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Scott and Poulson Calculus and Isotopes JAS 2012
Scott and Poulson Calculus and Isotopes JAS 2012
Scott and Poulson Calculus and Isotopes JAS 2012
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of human dental calculus: a potentially new
non-destructive proxy for paleodietary analysis
G. Richard Scott a, *, Simon R. Poulson b,1
a
b
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 26 July 2011
Received in revised form
22 September 2011
Accepted 23 September 2011
Fifty-eight dental calculus samples from medieval and post-medieval skeletons from Vitoria, Spain, and
a single sample from an Alaskan Inuit were tested for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions.
There was sufcient carbon and nitrogen concentrations to obtain d13C and d15N values, and the samples
from Spain produced results that were replicable and comparable to European isotope values based on
bone collagen collected from literature sources. The Alaskan Inuit calculus sample yielded a d15N value
of 17.5&, well beyond the range of the Spanish samples, but consistent with literature data for modern
Greenlandic Inuit consuming a diet rich in marine food. There are several potential sources for carbon
and nitrogen in calculus. The results of this study yield stable isotope values consistent with those obtained from other biomaterials used as isotope proxies for paleodietary research, including bone
collagen, hair, and ngernails, although further work is necessary to verify the delity of calculus as an
isotope proxy. Many studies in bioarchaeology are precluded by curatorial concerns regarding the
destructive analysis of primary biomaterials. However, calculus is an add-on, or secondary biomaterial,
that is not an integral part of the dental or skeletal system. Hence, its consumption during analysis is
technically not destructive. Therefore, isotope analysis of dental calculus may provide a potential new
avenue for paleodietary analysis where the use of other primary biomaterials is precluded.
2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords:
Dental calculus
Stable isotopes
Carbon
Nitrogen
Paleodiet
1. Introduction
Stable isotope analysis (typically d13C and d15N) of biomaterials,
such as bone, teeth, ngernails, and hair, has become a common
technique for paleodietary analysis in bioarchaeology (cf. Schwarcz
and Schoeninger, 1991; Schoeninger, 2009, 2010). However, stable
isotope analysis is destructive (i.e. sample material is consumed
during analysis), and because of this, curatorial concerns sometime
prohibit this analysis from being performed. In contrast to primary
biomaterials, dental calculus is not an inherent part of the skeleton
or dentition, but is a secondary biomaterial, or add-on. Therefore,
sampling calculus from a tooths surface for stable isotope analysis
could be considered non-destructive analysis, which has the
potential to overcome curatorial concerns regarding sample
preservation.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 775 682 7630; fax: 1 775 327 2226.
E-mail addresses: grcott@unr.edu (G.R. Scott), poulson@mines.unr.edu
(S.R. Poulson).
1
Tel.: 1 775 784 1104; fax: 1 775 784 1833.
0305-4403/$ e see front matter 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.09.029
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Fig. 1. Two lower molars of an individual buried at the Cathedral of Santa Maria,
Vitoria, Spain, with pronounced dental calculus deposits on buccal surfaces. Note how
the ledge of calculus extended to the individuals gum line during life.
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3. Results
Table 1
Stable isotope compositions and elemental concentrations of dental calculus
sampled from the Cathedral of Santa Maria, Vitoria, Spain, and for an Alaskan Inuit.
For the Spanish samples, sample numbers given as XX-YY, where XX refers to the
area that the sample was collected and YY refers to a unique individual sample
number. For samples which were analyzed in replicate, the mean values are presented (see Table 1).
