Early humans: Tooth enamel reveals life histories

Phys dot org ^ | January 16, 2023 | Goethe University Frankfurt am Main

[SunkenCiv]

In order to analyze the tooth enamel, the researchers embedded the teeth in resin and then cut them into wafer-thin slices some 150 micrometers thick. These extremely precious tooth samples are part of the Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald Collection at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, a permanent loan from the Werner Reimers Foundation.

In turn, they used a special laser to ablate material from the thin slices, which was chemically analyzed with a mass spectrometer for, among other elements, strontium and calcium, which are found in both bones and teeth (Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS)). The ratio of strontium to calcium (Sr/Ca) depends on the diet, explains Wolfgang Müller: "Strontium is gradually excreted by the body—as an impurity of the vital calcium, so to speak. In the food chain, this leads to a continuous decrease in the strontium-calcium (Sr/Ca) ratio from herbivores to omnivores to carnivores."

The research team was able to corroborate this by comparing various Pleistocene animal teeth from Java: feline predators exhibited a low strontium-calcium ratio, predecessors of today's rhinoceros, deer and hippopotamus displayed high strontium-calcium ratios and Pleistocene pigs, as omnivores, were somewhere in the middle.

The teeth of the hominids orangutan and Homo erectus were really exciting because here the researchers discovered annual cycles during which the dietary composition of great apes and humans changed: both showed variations during the years, but the regular Sr/Ca peaks were much more pronounced for the orangutan than for Homo erectus.

[SunkenCiv]

The rest of the strontium keyword, sorted:

• Strontium Ratio Variation in Marine Carbonates [10/10/2019]
• Warm weather pushed Neanderthals into cannibalism [04/23/2019]
• Two millennia pile-on at burial mound [Le Tumulus des Sables] [04/23/2019]
• Teenage Priestess from the Bronze Age Was Probably No Globetrotter [04/08/2019]
• Tales teeth can tell: Dental enamel reveals surprising migration patterns in ancient Indus civ... [05/09/2015]
• Signs of a Stranger, Deeper Side to Nature's Building Blocks [07/09/2013]
• Ancient Stinging Nettles Reveal Bronze Age Trade Connections [10/06/2012]
• So what have the Romans ever done for us? Ireland's links with the Roman empire are being investi... [06/20/2012]
• Volcanic destruction? Not always [12/05/2011]
• At Burial Site, Teeth Tell Tale of Slavery [01/31/2006]

  ---

• Missouri 'Jane Doe' Identified Exactly 40 Years After Body Was Found [05/28/2021]
• 'Electron pairing' found well above superconductor's critical temperature [08/21/2019]
• EPA takes step in regulating drinking water [10/20/2014]
• Japan:Strontium-tainted water leak suspected(leaking out of water treatment devices) [12/04/2011]
• Japan: Residents' feelings mixed over discovery of radioactive strontium in Yokohama [10/17/2011]
• Japan: Radioactive strontium found in Yokohama gutter(and in a dry fountain, too) [10/15/2011]
• Japan: Trace Levels of Strontium Detected near Tokyo(Yokohama city gov confirms) [10/15/2011]
• Strontium-90 Discovered in Yokohama City, 245 km from Fukushima I Nuke Plant [10/09/2011]
• Japan:Radioactive strontium detected in seabed(near Fukushima plant) [06/27/2011]
• Japan: High level of strontium found at Fukushima plant(in groundwater) [06/12/2011]
• Japan: Radioactive strontium detected 62 km from Fukushima plant [06/09/2011]
• Japan:Radioactive strontium detected more than 30 km from Fukushima plant [04/12/2011]
• Drug money sustains al Qaeda [12/29/2003]
• Radioactive substance seized in Latvia is strontium: official (can be used for dirty bombs) [10/29/2003]
• Georgian authorities seize radioactive substances from taxi [06/16/2003]

  ---

  Sidebar not from the keyword

• Why the Romans had Better Teeth than Modern Europeans [11/01/2022]

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

I'm still working on the Archaeologica news page digester program, so my headers aren't showing up, but at least this much works:

