This review-style paper combined earlier bone strontium measurements with carbon and nitrogen isotope data to reconstruct diet in prehistoric southern Ontario. Bone strontium changed only slightly over time; the authors suggest that growing reliance on maize, described as a low-strontium grass, lowered bone strontium in later populations.
Key numbers
- Bone strontium values are presented only in a figure that could not be read reliably from the archived PDF, so no numbers are recorded here.
Methods (brief)
Synthesis of previously reported bone mineral strontium analyses of five populations and bone collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for eleven populations, interpreted against archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence.
Evidence fitness
Supports the long-standing use of bone strontium as an indicator of plant versus animal food and the description of maize as relatively low in strontium. It does not support modern exposure, concentration or toxicity statements.
Limitations
Draws on earlier data; bone strontium is sensitive to burial alteration; figure values not extractable. No DOI was found in the archived file.
Related evidence
Update history
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