Abstract
Objectives: Isotopic analyses using human dental enamel provide information on the mobility and diet of individuals in forensic and archeological studies. Thus far, no study has systematically examined intraindividual coupled strontium (Sr), oxygen (O), and carbon (C) isotope variation in human enamel or the effect that caries have on the isotopic integrity of the enamel. The inadequate quantification of isotopic variation affects interpretations and may constrain sample selection of elements affected by caries. This study aims to quantify the intraindividual isotopic variation and provides recommendations for enamel sampling methods. Material and Methods: This study presents the first systematic results on intraindividual variation in Sr–O–C isotope composition and Sr concentration in modern human dental enamel of third molars (affected and unaffected by caries). A multiloci sampling approach (n = 6–20) was used to analyze surface and inner enamel, employing thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Third molars were analyzed from 47 individuals from the Netherlands, Iceland, the United States, the Caribbean, Colombia, Somalia, and South Africa. Results: Intradental isotopic variation in modern Dutch dental elements was recorded for Sr, O, and C and exceeded the variation introduced by the analytical error. Single loci and bulk sampling approaches of third molars established that a single analysis is only representative of the bulk Sr isotope composition in 60% of the elements analyzed. Dental elements affected by caries showed twice the variation seen in unaffected dental elements. Caries did not consistently incorporate the isotopic composition of the geographical environment in which they developed. Discussion: The isotopic variability recorded in unaffected inner enamel indicates that variations greater than 0.000200 for 87Sr/86Sr and larger than 2‰ for δ18O and δ13C are required to demonstrate changes in modern Dutch human diet or geographic location.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 586-604 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | American Journal of Physical Anthropology |
| Volume | 172 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 25 Apr 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2020 |
Funding
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007‐2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 319209. The Medical Ethics Review Committee of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam is thanked for evaluating the sampling request (IDIS 2010/265). This research would have been impossible without the donations of teeth that were facilitated by the Vrije Universiteit's Medical Centre (VUMC) in Amsterdam, Ikazia Hospital and Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Universitair Medisch Centrum Maastricht, and Zuyderland in Limburg, Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden in Friesland. We thank Prof. Dr. Eppo Wolvius, Dr. Joke Kwakman, Dr. Gertjan van Beek, Dr. Cornelia Wilkert, Dr. Lucas Poort, and Prof. Dr. Jan de Visscher for their time and effort, special thanks to the donations provided by Jan Paul Klijntunte (Drenthe and South Holland) and Dr. A. M. Ettema from the Medisch Spectrum Twente. We are grateful to Jacques Baart for his contributions to the project. Gertjan Dicker and the Nederlands Tandartsenblad are thanked for advertising our request to collect extracted teeth. Dr. Willem van Zuylen is thanked for his feedback on the statistics used. Invaluable feedback on this manuscript was given by Joshua Peterson. This manuscript was improved, thanks to the feedback of Dr. Malte Willmes and anonymous reviewers. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 319209. The Medical Ethics Review Committee of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam is thanked for evaluating the sampling request (IDIS 2010/265). This research would have been impossible without the donations of teeth that were facilitated by the Vrije Universiteit's Medical Centre (VUMC) in Amsterdam, Ikazia Hospital and Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Universitair Medisch Centrum Maastricht, and Zuyderland in Limburg, Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden in Friesland. We thank Prof. Dr. Eppo Wolvius, Dr. Joke Kwakman, Dr. Gertjan van Beek, Dr. Cornelia Wilkert, Dr. Lucas Poort, and Prof. Dr. Jan de Visscher for their time and effort, special thanks to the donations provided by Jan Paul Klijntunte (Drenthe and South Holland) and Dr. A. M. Ettema from the Medisch Spectrum Twente. We are grateful to Jacques Baart for his contributions to the project. Gertjan Dicker and the Nederlands Tandartsenblad are thanked for advertising our request to collect extracted teeth. Dr. Willem van Zuylen is thanked for his feedback on the statistics used. Invaluable feedback on this manuscript was given by Joshua Peterson. This manuscript was improved, thanks to the feedback of Dr. Malte Willmes and anonymous reviewers.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam | |
| FP7/2007 | |
| Ikazia Hospital | |
| Medisch Spectrum Twente | |
| European Research Council | 319209 |
| Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | IDIS 2010/265 |
| Maastricht Universitair Medisch Centrum | |
| Seventh Framework Programme | FP7/2007‐2013 |
Keywords
- carbon
- human
- isotopes
- oxygen
- strontium