Sample #
d15N (&)
wt. % N
d13C (&)
wt. % C
Alaskan Inuit
Spanish
12e6
12e8
12e9
12e16
12e19
12e20
12e26
12e28
12e29
12e35
12e36
12e39
12e43
12e50
12e59
15e14
15e17
15e20
15e53
17e70
17e77
17e86
17e208
17e209
19e7
19e15
19e17
19e23
19e24
19e26
19e32
19e45
19e57
19e107
19e112
19e113
20e2
29e4
29e27
29e48
29e62
29e66
29e67
29e81
29-149B
29e150
29e198
29e214
29e431
29e588
29e658
29e673
29e683
29e685
62e71
70
73
116
17.5
0.84
19.5
5.05
11.3
12.6
15.1
13.1
12.2
10.8
11.8
11.9
11.0
9.4
13.0
12.3
12.2
11.4
12.2
10.1
10.2
9.8
10.3
11.0
11.0
10.7
11.1
11.7
12.7
12.7
12.8
13.6
12.8
12.6
9.9
12.2
11.0
12.3
10.6
9.7
14.6
11.8
11.0
13.4
11.9
10.4
11.7
12.2
12.9
13.6
12.2
10.1
12.0
13.1
11.7
11.9
13.2
12.5
10.3
10.6
10.8
11.9
0.25
0.65
0.77
0.38
0.61
0.73
0.94
0.74
0.67
0.81
0.88
1.14
0.55
0.51
0.50
0.64
0.57
0.70
0.75
0.69
0.70
0.57
0.65
0.67
0.94
0.92
0.53
0.76
0.67
0.79
0.73
0.98
0.90
0.63
0.97
0.70
1.02
0.97
1.05
1.33
0.70
1.08
1.38
0.75
0.64
0.95
1.05
1.04
0.67
0.79
0.68
0.83
0.62
0.61
0.74
0.82
0.61
0.95
19.9
22.4
24.1
21.8
22.0
21.5
21.5
22.1
21.2
20.9
21.0
21.1
22.2
22.1
21.2
21.0
21.4
21.2
20.4
21.2
21.2
21.1
21.0
21.7
20.4
21.1
22.4
21.8
21.6
21.2
21.4
20.8
20.9
20.7
20.9
21.8
20.8
20.7
21.0
20.4
20.5
20.6
20.1
20.6
21.8
20.6
20.1
22.3
21.9
21.2
17.4
22.2
22.4
20.5
20.7
23.3
20.1
19.6
1.74
3.83
6.33
2.71
3.49
4.38
4.96
4.43
3.88
5.62
5.09
6.71
4.31
3.04
2.81
4.42
5.23
5.30
5.65
5.28
5.42
4.71
4.73
5.15
4.87
5.83
5.19
4.38
4.15
5.06
4.42
4.86
5.16
5.01
5.96
4.66
6.16
5.95
4.79
5.55
4.09
4.93
5.70
4.04
3.91
5.93
5.35
5.63
4.30
5.15
4.95
5.16
4.72
5.21
3.52
8.49
5.46
6.35
Fig. 2. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic values based on analysis of dental calculus
from samples in northern Spain (n 58) and Alaska (n 1).
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Table 2
Mean values of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes for European samples based on bone collagen.
Region (site)
d13C
n
Bulgaria (Varna)
Bulgaria (Durankulak)
North Caucasus (various)
Greece (Lerna)
Western Europe
(southern France)
Sweden (Birka)
England (Whithorn priests)
England (Whithorn laity)
England (Fishergate, York)
North England (various)
Spain (Vitoria)
d15N
Reference
Mean
sd
se
Mean
sd
se
15
21
29
18.95
22.38
22.56
0.800
0.325
1.098
0.207
0.071
0.204
9.09
12.48
13.14
3.116
0.626
1.135
0.804
0.137
0.211
55
19.29
0.356
0.048
10.01
0.597
0.082
78
19.12
0.284
0.032
9.29
0.850
0.096
51
38
57
18.83
19.55
19.70
0.905
0.329
0.728
0.127
0.053
0.096
11.84
8.42
8.75
1.570
0.743
1.200
0.220
0.121
0.159
22
6
7
155
19.96
19.35
20.43
19.09
0.589
0.362
0.713
0.641
0.125
0.148
0.270
0.052
13.62
12.63
11.43
12.78
1.082
0.814
0.390
1.300
0.231
0.332
0.148
0.104
46
19.46
0.613
0.090
12.34
0.897
0.132
58
21.19
0.965
0.127
11.77
1.224
0.161
Present study
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