Archaeology isotope ratio measurements

A similar set of experiments was performed to test our ability to precisely characterize strontium isotopes. For the archaeological chemistry of biological remains, strontium isotopes are useful for testing dietary hypotheses and for examining differences in place of birth and place of residence. To test the precision of strontium isotope ratio measurement using TOF-ICP-MS, we made glass fusion beads using NIST Strontium Carbonate Standard SRM 987 and... 

The most famous cosmogenic radionuclide is 14C (t1/2 = 5730 a), which is produced by the interaction of cosmic ray neutrons via an (n,p) reaction with nitrogen [14N(n, p)14C], whereas the radioactive decay of 14C takes place by (3 decay to form the stable 14N isotope. 14C is the most important cosmogenic radionuclide for dating (see Section 9.7.5) in archaeology and can be analyzed using isotope sensitive accelerator mass spectrometry. Extremely small isotope ratios 14C/12C = 12 in nature can be measured by means of AMS.28... 

ICP-MS has also been used to measure trace elements in archaeological native silver artifacts [345] in order to identify their geographical origins. The low detection limits provided by ICP-MS allowed analysis of trace elements on 3 to 15 mg of sample. The passivation of alloy steels using acid solutions has been studied by XPS measurements of the solid in combination of ICP-MS analysis of the passivation solutions [346,347]. When bullets are crushed on impact, striations cannot be used for identification. The percentage of antimony, trace element composition, and lead isotope ratios in bullets was measured for forensic evidence [348]. The lead isotope ratios were found to be the most useful evidence. 

Grogler et al. (19) were hampered by the low accuracy of isotope composition measurement that was then attainable (the absolute 2a errors in the isotope ratios were about 1%), by the lack of a sufficient data base for ore samples, and by the lack of a coherent archaeological strategy. Nevertheless, this early work provided a base for the subject of lead isotope archaeology. 

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