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Osteopenia and stable isotope ratios in bone collagen of Nubian female mummies
Author(s) -
White Christine D.,
Armelagos George J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/1096-8644(199706)103:2<185::aid-ajpa11>3.0.co;2-#
Subject(s) - osteopenia , isotopes of nitrogen , stable isotope ratio , isotope , zoology , population , nitrogen , δ15n , excretion , chemistry , medicine , biology , osteoporosis , endocrinology , δ13c , bone mineral , environmental health , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Abstract Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were analysed on bone collagen of 43 Sudanese Nubians from the X‐Group period to test dietary hypotheses for the high frequency of osteopenia in this population. Stable carbon isotope ratios indicate that both normal and osteopenic individuals consumed the same mixed diet of C3 and C4 sources, which are assumed to have been constituted by the grain staples wheat/barley and sorghum/millet respectively. Females with osteopenia, however, have significantly elevated δ 15 N values. The enrichment effect is greatest in the third and fifth decades of life, and is consistently patterned with microstructural and frequency differences previously reported by other researchers. It is suggested that δ 15 N is reflecting differences in urea excretion and the renal processing and clearance of calcium and phosphorus. The study not only alerts us to the susceptibility of stable nitrogen isotopes to non‐dietary (i.e. physiological) factors, but also identifies nitrogen isotope ratios as a possible new marker for osteopenia. Am J Phys Anthropol 103:185–199, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.