The presence of copper, zinc, magnesium, iron, lead, molybdenum, manganese and nickel was discovered on 22 human ribs in a Hellenistic-Roman cemetery located in the ancient city of Camih？yük, Turkey. The levels of each element found in the males were higher than those in females, except iron. Copper, magnesium, iron, molybdenum, and nickel levels were measured to be higher in the soil than in the skeletons, whereas the other elements were higher in the human skeletons. Lead was not traced in the soil, but on the skeletons. These individuals had probably been exposed to this element during their lives due to higher consumption of vegetables than meat. 1. Introduction Chemical studies on ancient skeletons have a complementary role in learning more about life and human interactions with the environment in a specific archaeological community along with their morphological and genetic-oriented counterparts [1]. The concentrations of the bone zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu) have been considered indicators of high-protein diets, and high concentrations of bone manganese (Mn), barium (Ba), and magnesium (Mg) contents would point to a mainly vegetarian consumption [2–4]. Although the bone Cu and Zn levels are associated with paleodiet, the accumulation of some metals such as Fe, molybdenum (Mo), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni) in the bone tissues may also reflect environmental conditions and pollution [5, 6]. 95% of the total Pb found in the whole body was in bones and teeth which was in the form of chelates. Pb is known to have toxic effects on many organs, systems, and physiological processes, above all on the development of the central nervous system [7]. The long-term contact with soil, metal belongings in the grave, and the postexcavation exposure Pb to special challenges and controversies [8]. Diagenesis is defined as a cumulative, physical, biological and chemical process occurring in soil, changing the postmortem chemical and physical structures of bones [1]. Contamination and diagenetic alteration of ancient bones are of great concerns, which, if not properly addressed, may result in serious misinterpretation of data from bone archives [8]. Correction strategies based on burial soil trace element relationship are a promising option for the proper interpretation of the data obtained from bone analysis. Strontium (Sr) and Zn appear to be the least sensitive elements to diagenesis, while Fe, Mn, and Cu are particularly sensitive to diagenetic effects [9]. A major difficulty in understanding the significance of trace element levels in human skeletal
References
[1]
C. Güner, V. Aliev, D. Atamtürk, I. Duyar, and F. Soylemezoglu, “Retention of Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, and As on human bones unearthed at a Central Anatolian Early Bronze Age excavation site (Resulo？lu, Turkey),” Eurasian Journal of Anthropology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 27–39, 2011.
[2]
L. L. Klepinger, “Nutritional assessment from bone,” Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 13, pp. 75–96, 1984.
[3]
J. A. Ezzo, “Dietary change and variability at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona,” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 219–289, 1992.
[4]
L. L. Klepingera, “Magnesium ingestion and bone magnesium concentration in paleodietary reconstruction: cautionary evidence from an animal model,” Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 513–517, 1990.
[5]
J. F. Farnum, M. D. Glascock, M. K. Sandford, and S. Gerritsen, “Trace elements in ancient human bone and associated soil using NAA,” Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, vol. 196, no. 2, pp. 267–274, 1995.
[6]
A. Jurkiewicz, D. Wiechu？a, R. Nowak, T. Ga？dzik, and K. Loska, “Metal content in femoral head spongious bone of people living in regions of different degrees of environmental pollution in Southern and Middle Poland,” Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 95–101, 2004.
[7]
M. J. Martínez-García, J. M. Moreno, J. Moreno-Clavel et al., “Heavy metals in human bones in different historical epochs,” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 348, no. 1–3, pp. 51–72, 2005.
[8]
M. M. Shafer, M. Siker, J. T. Overdier, P. C. Ramsl, M. Teschler-Nicola, and P. M. Farrell, “Enhanced methods for assessment of the trace element composition of Iron Age bone,” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 401, no. 1–3, pp. 144–161, 2008.
[9]
J. B. Lambert, S. M. Vlasak, A. C. Thometz, and J. E. Buikstra, “A comparative study of the chemical analysis of ribs and femurs in woodland populations,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 289–294, 1982.
[10]
L. A. Beck, “Bivariate analysis of trace elements in bone,” Journal of Human Evolution, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 493–502, 1985.
[11]
Y. C. Yoo, K. L. Sang, Y. Y. Ja et al., “Organ distribution of heavy metals in autopsy material from normal Korean,” Journal of Health Science, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 186–194, 2002.
[12]
J. E. Buikstra and D. H. Ubelaker, Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains, Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research Series, No 44, Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research, Fayetteville, Wash, USA, 1994.
[13]
J. B. Lambert, S. Vlasak Simpson, C. B. Szpunar, and J. E. Buikstra, “Bone diagenesis and dietary analysis,” Journal of Human Evolution, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 477–482, 1985.
[14]
M. T. ？？rak, “The determination of nutrition of ancient Anatolian population with trace element analysis,” Journal of World of Turks, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 191–200, 2010.
