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A stable relationship

Isotopes and Bioarchaeology Are in It for the Long Haul

Bibliographic Data

ID3220873
AuthorsK Britton (0000-0002-9478-5966, University of Aberdeen, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume91
Issue358
Pages853-864
Publication date2017-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2017.98
OpenAlexW2621547844
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited100

Given their ubiquity in dietary reconstruction, it is fitting that the story of isotopes began with a conversation over dinner. Although coined in scientific literature by Frederick Soddy (1913), the word 'isotope' was first conceived by Margaret Todd, a medical doctor (also known as the novelist 'Graham Travers', and an all-round gender-stereotype-smasher of their age). In 1912, Soddy and Todd were attending a supper in Glasgow. When talk turned to work, Soddy described the then nameless concept of elements of different masses that occupy the same place in the periodic table. Todd suggested the term 'isotope', from the Greekisos('same') +topos('place'), and the name stuck (Nicol 1957; Nagel 1982

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Unique citing works22
Citations per year2,75
Citation span2018 - 2026 (9)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 21
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