Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward
Strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) are increasingly used as a provenance tool in multiple disciplines. Application to biological materials requires knowledge of the variation in bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr across the landscape, potentially in the form of an isoscape (a quantitative model of spatial isotopic...
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The Royal Society
2025-06-01
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| author | Maximilian J. Spies Amanda Alblas Stanley H. Ambrose Sarah Barakat Ramiro Barberena Clément Bataille Gabriel J. Bowen Kate Britton Hayley Cawthra Roger Diamond Anthony Dosseto Jane A. Evans Erich Fisher Kerryn Gray Phoebe Heddell-Stevens Emily Holt Hannah F. James Anneke Janzen Mael Le Corré Petrus le Roux Julia Lee-Thorp Alexander Mackay Patricia J. McNeill Janet Montgomery Bedone Mugabe Vicky M. Oelze Michèle Pfab Michael P. Richards Celeste T. Samec Francisca Santana-Sagredo Alejandro Serna Chris Stantis Christophe Snoeck Brian Stewart Cameron Stuurman Damon Tarrant Adam G. West Christine Winter-Schuh Judith Sealy |
| author_facet | Maximilian J. Spies Amanda Alblas Stanley H. Ambrose Sarah Barakat Ramiro Barberena Clément Bataille Gabriel J. Bowen Kate Britton Hayley Cawthra Roger Diamond Anthony Dosseto Jane A. Evans Erich Fisher Kerryn Gray Phoebe Heddell-Stevens Emily Holt Hannah F. James Anneke Janzen Mael Le Corré Petrus le Roux Julia Lee-Thorp Alexander Mackay Patricia J. McNeill Janet Montgomery Bedone Mugabe Vicky M. Oelze Michèle Pfab Michael P. Richards Celeste T. Samec Francisca Santana-Sagredo Alejandro Serna Chris Stantis Christophe Snoeck Brian Stewart Cameron Stuurman Damon Tarrant Adam G. West Christine Winter-Schuh Judith Sealy |
| author_sort | Maximilian J. Spies |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) are increasingly used as a provenance tool in multiple disciplines. Application to biological materials requires knowledge of the variation in bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr across the landscape, potentially in the form of an isoscape (a quantitative model of spatial isotopic variability). This paper summarizes and provides advice on our current understanding of the main concerns in creating and interpreting isoscapes of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr. Isoscape creation approaches include domain mapping, geostatistical contour mapping and machine learning, the last becoming more readily achievable with the availability of software packages. It is critically important to develop isoscapes at a resolution appropriate for addressing the research questions. Choice of sample materials depends on the research questions and availability: plants or fauna with small ranges are favoured, with some analytes (snails, soil leachates) posing challenges. Interpreting 87Sr/86Sr in biological tissues requires considering Sr metabolism and the timing of tissue formation, thus far underappreciated. The numerous sources of error involved in developing and applying isoscapes must be recognized to avoid over-interpreting data and spurious provenance precision. We hope this paper will help researchers investigating provenance, mobility, landscape use and migration to develop the most appropriate isoscapes for their purposes, and possible future use by others. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7d600c01322a44e9847b86149cc3392d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
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| spelling | doaj-art-7d600c01322a44e9847b86149cc3392d2025-08-20T03:21:34ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-06-0112610.1098/rsos.250283Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forwardMaximilian J. Spies0Amanda Alblas1Stanley H. Ambrose2Sarah Barakat3Ramiro Barberena4Clément Bataille5Gabriel J. Bowen6Kate Britton7Hayley Cawthra8Roger Diamond9Anthony Dosseto10Jane A. Evans11Erich Fisher12Kerryn Gray13Phoebe Heddell-Stevens14Emily Holt15Hannah F. James16Anneke Janzen17Mael Le Corré18Petrus le Roux19Julia Lee-Thorp20Alexander Mackay21Patricia J. McNeill22Janet Montgomery23Bedone Mugabe24Vicky M. Oelze25Michèle Pfab26Michael P. Richards27Celeste T. Samec28Francisca Santana-Sagredo29Alejandro Serna30Chris Stantis31Christophe Snoeck32Brian Stewart33Cameron Stuurman34Damon Tarrant35Adam G. West36Christine Winter-Schuh37Judith Sealy38Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDivision of Clinical Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USADepartment of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKCentro de Investigación, Innovación y Creación (CIIC), Universidad Católica de Temuco Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Temuco, Araucania, ChileDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKMinerals and Energy Unit, Council for Geoscience, Cape Town, South AfricaBiogeochemistry Research Infrastructure Platform (BIOGRIP), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaWollongong Isotope Geochronology