<html>Creating a Strontium Isotope (<sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr) Baseline from Rodent Teeth for Archaeological Applications in Utah</html>
Author(s): Jaron Davidson
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
<html>
Few strontium (Sr) isotope studies have focused on the eastern Great Basin of North America, and because Sr ratios vary regionally and stratigraphically, establishing an isotopic baseline is often the first step in being able to interpret Sr values in their archaeological context. Such isotope baselines can help in determining local vs nonlocal remains and assist in piecing together trade and migration in the past. The goal of our current project is to help create a more robust Sr isotopic baseline in the eastern Great Basin to determine if using Sr ratios in interpreting the archaeological record is practical in such a geologically heterogeneous region. Small rodent remains from archaeological sites and modern samples were assayed to explore multiple parameters that play into Sr isotopic ratios. First, we report on the overall effectiveness of archaeological and modern rodent tooth samples in predicting Sr isotope values in Utah. Second, we explain how the valley-wide Sr ratios may conflict, but Sr ratios within-valley drainages differ predictably. Finally, we compare these results to previous findings and present the <sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr ratio results of a case study from Utah Valley.
</html>
Cite this Record
Creating a Strontium Isotope (87Sr/86Sr) Baseline from Rodent Teeth for Archaeological Applications in Utah. Jaron Davidson. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510846)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 52762