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Mercury in archaeological human bone: biogenic or diagenetic?

2019-08Journal article Restricted access
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dc.contributor.authorEmslie, Steven D.
dc.contributor.authorAlderman, Audrey
dc.contributor.authorMcKenzie, Ashley
dc.contributor.authorBrasso, Rebecka
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, Alison R.
dc.contributor.authorMolina Moreno, María
dc.contributor.authorCambra-Moo, Oscar
dc.contributor.authorGonzález Martín, Armando
dc.contributor.authorSilva, Ana Maria
dc.contributor.authorValera, António
dc.contributor.authorGarcía Sanjuán, Leonardo
dc.contributor.authorVijande Vila, Eduardo
dc.date.accessioned2020-04-21T07:59:13Z
dc.date.available2020-04-21T07:59:13Z
dc.date.issued2019-08
dc.description.abstractWe investigated mercury (Hg) in human bone from archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula where the cultural use of cinnabar (HgS) as a pigment, offering or preservative in burial practices has been documented from the 4th to 2nd millennia cal B.C. (Late Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age). Previous analyses have shown high levels of total mercury (THg) in human bone at numerous Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in this region, but the question remains if this mercury entered the bones via diagenetic processes in the soil, especially where cinnabar powder and paint was found associated with the burials, or if it entered the bone via biogenic pathways from exposure to mercury from using cinnabar in life. We analyzed the humerus, femur, and tibia from a total of 30 individual burials from four Neolithic to Bronze Age sites in Iberia and found low to high values of THg in these bones, with the humerus showing significantly more THg concentrations than other skeletal elements when the THg was greater than 1 ppm. This pattern of Hg deposition in skeletal material from different sites and ages strongly suggests a biogenic origin for the mercury. In addition, absence of detectable Hg in bones with high to low values of THg using SEM EDS analysis further discounts diagenetic intrusion of Hg or cinnabar particles into the bone from the soil. It is likely that greater stress and bone remodeling rates from use of heavy tools and other activities in life are responsible for higher THg in the humerus than other skeletal elements, but additional research is needed to verify this.pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.citationEmslie, S. D., Alderman, A., McKenzie, A., Brasso, R., Taylor, A. R., Molina Moreno, M., . . . Vijande Vila, E. (2019). Mercury in archaeological human bone: biogenic or diagenetic? Journal of Archaeological Science, 108 104969. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2019.05.005pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jas.2019.05.005pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn0305-4403
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10451/42981
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherElsevierpt_PT
dc.relationPEst-OE/SADG/UI0283/2019pt_PT
dc.relation.publisherversionhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440319300500pt_PT
dc.subjectIberiapt_PT
dc.subjectNeolithicpt_PT
dc.subjectChalcolithicpt_PT
dc.subjectBronze agept_PT
dc.subjectCinnabarpt_PT
dc.subjectPigmentspt_PT
dc.subjectToxicitypt_PT
dc.subjectBone remodelingpt_PT
dc.subjectSEM-EDSpt_PT
dc.titleMercury in archaeological human bone: biogenic or diagenetic?pt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/3599-PPCDT/PTDC%2FEPH-ARQ%2F0798%2F2014/PT
oaire.citation.startPage104969pt_PT
oaire.citation.titleJournal of Archaeological Sciencept_PT
oaire.citation.volume108pt_PT
oaire.fundingStream3599-PPCDT
person.familyNameSilva
person.givenNameAna Maria
person.identifier.ciencia-idF21D-4659-29AB
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-1912-6581
person.identifier.ridE-6281-2015
person.identifier.scopus-author-id55939389400
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
rcaap.rightsclosedAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication2bd9c836-5465-4034-afd9-f3d50381488c
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery2bd9c836-5465-4034-afd9-f3d50381488c
relation.isProjectOfPublication4614f1d6-92a2-4454-965a-d29fa18c9751
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscovery4614f1d6-92a2-4454-965a-d29fa18c9751

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