Three trace elements in human bones permit the delineation of temporal and social variability among medieval to early modern Danes in what they ate (strontium, Sr) and whether they lived in an urban or non-urban setting (lead, Pb; copper, Cu). The chemical composition of bones from 332 children (5 to 12 years old) buried in 51 Danish cemeteries was estimated through Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Children provide a local chemical signal because they were less likely than adults to have moved from one place to another. There was no age effect on trace element concentrations. Geographical variability in trace element concentrations was highly localized, so the three elements, individually or collectively, cannot be used to identify where in Denmark people originated. Diets and exposure to sources of Pb and Cu, however, did not remain constant over time. Trace element concentrations show that the life experiences of people from towns differed from their rural counterparts. While most apparent with Pb and Cu, it is also true of Sr until urban and rural diets converged in the early modern period.

中文翻译：

---

从中世纪到现代早期丹麦人体骨骼中生物可利用的铅、铜和锶浓度的变化


人体骨骼中的三种微量元素可以描述中世纪到现代早期丹麦人的饮食（锶，Sr）以及他们是否生活在城市或非城市环境（铅，Pb；铜，Cu）方面的时间和社会变异。 。通过电感耦合等离子体质谱 (ICP-MS) 估算了埋藏在 51 个丹麦墓地的 332 名儿童（5 至 12 岁）的骨骼化学成分。儿童会提供当地的化学信号，因为他们比成人更不可能从一个地方移动到另一个地方。年龄对微量元素浓度没有影响。微量元素浓度的地理变异是高度局部化的，因此这三种元素，无论是单独还是集体，都不能用来确定丹麦人的起源地。然而，随着时间的推移，饮食和铅和铜来源的暴露并没有保持不变。微量元素浓度表明城镇​​居民的生活经历与农村居民不同。虽然铅和铜的情况最为明显，但在近代早期城乡饮食趋同之前，锶的情况也是如此。