Developing isoscapes and testing lead isotopes of human tooth enamel

该奖项是美国国家科学基金会社会、行为和经济科学博士后研究奖学金（SPRF）计划的一部分。SPRF计划的目标是为学术界、工业界或私营部门和政府的科学事业准备有前途的早期职业博士级科学家。SPRF奖励包括在知名科学家的赞助下进行为期两年的培训，并鼓励博士后进行独立研究。美国国家科学基金会寻求促进科学界各阶层的科学家，包括那些未被充分代表的群体的科学家，参与其研究项目和活动；博士后阶段被认为是实现这一目标的一个重要的专业发展阶段。每个博士后必须解决各自学科领域的重要科学问题。在密苏里大学研究反应堆中心（MURR）的Virginie Renson博士的赞助下，该博士后奖学金支持一位早期职业科学家，研究人类牙釉质中铅同位素分析的适用性，作为研究人类组织保存往往较差的非温带气候下迁移的一种手段。这项研究还将制定跨人口增长和人类运动重要区域的铅同位素基线。研究将结合考古学和环境科学的方法，生产出通用的、详细的工具，未来的研究人员可以使用铅同位素和牙釉质来识别古生物的流动性。该项目将积极涉及学生的合作和培训，以及为儿童创造和分发教育活动。该项目将研究人类牙齿中铅（Pb）同位素特征的潜在用途，作为研究人口增长和扩张的重要领域迁移的手段。铅同位素（206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb）在考古科学中广泛用于追踪人工制品的来源，现在也成功地应用于研究传统温带气候下人类的古迁移能力。然而，在史前骨骼材料保存较差的地区，这种方法尚未得到发展。这个博士后研究项目将解决两个问题。首先，将收集150个地质和环境样品，建立20nPb/204Pb同位素图，以确定该地区的地质地形是否具有不同的Pb同位素比，可用于考古迁移和物源研究。其次，将从考古学和环境科学中开发程序，以了解是否可以系统地检测出人类牙釉质中体内铅浓度之外，埋藏过程中的成岩变化，包括现代铅源的污染。牙釉质标本（n = 75）将来自已知的移民活动中心。通过直接测试铅同位素在低浓度、低保存材料中的适用性，并允许研究人员通过Pb等观图研究较短距离的人类迁移模式，这些结果有望推进考古迁移研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award was provided as part of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) program. The goal of the SPRF program is to prepare promising, early career doctoral-level scientists for scientific careers in academia, industry or private sector, and government. SPRF awards involve two years of training under the sponsorship of established scientists and encourage Postdoctoral Fellows to perform independent research. NSF seeks to promote the participation of scientists from all segments of the scientific community, including those from underrepresented groups, in its research programs and activities; the postdoctoral period is considered to be an important level of professional development in attaining this goal. Each Postdoctoral Fellow must address important scientific questions that advance their respective disciplinary fields. Under the sponsorship of Dr. Virginie Renson at the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR), this postdoctoral fellowship award supports an early career scientist investigating the applicability of lead isotope analysis in human tooth enamel as a means for studying migration in non-temperate climates where preservation of human tissues tends to be poor. This study will also develop lead isotopic baselines across important regions of population growth and human movement. Research will combine methods from archaeometry and environmental sciences to produce universal, detailed tools future researchers can use to identify paleomobility using lead isotopes and tooth enamel. This project will actively involve the collaboration and training of students and the creation and distribution of educational activities for children.This project will examine the potential use of lead (Pb) isotope signatures in human dentition as a means of studying migration in an important area of population growth and expansion. Lead isotopes (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb) have largely been used in archaeological science to trace artifact provenance and are now also being applied with success to the study of human paleomobility in traditionally temperate climates. However, this methodology has yet to be developed in regions where the preservation of prehistoric skeletal material is poor. This postdoctoral research project will address two issues. First, 150 geological and environmental samples will be collected to develop a 20nPb/204Pb isoscape to determine if the geological terrains of this region exhibit distinct Pb isotopoic ratios that can be used in archaeological migration and provenance studies. Second, procedures will be developed from archaeometry and environmental sciences to understand if diagenetic alteration from taphonomic processes, including contamination from modern lead sources, can be systematically detected apart from in vivo lead concentrations in human tooth enamel. Tooth enamel specimens (n = 75) will come from known hubs of migrant activity. Results are expected to advance archaeological migration studies by directly testing the applicability of Pb isotopes in low concentration, low preservation materials and by allowing researchers to study shorter-distance human migration patterns through Pb isoscapes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.