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Microscopic Sampling of Dentine and Bone Collagen: Development of Sampling Methods for Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis

Sampling methods for dentine and bone collagen have been evolving for several
decades. Incremental dentine collagen sampling and bone collagen sampling
have been limited by the available technology throughout that time. As the
technology for isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis improves, the sampling
methods should improve as well. This research focused on developing a new
incremental dentine collagen sampling method and bone collagen microsampling
method for stable isotope analysis. This research aimed to increase the
temporal resolution of incremental dentine collagen sampling and provided
sequential collagen sampling from bone collagen for stable carbon and nitrogen
isotope analysis while limiting the destructive nature of bioarchaeological
analysis. It was determined that the temporal resolution for incremental analysis
could be reduced to approximate three months, opposed to the nine months
found in other sampling methods. It was also determined that detailed isotopic
data could be obtained from bone collagen when sampling the microstructures.
The increased amount of isotopic data from the bone collagen was an
improvement on the commonly used bulk collagen sampling. This research can
be utilised to answer several of the questions that archaeologists have been
asking about past populations. Isotopic analysis using the methods developed in
the research can provide a more detailed observation of the diet and health of past populations.
In addition, the developed methods for bone and dentine collagen reduced the amount of tissue
subjected to destructive analysis.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/19702
Date January 2021
CreatorsCurtis, Mandi J.
ContributorsBeaumont, Julia, Koon, Hannah E.C., Armit, Ian, Wilson, Andrew S.
PublisherUniversity of Bradford, Faculty of Life Sciences. School of Archaeological and Forensic Science
Source SetsBradford Scholars
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, doctoral, PhD
Rights<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>.

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