé de forts taux de plomb correspondant aux mesures précédentes, venant ainsi appuyer la conclusion qui veut que l'empoisonnement par le plomb ait contribué à la fin de l'expédition. Des entailles sur environ un quart des ossements confirment les récits inuit du XIX e siècle sur le cannibalisme pratiqué par l'équipage de Franklin.Mots clés: expédition Franklin, ossements, analyse des isotopes de l'oxygène, empoisonnement par le plomb, cannibalisme Traduit pour la revue Arctic par Nésida Loyer.

show abstract

Section: Lead Poisoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

Keenleyside¹,

Bertulli²,

Fricke³

1997

ARCTIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Farrer (1993) proposed a different interpretation of the isotope data and, with other evidence including widespread lead contamination in nineteenthcentury Britain, disputed whether the canned food was the source of the lead. Rather, Farrer (1993) and Battersby (2008) have noted that the expedition's drinking water was obtained by melting snow which would produce "soft" water having a plumbo-solvent effect upon the lead in supply pipes and tanks.…”

Section: Contemporary Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

A re-analysis of the supposed role of lead poisoning in Sir John Franklin's last expedition, 1845–1848

Millar¹,

Bowman

Battersby

2014

Polar Record

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. The 'Franklin expedition' of 1845 set out to establish a 'northwest passage' between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but ended with the deaths of all 129 crewmen in the grimmest of circumstances. The hypothesis that lead poisoning may have contributed to the disaster is examined by re-analysis of the bone-lead content of seven skeletons in order to model statistically the likely variation in lead burden across the whole crew. Comparison of the estimated lead burdens with present-day data that associates lead with cognitive and physical morbidity suggests that a proportion of the crew may have experienced few or no adverse effects whilst those with higher burdens may have suffered some significant debility. It is unclear whether such debility would have been incapacitating or exceptional for the lead-contaminated environment of nineteenth-century Britain. Whilst lead alone may not have caused the disaster, it is proposed that high levels of lead may have interacted with other factors including dietary insufficiencies and individual constitutional differences to render some, but not all, of the crew more vulnerable to debility in the final throes of the expedition.

show abstract

“…In reference to Kowal's reliance on isotope ratios [14], Farrer [15] points out that isotope ratios may be used to exclude possible sources but cannot identify specific sources with certainty citing [29], where ratios around 0.847 for 207 Pb/ 206 Pb are reported for samples from several sources around Turin, virtually identical to those from the tins [14].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pb distribution in bones from the Franklin expedition: synchrotron X-ray fluorescence and laser ablation/mass spectroscopy

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Synchrotron micro-X-ray Fluorescence has been used to map the metal distribution in selected bone fragments representative of remains associated with the Franklin expedition. In addition, laser ablation mass spectroscopy using a 25 µm diameter circular spot was employed to compare the Pb isotope distributions in small regions within the bone fragments. The X-ray Fluorescence mapping shows Pb to be widely distributed in the bone while the Pb isotope ratios obtained by laser ablation within small areas representative of bone with different Pb exchange rates do not show statistically significant differences. These results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that faulty solder seals in tinned meat were the principle source of Pb in the remains of the expedition personnel.

show abstract

Lead and the Last Franklin Expedition

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

A re-analysis of the supposed role of lead poisoning in Sir John Franklin's last expedition, 1845–1848

Pb distribution in bones from the Franklin expedition: synchrotron X-ray fluorescence and laser ablation/mass spectroscopy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About