• January 27th, 2023 Edition
  • Mysterious shipwreck identified as Dutch warship that sank after surprise attack in 1672 CBS News
  • Surgeon's remains found in lead coffin at Leicester Cathedral BBC
  • Ancient Roman residences with 'pigeon towers' discovered in Luxor, Egypt Live Science
  • Obsidian handaxe-making workshop from 1.2 million years ago discovered in Ethiopia Phys
  • New research uncovers the 'water' mystery of the first large city in southern Africa Phys
  • 52-foot-long Book of the Dead papyrus from ancient Egypt discovered at Saqqara Live Science
  • Egypt unveils 2 ancient tombs LA Times
  • Exceptionally rare Iron Age chariot axle found at Sizewell BBC
  • Pre-Hispanic tombs show Oaxaca town was once a major Zapotec capital Mexico News Daily
  • Mysterious Hand Imprint Discovered In 1,000-Year-Old Moat Wall In Jerusalem IFLScience
  • Earliest human remains discovered in northern Britain Phys
  • Citizen scientists discover more than 1,000 new burial mounds Leiden University
  • THE MYSTERIOUS LAPIS NIGER SANCTUARY BENEATH ANCIENT ROME Heritage Daily
  • REMAINS OF ROMAN CITY FOUND IN LUXOR Heritage Daily
  • New poem by famed early American poet Phillis Wheatley discovered Phys
  • ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND 11,000-YEAR-OLD HUMAN REMAINS IN BRITISH CAVE Heritage Daily
  • Sword Mistaken For Replica Is Actually An Ancient 3,000-Year-Old Weapon Science Alert
  • Archaeologists in Egypt Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Mummified Crocodiles Smithsonian Magazine
  • Pompeii's House of the Vettii reopens: A reminder that Roman sexuality was far more complex than simply gay or straight Phys
  • Italy welcomes home looted ancient artworks from the U.S. Reuters
  • 3,600-year-old hoards may contain the earliest silver currency in Israel and Gaza Live Science
  • Ferociously Big Crocodile Mummies Found In An Undisturbed Egyptian Tomb IFL Science
  • DECAPITATED SKELETONS FOUND IN ROMAN CEMETERY Heritage Daily
  • Evidence of early Civil War fight found by HS2 dig BBC
  • Roman headless remains found in Wintringham by archaeologists BBC
  • New Silfield primary school site could contain burial mounds Eastern Daily Press
  • Centuries-old graves with remains of 144 enslaved people found on Rock Hill property Herald
  • Medieval church and graveyard in North Cork village restored Echo Live
  • How ground-penetrating radar is used to find unmarked graves at residential schools Canada National Observer
  • Archaeologists shed light on the lives of Stone Age hunter-gatherers in Britain University of Chester
  • Rare finds offer insight into Stone Age life BBC
  • Violence was widespread in early farming society, says new study Phys
  • A surge in obsidian exploitation more than 1.2 million years ago at Simbiro III Nature
  • World's oldest runestone may contain the earliest example of writing in Scandinavia Live Science
  • Archaeologists Unearth 3,000-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany Smithsonian Magazine
  • Mummified crocodiles provide insights into mummy-making over time Phys
  • The Black Death may not have been spread by rats after all Phys
  • Neutron Imaging Reveals Tiny Bones Inside 800-Year-Old Pendant Smithsonian Magazine
  • These chemists cracked the code to long-lasting Roman concrete Science News
  • A Massacre Or Something Stranger? 37 Headless Skeletons Raise Questions IFL Science
  • Which animals have entered the 'Stone Age'? Live Science
  • STUDY MAY HAVE SOLVED THE MYSTERY OF THE NAZCA LINES Heritage Daily
  • Early humans: Tooth enamel reveals life histories Phys
  • Geospatial Technology Forms Basis of Digital Twin of Pompeii ESRI
  • CHILD BURIED WITH 142 DOGS IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN NECROPOLIS Heritage Daily
  • Ancient royal tomb unearthed in Egypt by archaeologists CBS News
  • The inner parts of the Oslofjord contains some of the most exciting traces of Stone Age people in Europe Science Norway

  ---