SR-uXRF ON HUMAN BONES: AN AID TO RECONSTRUCT DIETARY HABITS

NESTOR CARACCIOLO; SUSANA BOEYKENS; OSCAR PALACIOS; VIOLETA KILLIAN GALV¨¢N; DANIEL E. OLIVERA; CRISTINA V¨¢ZQUEZ

Amsterdam

Conferencia; Fourth Edition of Synchrotron Radiation in Art & Archaeology; 2010

Van Gogh Museum

The purpose of this work is to investigate the suitability of synchrotron radiation X-ray micro-fluorescence to study the distribution of trace elements in human bones. The bones mineral component has a well-defined chemical composition, but several trace elements can substitute for the major constituents. These trace elements in fossil bone depend, in part, on diet and have been used to reconstruct paleodiet. ¦Ì-XRF induced by synchrotron radiation was selected as the analytical technique due the advantages of high sensibility and low detection limits. The analyzed samples are belonging to human individuals found in the seventies at the archaeological locality of Docellas, Jujuy, Argentina. They belong to a collection placed at the museum of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano. The analysis show the presence of Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Br, Sr, Ba and Pb. Levels of trace elements in bones are reported as the ratio of the concentration of the element to that of Ca (e.g., the Sr/Ca ratio) as it usually done in these cases. Results evidences an omnivora diet taking into account similar values for Zn, Sr, Cu and Ba.