Passports from the past: Investigating human dispersals using strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel

Abstract

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. AbstractStrontium isotopes are a powerful tool which provide information about provenance directly from the tissues of humans rather than the grave context and burial goods.Geographical variation in strontium isotopes is primarily controlled by the underlying geology but there are many other factors that need to be considered before migratory individuals can be identified. Consequently, despite many studies which have shown that the method works well, it is clear that much remains to be clarified and it will not work for every question or in every place. It rests on the assumption that people were sourcing their food locally and that there is a measurable strontium isotope difference between the place the person migrated from and the place they migrated to. As migrants may deliberately seek out familiar soil types and terrains in their new homeland, some questions surrounding major migration events may prove intractable for this technique. Other factors that can create heterogeneity or homogeneity leading to false positives or false negatives, such as human choices or coastal subsistence, are explored and the metabolism of strontium into human tooth enamel is discussed.Several models of land use choices by humans are presented to highlight the subtleties inherent in the isotope data and these are used to interpret archaeological human isotope ratios from three studies.

Land use and mobility during the Neolithic in Wales explored using isotope analysis of tooth enamel

“…It has been argued that high strontium concentrations may either result from individuals obtaining dietary resources from geographical areas that receive high levels of seaspray, or from exploitation of seaweed as fertilizer and deliberate strategies that lead to increased salt intake (e.g., preserving food with sea salt, Montgomery, Evans, & Neighbour, 2003, pp. 651; Montgomery, 2010, pp. 334).…”

“…313), with initial cusp formation from approximately 8.5 ± 0.5 years of age and crown completion by approximately 14.5 ± 0.5 years (AlQahtani et al, 2010). Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis was undertaken on samples of bulk enamel, and isotope ratios therefore represent the weighted average of all dietary sources exploited during the period in which the enamel was forming (Montgomery, 2010, pp. 333).…”

“…In view of these debates we applied strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotope analysis of tooth enamel, which can be used to provide evidence for the location from which individuals may have obtained their childhood diet (e.g., Bentley, 2006; Montgomery, 2002, 2010; Slovak & Paytan, 2011, pp. 743–744), to explore patterns of land use and mobility during the Neolithic.…”

87Sr/86Sr and trace element mapping of geosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere interactions: A case study in Ireland

“…Bataille and Bowen, 2012;Beard and Johnson, 2000a;Bentley, 2006;Capo et al, 1998;Evans et al, 2012Evans et al, , 2010Laffoon, 2012;Laffoon et al, 2017Laffoon et al, , 2012Maurer et al, 2012;Montgomery, 2010;Price, 2015;Sealy et al, 1991;Sillen and Kavanagh, 1982;Vinciguerra et al, 2016). Spatially defined biosphere geochemical maps can elucidate elemental and isotope reservoirs and their interactions at the Earth's surface.…”

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

“…Defining the locally bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr range Bioavailable strontium in Britain represents a combination of weathered strontium from underlying geology and precipitation (Montgomery 2010). The impact of strontium from rainfall is particularly substantial in areas of high precipitation on the western seaboard.…”