Laboratory, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, AustraliaBritish Geological Survey, Nottingham, UKCentro Interdisciplinar de Arqueologia e Evolução do Comportamento Humano, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, PortugalDepartment of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, GermanySchool of History, Archaeology, and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UKDepartment of Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Anthropology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USABioArchéologie, Interactions Sociétés environnements (BioArch—UMR 7209), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, FranceDepartment of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaSchool of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UKEnvironmental Futures Research Institute, School of Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, AustraliaPaleoanthropology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USADepartment of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UKDepartment of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Anthropology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USASouth African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), Pretoria, South AfricaDepartment of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, CanadaInstituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotópica (CONICET-UBA), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaEscuela de Antropología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, ChileDepartment of Archaeology, University of York, York, UKSchool of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, USADepartment of Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USADivision of Clinical Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaInstitute for Prehistory and Early History, Christian-Albrechts-University zu Kiel, Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaStrontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) are increasingly used as a provenance tool in multiple disciplines. Application to biological materials requires knowledge of the variation in bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr across the landscape, potentially in the form of an isoscape (a quantitative model of spatial isotopic variability). This paper summarizes and provides advice on our current understanding of the main concerns in creating and interpreting isoscapes of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr. Isoscape creation approaches include domain mapping, geostatistical contour mapping and machine learning, the last becoming more readily achievable with the availability of software packages. It is critically important to develop isoscapes at a resolution appropriate for addressing the research questions. Choice of sample materials depends on the research questions and availability: plants or fauna with small ranges are favoured, with some analytes (snails, soil leachates) posing challenges. Interpreting 87Sr/86Sr in biological tissues requires considering Sr metabolism and the timing of tissue formation, thus far underappreciated. The numerous sources of error involved in developing and applying isoscapes must be recognized to avoid over-interpreting data and spurious provenance precision. We hope this paper will help researchers investigating provenance, mobility, landscape use and migration to develop the most appropriate isoscapes for their purposes, and possible future use by others.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250283geolocationisotope mappinggeostatisticsecologygeochemistrybioavailable 87Sr/86Sr |
| spellingShingle | Maximilian J. Spies Amanda Alblas Stanley H. Ambrose Sarah Barakat Ramiro Barberena Clément Bataille Gabriel J. Bowen Kate Britton Hayley Cawthra Roger Diamond Anthony Dosseto Jane A. Evans Erich Fisher Kerryn Gray Phoebe Heddell-Stevens Emily Holt Hannah F. James Anneke Janzen Mael Le Corré Petrus le Roux Julia Lee-Thorp Alexander Mackay Patricia J. McNeill Janet Montgomery Bedone Mugabe Vicky M. Oelze Michèle Pfab Michael P. Richards Celeste T. Samec Francisca Santana-Sagredo Alejandro Serna Chris Stantis Christophe Snoeck Brian Stewart Cameron Stuurman Damon Tarrant Adam G. West Christine Winter-Schuh Judith Sealy Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward Royal Society Open Science geolocation isotope mapping geostatistics ecology geochemistry bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr |
| title | Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward |
| title_full | Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward |
| title_fullStr | Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward |
| title_short | Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward |
| title_sort | strontium isoscapes for provenance mobility and migration the way forward |
| topic | geolocation isotope mapping geostatistics ecology geochemistry bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250283 |
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