TY - JOUR
T1 - Variation in bioavailable lead, copper, and strontium concentrations in human skeletons from medieval to early modern Denmark
AU - Langkilde, Jesper
AU - Boldsen, Jesper Lier
AU - Pedersen, Dorthe Dangvard
AU - Milner, George Robert
AU - Kristensen, Vicki Rytoft Lillegaard
AU - Skytte, Lilian
AU - Møller, Stig Bergmann
AU - Sarauw, Torben
AU - Boje Andersen, Charlotte
AU - Larsen, Lars Agersnap
AU - Hyldgård, Inger Marie
AU - Klingenberg, Mette
AU - Krants Larsen, Lars
AU - Mollerup, Lene
AU - Seeberg, Lone
AU - Bentsen , Lars
AU - Søvsø, Morten
AU - Kristensen, Tenna
AU - Christensen, Jakob Tue
AU - Heide, Poul Baltzer
AU - Nørgaard, Lone
AU - Uldum, Otto
AU - Engberg, Nils
AU - Simonsen, Rikke
AU - Dahlström, Hanna
AU - Wickman, Niels
AU - Hansen, Palle Birk
AU - Wille-Jørgensen, Dorthe
AU - Wurr Stjernqvist, Kasper
AU - Rasmussen, Anders
AU - Rasmussen, Kaare Lund
PY - 2024/6/1
Y1 - 2024/6/1
N2 - Three trace elements in human bones permit the delineation of temporal and social variability among medieval to early modern Danes in what they ate (strontium, Sr) and whether they lived in an urban or non-urban setting (lead, Pb; copper, Cu). The chemical composition of bones from 332 children (5 to 12 years old) buried in 51 Danish cemeteries was estimated through Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Children provide a local chemical signal because they were less likely than adults to have moved from one place to another. There was no age effect on trace element concentrations. Geographical variability in trace element concentrations was highly localized, so the three elements, individually or collectively, cannot be used to identify where in Denmark people originated. Diets and exposure to sources of Pb and Cu, however, did not remain constant over time. Trace element concentrations show that the life experiences of people from towns differed from their rural counterparts. While most apparent with Pb and Cu, it is also true of Sr until urban and rural diets converged in the early modern period.Keywords: Historic Denmark; Bioavailable trace elements; Social variation; Temporal variation; Human skeletons; ICP-MS
AB - Three trace elements in human bones permit the delineation of temporal and social variability among medieval to early modern Danes in what they ate (strontium, Sr) and whether they lived in an urban or non-urban setting (lead, Pb; copper, Cu). The chemical composition of bones from 332 children (5 to 12 years old) buried in 51 Danish cemeteries was estimated through Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Children provide a local chemical signal because they were less likely than adults to have moved from one place to another. There was no age effect on trace element concentrations. Geographical variability in trace element concentrations was highly localized, so the three elements, individually or collectively, cannot be used to identify where in Denmark people originated. Diets and exposure to sources of Pb and Cu, however, did not remain constant over time. Trace element concentrations show that the life experiences of people from towns differed from their rural counterparts. While most apparent with Pb and Cu, it is also true of Sr until urban and rural diets converged in the early modern period.Keywords: Historic Denmark; Bioavailable trace elements; Social variation; Temporal variation; Human skeletons; ICP-MS
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaa.2024.101587
DO - 10.1016/j.jaa.2024.101587
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0278-4165
VL - 74
JO - Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
JF - Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
M1 - 101587
ER -