[15]
J. Velasco-Vázquez, M. Arnay-de-la-Rosa, E. González-Reimers, and O. Hernández-Torres, “Paleodietary analysis on the prehistoric population of El Hierro (Canary Islands),” Biological Trace Element Research, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 235–241, 1997.
[16]
J. B. Lambert, C. B. Szpunar, and J. E. Buikstra, “Chemical analysis of excavated human bone from middle and late Woodland sites,” Archaeometry, vol. 21, pp. 115–129, 1979.
[17]
J. A. Ezzo, C. S. Larsen, and J. H. Burton, “Elemental signatures of human diets from the Georgia bight,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 98, no. 4, pp. 471–481, 1995.
[18]
J. E. Ericson, D. R. Smith, and A. R. Flegal, “Skeletal concentrations of lead, cadmium, zinc, and silver in ancient North American Pecos Indians,” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 93, pp. 217–223, 1991.
[19]
I. Baranowska, K. Czernicki, and R. Aleksandrowicz, “The analysis of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper and nickel content in human bones from the Upper Silesian industrial district,” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 159, no. 2-3, pp. 155–162, 1995.
[20]
I. A. Bergdahl, U. Strfmberg, L. Gerhardsson, A. Schqtz, D. A. Chettle, and S. Skerfving, “Concentraciones de plomo en los huesos tibial y calcáneo en relación con la historia de exposición ocupacional al plomo,” Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, vol. 24, pp. 38–45, 1998.
[21]
J. L. Kitman, The Secret History of Lead, The Nation, 2000.
[22]
S. J. Rosenberg, Nickel and Its Alloys, Department of Commerce. National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC, USA, 1968.
[23]
G. F. Zimmer, “The use of meteroric iron by primitive man,” The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, vol. 94, article 306, 1916.
[24]
T. A. Rickart, “The use of meteoric iron,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 71, article 55, 1941.
[25]
R. J. Braidwood, J. E. Burke, and N. H. Nachtrieb, “Ancient syrian coppers and bronzes,” Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 28, pp. 87–96, 1951.
[26]
F. B. Howard-White, Nickel-An Historical Review, Van Nostrand, 1963.
[27]
F. Miculescu, M. Miculescu, L. T. Ciocan et al., “Comparative studies regarding heavy elements concentration in human cortical bone,” Digest Journal of Nanomaterials and Biostructures, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1117–1127, 2011.
[28]
E. González-Reimers, J. Velasco-Vázquez, M. Arnay-de-la-Rosa, F. Santolaria-Fernández, and L. Galindo-Martín, “Paleonutritional analysis of the pre-Hispanic population from Fuerteventura (Canary Islands),” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 264, no. 3, pp. 215–220, 2001.
[29]
L. T. Fairhall, R. C. Dunn, N. E. Sharpless, and E. A. Pritchard, “The toxicity of molybdenum,” Public Health Bulletin, vol. 293, pp. 1–36, 1945.
[30]
R. I. Gilbert, Trace element analyses of three Amerindian populations at Dickson Mounds [Ph.D. dissertation], University of Massachusetts, 1975.
[31]
S. S. Jeng and L. T. Sun, “Effects of dietary zinc levels on zinc concentrations in tissues of common carp,” Journal of Nutrition, vol. 111, no. 1, pp. 134–140, 1981.
[32]
A. L. Rheingold, S. Hues, and M. N. Cohen, “Strontium and zinc content in bones as an indication of diet,” Journrl of Chemical Education, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 233–234, 1983.
[33]
T. Li and B. L. Vallee, “The biochemical and nutritional roles of other trace elements,” in Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, R. S. Goodhart and M. E. Shils, Eds., Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 6th edition, 1980.
[34]
K. Guggenheim and D. Gaster, “The role of manganese, copper, and zinc in the physiology of bones and teeth,” in Biological Mineralization, I. Zipkin, Ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA, 1973.
[35]
H. A. Schroeder, J. J. Balassa, and I. H. Tipton, “Essential trace metals in man: manganese. A study in homeostasis,” Journal of Chronic Diseases, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 545–571, 1966.
[36]
H. Nie, D. R. Chettle, L. Q. Luo, and J. M. O’Meara, “In-vivo investigation of a new 109Cd gammaray induced K-XRF bone lead measurement system,” Physics in Medicine and Biology, vol. 51, pp. 351–360, 2006.
[37]
M. O. Yamada, T. Minami, M. Ichii et al., “An improved method for estimating original mineral contents in excavated bone using sulfur,” Biological Trace Element Research, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 155–161, 1996.
[38]
M. J. Arnaud, “Update on the assessment of magnesium status,” British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 99, supplement S3, pp. S24–S36, 2008.
[39]
R. G. V. Hancock, M. D. Grynpas, and K. P. H. Pritzker, “The abuse of bone analyses for archaeological dietary studies,” Archaeometry, vol. 31, pp. 169–179, 1989.
