Bone lead in the prehistoric population of gran canaria

Abstract

The present study determined the lead concentration in bone tissue from 40 prehistoric individuals of Gran Canaria, and in a sample of 19 modern day residents of the Canary Islands. Higher bone lead values were observed in the modern sample (18.65 +/- 12.13 &mgr;g/g dry bone tissue) than in the ancient sample (4.41 +/- 3.45 &mgr;g/g dry bone tissue, P < 0.001). Older individuals showed higher bone lead values than younger individuals, but only in the modern group. The correlation between age and bone lead approached statistical significance (P = 0.058). Low bone lead observed in the prehistoric sample suggests a low lead exposure in prehispanic times in Gran Canaria. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 11:405-410, 1999. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.