Understanding the Health of the People of Pender Island (B.C.) Through Portable X-ray Fluorescence of Human Remains

Summary

Bioarchaeology has undergone some amazing advancements since the 1970s. Due to ancient DNA and isotopic analysis, we are now able to understand health, ancestry, and diet, among other topics. Unfortunately, these methods of investigation are largely inaccessible to many descendant communities due to prohibitive costs and the destructive nature of many forms of analyses on human remains.

Archaeologists are beginning to respond to these concerns, by developing non-destructive analytical tools. More recently, archaeologists have made use of portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to analyze the chemical composition of lithics, ceramics, and the geochemistry of living floors. However, its applicability as a bioarchaeological analytical tool has yet to be determined.

This study applies pXRF to an assemblage of human remains from Pender Island, BC with the intent of investigating the application of pXRF as a bioarchaeological tool. If successful, I will employ pXRF to study the presence of health issues among the human remains recovered from Pender Island, using the information collected to expand our understanding of the health status of the people of Pender Island and of the applicability of the instrument as a bioarchaeological tool.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage