New research from the BB-lab, led by FWO doctoral fellow Jacob I. Griffith, introduces a novel incremental isotope sampling methodology for the human dental enamel of canines and molars.  This new approach takes 4 serial samples, following the enamel formation patterns, revealing how carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O), and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes values vary over time.  As these proxies are used to identify childhood diet and geographic location, understanding how they may vary over time is key to understanding childhood mobility and changing diets. This paper provides both forensic and archaeological case studies, revealing the technique can be used to better understand the life histories of past individuals, and aid in the identification of missing people.

The new methodology offers a standardised, replicable protocol that improves temporal resolution for archaeological reconstructions of diet and mobility and provides forensic researchers with more detailed individual life-history data to support provenance and identification analyses.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468170925000827?via%3Dihub#f0020