COPENHAGEN: The Egtved Girl was unearthed in 1921. All that remained of her was her hair, fingernails, teeth and clothing. However, by analyzing the isotope strontium in the remains researchers know a great deal about her life.
Strontium exists in the Earth’s crust but it is not distributed evenly. Different geological regions contain different levels of stronium and those levels are reflected by humans, plants and animals who ingest it through food and water.
By measuring the strontium isotopic signatures, researchers can tell where a person, plant or animal came from and were it might have visited. It is described as a “kind of GPS for scientists”.
The analysis, published in Scientific Reports shows that the girl was not a local. She was born and lived most of her life, outside the current borders of Denmark. Analysis of her hair and a thumbnail shows that she did a great deal of traveling during her last two years.
