28 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST the materials before accelerating them through a magnet on a curve. During this process, the heavier isotopes have more momentum and don’t curve as much as the lighter isotopes, which allows the lab to determine the number of heavier elements versus lighter elements. Finding Answers Once the isotope ratios for each element have been determined, Anzellini says it’s possible to determine what type of diet people had through carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. A diet of seafood or river fish will have more of the heavier form of nitrogen than one that consists mostly of cow or deer meat. And oxygen can show the source of drinking water—whether it came from local rivers, a well, reservoir or lake—as well as the geographic location of the water source. “In combination, we can use all of these pieces of evidence to see where people are coming from, what kind of foods they’re eating,” Anzellini says. “How much access to different kinds of food do they have? Are they eating mostly domesticated versus not domesticated animals or plants? Are they eating a lot of meat? Or are they really focusing on plants?” Once that information is compiled, Anzellini says he can compare it to other archaeological data to determine the social structure and possibly provide insight into the different burial methods. Despite the researchers trying to minimize invasiveness, Anzellini says the process is still destructive— taking pieces of bones from humans. Long term, he says, he hopes the use of Raman spectroscopy as a proxy in other research, such as another study he just finished, will lead to a less destructive process.—Stephen Gross In Székelyföld, an ethnically Hungarian region of Romania that once fought for its existence during a period of dictatorship, people are still trying to learn more about the way their ancestors were buried, according to bioarchaeologist and forensic anthropologist Armando Anzellini. Three different burial methods were used in the community’s Romanian graveyard, but there is no information as to why. Anzellini, assistant professor of anthropology, has been invited by research colleagues to help analyze remains from the burial site, using isotope ratio analysis, to figure out if social or temporal reasons explain the differences. It’s one of three projects either ongoing, or just completed, in Anzellini’s Bioarchaeology & Skeletal Biology Lab. Anzellini, who is often assisted by undergraduate research assistants from a variety of disciplines, is also studying the biomechanics of bone—how bone reacts to activity—by doing three-dimensional models of the bone. The research, in conjunction with research others have done, could one day prevent or treat bone-related ailments. The Process With isotope ratio analysis and the Romanian remains, Anzellini uses various chemicals on bone or teeth that are broken into tiny pieces. To study collagen, the organic part of bones, Anzellini uses hydrochloric acid to eat away at the mineral of bone, leaving just collagen behind. To study the mineral, he uses a concentrated version of hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite bleach to rid the sample of the organic material. Anzellini’s lab preps the specimens, separating the components so they’re cleaned and ready to be analyzed by another lab, which vaporizes and ionizes RESEARCH When Bones Do the Talking Bioarchaeologist Armando Anzellini helps analyze human remains at a Romanian burial site. CHRISTA NEU / CHRISTINE T. KRESCHOLLEK SCAN CODE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ANZELLINI'S WORK Armando Anzellini
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