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Isotopes and impact

A Cautionary Tale

Bibliographic Data

ID3464624
AuthorsA M Pollard (0000-0003-3757-4668, Oxford Archaeology, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume85
Issue328
Pages631-638
Publication date2011-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003598x00068034
OpenAlexW309095101
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited10

There can be no doubt that isotopic studies have made a huge contribution to archaeology in recent years, so much so thatisotope archaeologyis now seen as an essential subdiscipline of archaeology in much the same way as isotope geochemistry is a key subdiscipline of geochemistry. Ignoring for current purposes the contribution made by the measurement of a particular radioactive isotope of carbon (14C) since 1950, we can date the beginnings of isotope archaeology to the mid 1960s with the first measurements of lead isotopes in archaeological metals and slags by Brill and Wampler (1965, 1967). This was followed by carbon stable isotopes in human bone collagen in the late 1970s, building on previous work measuring σ13C in archaeological bone for radiocarbon determinations (Vogel & Van der Merwe 1977; Van der Merwe & Vogel 1978). Other isotopes followed rapidly, such as nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur and hydrogen for archaeological, palaeoecological or palaeoclimatological purposes and, more recently, the heavier radiogenic isotopes of strontium and neodymium for determining the provenance of organic and inorganic materials (Pollard & Heron 2008

Archaeology · Geochemistry · Isotope · Isotope geochemistry · Isotopes of carbon · Isotopes of strontium · Physics · Provenance · Radiogenic nuclide · Stable isotope ratio · Strontium · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Geology · History · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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Unique citing works33
Citations per year2,36
Citation span2012 - 2025 (14)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 31
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