Human activity investigations elemental analysis

To illustrate the investigation of past human activity, three examples are provided below the discovery of a major Iron Age town in Sweden using phosphate analysis, the investigation of activities inside an Aztec temple discovered in the center of modem Mexico City, and the experimental study of elemental and organic chemistry of an earthen living floor in an experimental Iron Age house in modem Denmark. 

Human biological materials to be investigated include (a) hard calcified tissues, e.g. bone, teeth, other calcified formations (b) semi-hard tissue, e.g. hair, nails (c) soft body tissues and (d) various biological fluids and secretions in the human body. The treatment of each of these materials varies from one material to another and, as stated earlier, is often determined by the instrumental method to be employed for measuring the analytical signal, the elements to be determined and the concentration levels at which these are present. For the purposes of this discussion, it shall be generally assumed that the analytical techniques employed include atomic absorption spectrometry both with (F-AAS) as well as with a furnace (GF-AAS), neutron activation analysis (NAA), flame emission spectrometry (FES) voltammetric methods and the three inductively coupled plasma spec-trometric methods viz. ICP-atomic emission spectrometry, ICP-mass spectrometry and ICP-atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The sample preparation of biological methods for all ICP techniques is usually similar (Guo, 1989). 

Jurgensen H, Behne D. 1977. Variations in trace element concentrations in human blood serum in the normal state investigated by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Journal of Radioanalytical... 

The feasibility of using activation analysis to establish individuality characteristics resulted from studies made by Forshufvud, Smith and Wassen (280,281,876) and Smith (873) on the arsenic content of Napoleon I s hair and their interpretation of the arsenic content of the hair with respect to Napoleon s illness during 1816-1821. Since that time many other researchers have examined human hair, nails and other materials in order to assist in the identification of individuals in requirements of forensic science. Table V lists these investigators, the type of sample examined and the elements considered usable to determine individual characteristics. 

Nixon and others (652,653,654,655,657,659) have investigated the concentrations of Mn, Sb, Hg, Cu and other elemental species in the enamel from human teeth. As a result of some of this work, Nixon and Smith (658) have shown that submicrogram amounts of Hg could be a hazard in dental surgery. Hadjimarkos (369) indicates that the selenium content of human milk could have a possible effect on dental caries. In another study Sairenji et al. (795) investigated the effect of arsenic on the hard tissues of arsenic devitalized teeth. Stubbins and Fremlin (923) used charged-particle activation analysis to estimate the distribution of C, Ca, and P in dental enamel. 

Table III emphasized the use of activation analysis to determine trace elements in the tissues and body fluids of animals. Some of these investigations were directed to studies related to medical research for humans. The work cited in Table III by Gitter et al. (334), Moav et al. (618), Pijck et al, (711), Boettger et al. (104), Nadkami (636) and Healy and Bate (388) on the assay of trace elements in snake venom, horse blood, cow eye tissue, dog caries and wool, respectively, are more suggestive of the applications that animal scientists are finding for activation analysis. In addition, Maxia and Rollier (593) have found it practical to determine routinely trace Se at 0.1 ppm in amino acids and proteins in order to measure the toxicological effects of Se upon chickens.

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