Trace Element Analysis of Bone from Past Populations in the Peninsula of Yucatan
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Trace Element Analysis of Bone from Past Populations in the Peninsula of Yucatan Saul Chay1, Mónica Rodríguez1, Patricia Quintana2, Vera Tiesler1 1 Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida Mexico. e-mail: [email protected] 2 Departamento de Física Aplicada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV) Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT This dietary study compares concentrations of trace elements in human skeletal series from the municipal cemetery of Xoclán, in Mérida, Yucatan, and a skeletal collection that was donated by the Yucatecan State Justice Department (PGH). The results from these modern samples are to be compared to those obtained from human collections from a colonial cemetery from Campeche and the pre-Hispanic Maya site of Xcambó. Our results indicate that the archaeological series show higher concentrations of Sr compared to the modern populations, both of which showed very similar values. Zn concentrations were similar when the modern values were compared to those derived from the colonial series from Campeche. Xcambó´s population, in turn, shows a high degree of variability in Zn values, which may be due to diagenetic contamination. INTRODUCTION Trace element analyses were the first quantitative approach to the study of ancient diet through osteological evidence from archaeological contexts. This technique measures the mineralized substrate of bone (hydroxyapatite). That approach is useful therefore to identify dietary macrocomponents in past societies. First applied to the study of radioactive environmental contamination [1], the method is founded on the natural concentration of elements like barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr) in geological strata [2]. These elements are passed on to plants and from there to those animals that consume plants. Given that both elements possess the same chemical position as calcium (Ca), they are capable of substituting it inside the hydroxyapatite molecule. The principle of “biopurification” which prescribes that Sr and Ba decrease their concentrations in bone tissue as the organism rises in the food chain [1], imply that their concentrations are lower in organisms that feed on animals than vegetarian individuals. Complementary measures taken of additional elements like iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and potassium (K) provide complementary dietary scores, although results are invalidated, especially since all three of those elements are controlled directly by metabolic functions and only indirectly reflect dietary intake [3]. This work compares elemental concentrations of Sr and Zn between modern and past osteological human samples from the Peninsula of Yucatan, each collection possessing its specific environmental, historic and cultural context, which we intend to interpret in the following in terms of diet, living conditions and diagenetic factors. SAMPLING We selected bone samples from three different contexts, all of which are located on the Yucatecan peninsula. Firstly, the documented modern
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