Study of Preservation Status and Dietary Reconstruction in the Human Remains Recovered from Roopkund Lake through Chemical Analysis of Faunal Remains

Abstract

Present study is carried out in the bone samples collected from Roopkund Lake in district Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand which is located at 5,029 meters from main sea level in between Nanda Ghunghti and Trishuli peak. This historical site belongs to 9th century A.D. All the samples selected for the study were dried in room temperature as well as hot air oven at 32 o C. Cleaning, pretreatment and digestion process of faunal remains was followed through established scientific methods. Chemical analysis i.e. concentration of different elements such as calcium, strontium, barium, magnesium and zinc as well as isotopic ratios of Carbon and Nitrogen was estimated with the help of ICP (inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy) and AAS (atomic absorption spectrophotometer). The results obtained from the chemical analysis are significant. On the basis of concentration of different elements and ratios of Nitrogen and Carbon isotopes, the dietary habits of the peoples buried in the Roopkund Lake are identified, which is different from sample to sample person to person. Besides this, the results are also significantly helpful for knowing the preservation status of faunal remains in Roopkund Lake. Finally this study also indicated the potentiality of chemical analysis for reconstructing the palaeodiet behaviour and preservation status of bone remains.