A pre-Hispanic head.

This report on a male head revealed biologic rhythms, as gleaned from hydrogen isotope ratios in hair, consistent with a South-American origin and Atomic Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dating (AMS) compatible with the last pre-Hispanic period (1418-1491 AD, 95.4% probability). Biopsies showed excepti...

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Autores principales:	Raffaella Bianucci, Maria Jeziorska, Rudy Lallo, Grazia Mattutino, Massimo Massimelli, Genevieve Phillips, Otto Appenzeller
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2008
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e495818d301844afa1fc3626050fdfcb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e495818d301844afa1fc3626050fdfcb2021-11-25T06:12:39ZA pre-Hispanic head.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0002053https://doaj.org/article/e495818d301844afa1fc3626050fdfcb2008-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18446229/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203This report on a male head revealed biologic rhythms, as gleaned from hydrogen isotope ratios in hair, consistent with a South-American origin and Atomic Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dating (AMS) compatible with the last pre-Hispanic period (1418-1491 AD, 95.4% probability). Biopsies showed exceptionally well-preserved tissues. The hair contained high levels of toxic elements (lead, arsenic and mercury) incompatible with life. There was no evidence for lead deposition in bone consistent with post-mortem accumulation of this toxic element in the hair. We propose that the high content of metals in hair was the result of metabolic activity of bacteria leading to metal complexation in extra cellular polymeric substances (EPS). This is a recognized protective mechanism for bacteria that thrive in toxic environments. This mechanism may account for the tissues preservation and gives a hint at soil composition where the head was presumably buried. Our results have implications for forensic toxicology which has, hitherto, relied on hair analyses as one means to reconstruct pre-mortem metabolism and for detecting toxic elements accumulated during life. Our finding also has implications for other archaeological specimens where similar circumstances may distort the results of toxicological studies.Raffaella BianucciMaria JeziorskaRudy LalloGrazia MattutinoMassimo MassimelliGenevieve PhillipsOtto AppenzellerPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 3, Iss 4, p e2053 (2008)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Raffaella Bianucci Maria Jeziorska Rudy Lallo Grazia Mattutino Massimo Massimelli Genevieve Phillips Otto Appenzeller A pre-Hispanic head.
description	This report on a male head revealed biologic rhythms, as gleaned from hydrogen isotope ratios in hair, consistent with a South-American origin and Atomic Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dating (AMS) compatible with the last pre-Hispanic period (1418-1491 AD, 95.4% probability). Biopsies showed exceptionally well-preserved tissues. The hair contained high levels of toxic elements (lead, arsenic and mercury) incompatible with life. There was no evidence for lead deposition in bone consistent with post-mortem accumulation of this toxic element in the hair. We propose that the high content of metals in hair was the result of metabolic activity of bacteria leading to metal complexation in extra cellular polymeric substances (EPS). This is a recognized protective mechanism for bacteria that thrive in toxic environments. This mechanism may account for the tissues preservation and gives a hint at soil composition where the head was presumably buried. Our results have implications for forensic toxicology which has, hitherto, relied on hair analyses as one means to reconstruct pre-mortem metabolism and for detecting toxic elements accumulated during life. Our finding also has implications for other archaeological specimens where similar circumstances may distort the results of toxicological studies.
format	article
author	Raffaella Bianucci Maria Jeziorska Rudy Lallo Grazia Mattutino Massimo Massimelli Genevieve Phillips Otto Appenzeller
author_facet	Raffaella Bianucci Maria Jeziorska Rudy Lallo Grazia Mattutino Massimo Massimelli Genevieve Phillips Otto Appenzeller
author_sort	Raffaella Bianucci
title	A pre-Hispanic head.
title_short	A pre-Hispanic head.
title_full	A pre-Hispanic head.
title_fullStr	A pre-Hispanic head.
title_full_unstemmed	A pre-Hispanic head.
title_sort	pre-hispanic head.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2008
url	https://doaj.org/article/e495818d301844afa1fc3626050fdfcb
work_keys_str_mv	AT raffaellabianucci aprehispanichead AT mariajeziorska aprehispanichead AT rudylallo aprehispanichead AT graziamattutino aprehispanichead AT massimomassimelli aprehispanichead AT genevievephillips aprehispanichead AT ottoappenzeller aprehispanichead AT raffaellabianucci prehispanichead AT mariajeziorska prehispanichead AT rudylallo prehispanichead AT graziamattutino prehispanichead AT massimomassimelli prehispanichead AT genevievephillips prehispanichead AT ottoappenzeller prehispanichead
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A pre-Hispanic head.

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