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pg 30 A fundamental assumption of reconstructing human dietary patterns via trace element analysis assumes an in-vivo situation without diagenetic changes. Usually, the most common element for dietary reconstruction is Sr, however, Sr is limited in diagenetic value, if marine resources played a major dietary role. Marine organisms may have a masking effect on the contribution of terrestrial plant food to the diet (cf. Schoeninger and Peebles 1981
Kyle 1986). NOTE: stable nitrogen isotope and paleozoological records can provide information about the quantitative proportion of marine food items. High levels of Ni may be indictative of higher availability of animal protein. Mn, Ba, and Ni show a characteristic distribution in the trophic levels of the food chain, their concentrations are much higher in vegetable than in animal food items. The Mn and Ni contents of leguminous plants and nuts, as well as corn, are one or two times higher than those of meat, fish, and marine invertebrates (Souci et al 1989). While the literature for Ba is not as rich as for Mn and Ni, it also enriches plants more than animal tissue (Underwood 1977). NOTE: nice section of Mg and Ni literature pg 31 The Mn metabolism of mammals appears to be regulated primarily by excretion rather than by absorption (Britton and Cotzias 1966). One major problem afflicting chemical investigations is port-mortem alteration of mineral content. This has been investigated extensively by Doi et al (1988). by wet and moist soil.
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