A Complex Relationship: The Use of Trace Element Analysis to Understand Past Lives and Burial Environments in Nineteenth Century Newchapel, Staffordshire, UK

Trace element (TE) analysis has been shown to reveal valuable insights into past populations, ranging from dietary habits and health to social standing and occupation. This project initially aimed to establish how occupation affected the long term health of individuals living in the nineteenth century by comparing TE values with pathology, cause of death, and occupation. Seven individuals from the St. James’ cemetery in Newchapel (Staffordshire) were selected for this study. Three different bones were sampled from each skeleton and, where available, dentition (n=3) and soil samples (n=5) from the graves were taken for ICP-MS analysis. XRF was also employed to analyse grave furniture as some of the TE values from the skeletal remains were extremely high, which may be related to the coffins themselves. The data revealed that the values from dentition were consistent with little variation, while the contrary was found for the bone samples. The TE values from bone rarely corresponded with those from either the surrounding soil or coffin furniture. High iron values were noted in several bones, although the reasons for this are currently unexplained, while high zinc values in other bones may point to the influence of coffin fittings and/or diet. High strontium and magnesium values were observed in the dentition of SK201 and SK300, respectively, which may offer insights into childhood diet. This research has demonstrated the complexities of using TE analysis to further understand the lives of past populations, and the importance of adopting a multi-disciplinary approach from the outset of a project.