Ancient Skeletons as Silent Witnesses of Lead Exposures in the Past
- 1 January 1988
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in CRC Critical Reviews in Toxicology
- Vol. 19 (1), 11-21
- https://doi.org/10.3109/10408448809040815
Abstract
Lead is stored in calcified tissues, and the lead levels in human remains will therefore reflect in vivo exposures in the past, provided that postmortem contamination can be ruled out or successfully removed. Reliable chemical testimonies from archeological finds indicate that prepollution exposures to lead were of the order of 1% of current-day exposures in industrialized countries. Examination of these silent witnesses of past times has also shown that lead exposures during recent historical periods were much higher than today. Studies in this area provide a framework for evaluation of lead exposures. The results would suggest that an ideal control group should not be exposed to lead levels any higher than the low, prepollution levels.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Lead in ancient human bones and its relevance to historical developments of social problems with leadScience of The Total Environment, 1987
- Lead concentration in deciduous teeth: Variation related to tooth type and analytical techniqueJournal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 1986
- Heavy metals in human and animal bones from ancient and contemporary FranceScience of The Total Environment, 1985
- Skeletal Concentrations of Lead in Ancient PeruviansThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1979
- Lead in Enamel and Saliva, Dental Caries and the Use of Enamel Biopsies for Measuring Past Exposure to LeadJournal of Dental Research, 1977
- Lead levels in dentine and circumpulpal dentine of deciduous teeth of normal and lead poisoned childrenClinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry, 1973
- The lead content of human deciduous and permanent teethEnvironmental Research, 1972
- The Trace Elements of Human BoneThe Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, 1968
- Contaminated and Natural Lead Environments of ManArchives of environmental health, 1965
- Histochemischer Bleinachweis im KnochenNaunyn-Schmiedebergs Archiv für experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie, 1936