Evaluation of lead concentrations in 18th-century Omaha Indian skeletons using ICP-MS

The analysis of skeletal remains of Omaha Indians buried between AD 1780 and 1820 indicated that lead was incorporated in cortical bone. The diagenetic or biogenetic origin of the lead was evaluated by examination of lead isotope ratios of the bones and artifacts, and comparison of lead concentrations in burial soils with those of the bones. The isotopic values of the lead artifacts demonstrate that the lead was mined in the Missouri region. Although the isotope ratios in the bones are not identical with that from the lead artifacts, there is a strong relationship between them. This finding indicates that the lead in the bone was at least partly derived from the artifacts. Because lead artifacts rarely accompanied the burials but lead was ubiquitous in the bones, we suggest a biogenetic origin for the lead. There is also the possibility that some of the lead may have been derived from pigments applied to the corpse during mortuary ritual.