Human femur and tibia retain primary lamellar bone formed during growth: measurement of anthropogenic radiocarbon in bone cross-sections

Abstract

Bones exhibit isotope ratios with average seasonal variations resulting from constant remodeling; however, primary lamellar bone in some long bones represents tissue that forms during bone growth and persists without remodeling into adulthood. If this tissue grows sequentially, it could provide a novel source of information to reconstruct a personal history. This would also provide insight into the temporal changes in diet and migration of past human populations.

In this study, we measured anthropogenic radiocarbon (¹⁴C) in the femur of one individual and the tibia of the other who had been judicially dissected as unidentified bodies to determine the duration of primary lamellar bone formation. Samples were analyzed serially at 100–360 μm intervals over the direction of bone growth and ¹⁴C concentration decreased in the direction of bone growth. The endosteal areas of long bone cross-sections dominated by lamellar bone, containing sporadic osteons, were analyzed continuously during the growth period. The availability of time-series information on adolescent growth from the bone areas dominated by lamellar bone may be applied to life history reconstructions in anthropology. Importantly, long bones may retain information decades older than the time of death.