Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B22 (1987) 423425 North-Holland, Amsterdam 423 ELEMENTAL CONCENTRATIONS IN BONES FROM AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MUMMY AND FROM A CONTEMPORARY MAN* M. CHOLEWA”“, W.M. KWIATEK”“, K.W. JONES and G. SCHIDLOVSKY Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York llY7.3, USA A.S. PASCHOA’, S.C. MILLER and J. PECOTTE University of Utah, Soit Lake Cify, Utah 84112, USA Differences in elemental concentrations in bones taken from an ancient Egyptian mummy and a contemporary man were investigated by using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) in combination with Rutherford backscattering (RBS). Remarkable differences were noticed in the FeiCa and PbiCa relative concentrations, which were consistently higher in the contemporary man. 1. Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate differences between the elemental concentrations in bones taken from a contemporary man and from an ancient Egyp- tian mummy. Samples from contemporary man were provided by the Veterans Administration Medical Center of New Jersey. The right leg was amputated from a black male patient who had a history of diabetes mellitus, long- standing hypertension, and advanced atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease which was manifested by intermittent claudicatieus. In addition, he had im- paired circulation in his lower extremities and de- veloped thrombosis in his right femoral popliteal graft necessitating the right leg to be amputated after multiple surgical operations. The leg was amputated on August 8, 1983. The bone samples from the ancient Egyptian mummy were obtained from the Giovani Marrow Collection, Anthropology Institute in Turin, Italy, where the bones have been in storage for several years. These bones were collected at the Gebelin site in Egypt and came from a mummy of an adult be- * Research supported by the Processes and Techniques Branch, Division of Chemical Sciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy under Con- tract No. DE-AC02-76CH00016 and USDOE Contract No. DE-AC02-76EV-0119. ** Permanent address: Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow, Poland. ’ Permanent address: Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, Depto. de Fisica, C.P. 38071, RJ 22453, Brasil. 0168-583X/87/$03.50 0 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland Physics Publishing Division) lieved to have lived sometime during the period from 3000 BC to 500 BC. There are uncertainties about the sex of the mummy, as well as the age at time of death. However, there are also indications that the mummy is the remains of a female which might have been be- tween 35 and 40 years old at time of death. A proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) tech- nique in combination with Rutherford backscattering (RBS) was used to determine the elemental concen- trations in the bone samples. Sensitivities of a few parts per million (ppm) allow accurate measurements of most elements reported. 2. Sample preparation Bone samples were excised on January 8, 1985, from the proximal. middle, and distal sections of the amputated tibia of the male patient. The amputated leg was stored at -75°C since the date of amputation seventeen months earlier. Sections of tibia between 10 and 12cm were obtained with an electric autopsy saw equipped with a standard semi-circular stainless steel blade. Approximately l-cm thick transverse slices were obtained with the same tool from the distal end of each of these three sections. Bone slices were defatted by sonication with a sonic cleaner, 115 V, 1 A, in three changes of a 1: 1 ether-alcohol mixture, 15 min each, and dried in a 60°C oven for 24 h. Both surfaces of each slice were hand-polished on water-wet paper discs (600 grit, silicon carbon, 1%pm particle size) until no traces of the previous sawing could be seen, sonicated again in two changes of ether-alcohol (15 min each), and dried at 60°C. The bone samples from the mummy were taken IV. GEOLOGICAL AND OTHER APPLICATIONS