 |
| Titel |
Oxygen and strontium isotope tracing of human migration at the Bell Beaker site Le Tumulus des Sables, France. |
| VerfasserIn |
Malte Willmes, Hannah James, Ceridwen Boel, Patrice Courtaud, Antoine Chancerel, Linda McMorrow, Richard Armstrong, Les Kinsley, Maxime Aubert, Stephen Eggins, Ian Moffat, Rainer Grün |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2014
|
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 16 (2014) |
| Datensatznummer |
250090520
|
| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2014-4763.pdf |
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| Oxygen (δ18O) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes were used as tools to investigate human
migration at the early Bell Beaker site (2500-2000 BC) Le Tumulus des Sables,
Saint-Laurent-Médoc, south-west France. The O and Sr isotope ratios measured in tooth
enamel record the average dietary isotope signature ingested by that individual during their
childhood. When this data is compared to the isotope signature of the burial site it can be
used to indicate if the individual migrated into this area during their lifetime. The O isotopic
composition of meteoric water changes depending on climate, temperature and quantity of
precipitation. O isotope ratios in skeletal and dental remains are related to body water, which
in turn is influenced by diet, physiology and climate. Most of the water consumed by large
mammals comes from drinking water, typically sourced locally. Sr isotope ratios on the
other hand vary between different geologic regions, depending on their age and
composition. Sr is released through weathering and transported into the soil, ground and
surface water, where it becomes available for uptake by plants, enters the food
cycle and eventually ends up in skeletal and dental tissue where it substitutes for
calcium.
We analysed the teeth of 18 adult and 8 juvenile disarticulated skeletons from Le Tumulus
des Sables. O isotopes were analysed in-situ by Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe
(SHRIMP).The Sr isotope analysis involved drilling a 0.2-0.5 mg sample of enamel from the
tooth. The Sr was then chemically separated and analysed by Thermal Ionization Mass
Spectrometry (TIMS). These results were then compared to the O isoscape of Europe and
bioavailable Sr isotope data (fauna, plants, soils) from the IRHUM database. We found that
most of the individuals at Le Tumulus des Sables show O and Sr isotope ratios corresponding
to the local environmental signal and we interpret these as part of the local population. 3
adults however show slightly higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios, which correspond to a clay and
limestone unit in close proximity ( |
|
|
|
|
|
|