Trace element composition of ancient bone Archaeological applications

Trace element composition of ancient bone Archaeological applications 

Paleodiet analyses. The majority of work on the trace-element chemistry of bone apatite has come from attempts to trace the diet of ancient humans. The intake of trace 

A more convincing (independent) test for preservation of pristine trace metal concentrations could be found in the levels of metal ions such as the REE and U. The rare 

Uranium -series dating of bone. Uranium concentrations in living bone are typically 0.1 ppm (Aitken 1990), whereas concentrations in fossil bone may exceed 1000 ppm. Theoretically, therefore. Quaternary age bones could be dated directly by the U-series method. 

U-series dating is based on the decay series of U. Natural U decays to Pb via a number of intermediate radioactive daughter isotopes. For the purposes of dating, the most important isotopes are U, U and °Th. 

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