Variation in bioavailable lead, copper, and strontium concentrations in human skeletons from medieval to early modern Denmark

Bibliographic Data

ID7870191
AuthorsJesper L Boldsen (0000-0002-2850-0934, University of Southern Denmark, corresponding author), Dorthe Dangvard Pedersen (0000-0002-4709-9170, University of Southern Denmark), G R Milner (0000-0002-3330-0726, Pennsylvania State University), Vicki R L Kristensen (0000-0002-2401-367X, University of Southern Denmark), Lilian Skytte (0000-0001-6633-9179, University of Southern Denmark), Stig Bergmann Møller, Torben Birk Sarauw, Charlotte Boje Hilligsø Andersen (Moesgaard Museum), Lars Agersnap Larsen (Moesgaard Museum), Inger Marie Hyldgaard (Moesgaard Museum), Mette Klingenberg (Regional Hospital Holstebro), Lars Krants Larsen (0000-0002-7486-6144, Moesgaard Museum), Lene Mollerup (0000-0002-2471-4548), Lone Seeberg (Regional Hospital Horsens), Lars Christian Bentsen, Morten Søvsø (0000-0003-1348-8028), Morten Breinholt Søvsø (0000-0002-3156-5595, Museum of Southwest Jutland), Tenna Kristensen (Museum Sønderjylland), Jakob Tue Christensen (Odense City Museums), Poul Baltzer Heide (0000-0002-9913-4695), Lone C Nørgaard (Svendborg Sygehus), Otto Uldum (0000-0002-8269-3773), Niels Engberg, Rikke Simonsen, Hanna Dahlstrøm, Jesper Langkilde (0000-0001-7090-2200, University of Southern Denmark), Niels Wickman, Palle Birk Hansen, Dorthe Wille-Jørgensen (University of Southern Denmark), Kasper Wurr Stjernqvist, Anders Rasmussen (0000-0003-4477-369X, Moesgaard Museum), Kaare Lund Rasmussen (0000-0001-9575-868X, Sjællands Universitetshospital, Nykøbing F.)
Year2024
Volume74
Pages101587
Publication date2024-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Anthropological Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0278-4165 • E-ISSN: 1090-2686
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jaa.2024.101587
OpenAlexW4392337803
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited76

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

Archaeology · Biology · Copper · Geography · Strontium · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Paleontology

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