关于锶同位素考古研究的几个问题

Discussion on several issues of Sr isotopic archaeology

本文讨论了锶同位素考古研究所涉及的几个重要理论方法问题。首先是岩石、土壤和河流的锶同位素组成以及生物锶的来源问题。然后是锶同位素方法的四点局限性,即骨骼和牙本质样本的成岩污染问题、不同地区的锶同位素重叠现象、牙齿和骨骼的锶同位素混合效应和不能识别移民后代的问题。最后讨论了锶同位素方法应用于人类迁移研究的两个重难点,一是如何分辨一个遗址或墓地中的外来人口,二是如何找到外来人口的来源地。

This paper introduces several important theoretical and methodological issues involved with the strontium isotope archaeological research.The first is the variation pattern of strontium isotope ratios in the lithosphere and its influence on the study about human migration.Secondly,four restrictions of the strontium isotope method are addressed,the diagenetic contamination of bone and dentin samples,the overlapping effect of strontium isotope in different regions,the mixed effect of strontium isotope in teeth and bones,and the inability to identify migrant descendants.Finally,two major difficulties in the application of strontium isotope to the study of human migration are investigated.One is how to distinguish the migrant population in a site or cemetery,and the other is how to find the origin of the migrant population.