Strontium Provenance

Strontium isotope provenance analysis uses the ratios of strontium-87 to strontium-86 in human skeletal remains to determine geographic origin and track human mobility and migration. Developed by Jonathan Ericson in the 1980s, this method exploits the fact that strontium isotope ratios in the environment vary geographically based on underlying geology. When individuals consume food and water from a specific region, they incorporate that region's characteristic strontium isotope signature into their bones and teeth, creating a geochemical fingerprint of their residence.