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Updated: Dec 12, 2025
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Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
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A guide for an anatomically sensitive dentine microsampling and age-alignment approach for human teeth isotopic
Andrea Czermak1, Teresa Fernández-Crespo1,2, Peter W Ditchfield1
1Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
|August 12, 2020
Summary
This study introduces a new, less destructive method for analyzing dental dentine, improving the accuracy of early life history reconstruction in past individuals. The technique enhances temporal resolution and age-alignment for stable isotope analysis.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Bioarchaeology
- Isotope Geochemistry
Background:
- Stable isotope analysis of dentine provides insights into past individual life histories.
- Current methods using horizontal sectioning are destructive and can compromise data accuracy by mixing growth layers and including extraneous tissues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel, less destructive protocol for stable isotope analysis of dentine.
- To improve the temporal resolution and accuracy of age-alignment in paleobiological studies.
Main Methods:
- A protocol involving sampling small cylindrical transects (1 mm diameter) from thin dentine sections.
- An age-alignment scheme based on average growth rates within specific dentine anatomical zones.
Main Results:
- The new protocol minimizes tooth destruction and sample size.
- It enhances anatomical sensitivity, avoiding secondary dentine and cementum.
- Improved age-alignment is achieved by utilizing growth ratios of dentine zones.
Conclusions:
- This method offers reduced destruction, finer temporal resolution, and better data comparability.
- It is compatible with fluorescence imaging and other collagen preservation assessment techniques.
