Diet and the Composition of Bone

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This grant permits Dr. Lambert and his colleagues to study the effect of diet on bone composition. They will raise laboratory rats on each of several selected test diets and then analyze the elemental content of their bone. Test diets will include those with substantial components of meat, corn, wheat, nuts, dairy products, leafy vegetables, starch and fish. Multivariate analysis will be performed on the data obtained in order to define both food and skeletal profiles for the various types of diets used. Through collaboration, analogous data will be obtained on both rare earth elements and stable isotopes. This protocol will allow the reseachers to address three questions: How are elemental levels in diet translated to elemental levels in bone?; in this context which elements interact, either antagonistically or synergistically?; can a multielement profile specify several components in the diet? Archaeologists attempt to reconstruct past lifeways and one key aspect of this involves past subsistence techniques. Because many materials, such as plant remains, are poorly preserved in the archaeological record past diet is extremely difficult to determine. Human skeletal remains are often recovered in the course of archaeological excavation and analysis indicates that these bones appear to preserve dietary information. For example levels of strontium seem inversely correlated with proportion of meat in the diet. However it is not understood just what these relations are. For this reason Dr. Lambert's research is of great archaeological significance It may provide researchers with an important new tool.