Trace Element Geochemistry of Bonebeds
Trace Element Geochemistry of Bonebeds
Fossil bones and teeth are the last physical remains of once-living vertebrates, and the chemistry of these fossils at least in part reflects the biochemistry of the individual. If the mineral phase of bone remains unaltered during diagenesis and fossilization, then the bone will contain a biogenic signal that can be used to infer directly physiological, dietary, and climatic information about the animal and its environment. Geochemical analyses of trace elements are particularly well suited to the study of bonebeds. Trace element analyses can be used to assess the extent of mixing within a bonebed, to determine the origin of reworked bones within a mixed assemblage, and to help distinguish between catastrophic and attritional modes of accumulation. This chapter discusses the trace element geochemistry of bonebeds, focusing on the importance of diagenesis in understanding geochemical taphonomy, the use of rare earth elements in geochemistry, applications of geochemical provenance techniques in the fossil record, reworking of bones, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
Keywords: bonebeds, geochemistry, trace elements, diagenesis, fossilization, provenance, rare earth elements, fossil record, reworking, paleoenvironmental reconstruction
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
