Tooth enamel oxygen isotope analysis

Cerling, T. and Sharp, Z. 1996 Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of fossil tooth enamel... 

This equation predicts a value of 26.8%ofor the zebra at Turkana assuming an average value of 6%o for Lake Turkana water. This predicted value is l%o less than the actual value of 27.8%o. Given the variation in methods of sample preparation and analysis, variation between bone and tooth enamel (Stuart-Williams and Schwarcz 1997), and uncertainty in surface water oxygen isotopic composition, these values are extraordinarily close. Alternatively, if the equation is solved for using the actual value of the Turkana zebra. 

Evans, J.A., Chenery, C.A. and Fitzpatrick, A.P. (2006). Bronze Age childhood migration of individuals near Stonhenge, revealed by strontium and oxygen isotope tooth enamel analysis. Archaeometry 48 309-321. 

Oxygen isotopes in ancient human skeletal remains are found in both bone and tooth enamel. Samples for the analysis of human skeletal remains are normally taken from dental enamel due to conditions of preservation and resistance to diagenesis. The hydroxyapatite mineral, a primary component of enamel, contains oxygen, in both phosphate groups (POp and carbonates (CO ). Phosphate and carbonate produce comparable results for oxygen isotope ratios, but less sample is needed for carbonate, preparation is less demanding, and results between laboratories are more comparable. 

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