喇家遗址位于青海省民和县,主体为齐家文化的遗存,距今大约3900-4300年。喇家遗址古代人类迁移活动的研究,对于探索黄河上游古代文明,推动该地区齐家文化研究,有着积极的学术意义。本文首先采用电感耦合等离子体质谱技术对喇家遗址出土的22个个体的44份牙釉质和骨骼样品进行了元素分析,根据检测结果排除了受到污染的2份骨骼样品。其次,通过热电离质谱分析方法对喇家遗址出土22个个体的42份牙釉质和骨骼样品及8个猪牙釉质样品的锶同位素比值进行了测定。检测数据表明,猪牙釉质的锶同位素比值的标准偏差远小于其他动物,可以推断猪由当地饲养的可能性是最大的,因此其牙釉质锶同位素比值可以代表当地的锶同位素水平。经过计算得到8个猪牙釉质的锶同位素比值的平均值为0.710930,将该平均值加或减2倍标准偏差可以得到喇家遗址当地的锶同位素比值范围在0.711058-0.710802之间。以此为前提可以推测,本次检测的22个个体中,有17个个体牙釉质的锶同位素比值在遗址当地的锶同位素比值范围内,可能为本地出生。还有2个个体牙釉质在当地的锶同位素比值范围上下限附近,姑且存疑;仅有3个个体牙釉质的锶同位素比值在遗址当地的锶同位素比值范围以外,表明这些个体可能在其他地区出生,去世后埋葬在遗址中。此外,数据分析还显示,本地出生人群牙釉质的锶同位素比值平均值与骨骼的锶同位素比值平均值比较接近,暗示喇家遗址当地古人类生活方式可能比较统一。
The Lajia site, located in Minhe County, Qinghai Province, is a large settlement site of Qijia Culture dated 3900-4300 BP. The study of the Lajia site is meaningful to understand the ancient civilization in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and its contribution to the local Qijia Culture. This paper analyzed elemental contents of human bones and tooth enamel samples from 42 samples(20 bone and 22 teeth; two contaminated bone samples of the original samples were removed) from 22 individuals ranging in age from child to adult. Eight pig tooth enamel samples were also collected. This research involved thermal ionization mass spectrometry for strontium isotope ratio(^87Sr/^86Sr). The eight pig samples were chosen to provide an independent gauge for the local ratio of strontium isotopes, because results of ^87Sr/^86 Sr ratios in enamel samples from domestic animals revealed that the standard deviation for pigs was less than that for sheep or cattle at the Lajia site, which meant that pig enamel samples may provide better indicators of local biologically-available strontium isotope ratio signatures. The mean ^87Sr/^86 Sr ratios of eight pig tooth enamel samples was 0.710930 based on which local strontium isotopes ratio range(±2σ) can be obtained as 0.711058-0.710802. Among the 22 individuals subject to our analysis, the strontium isotope ratios of tooth enamel samples of 17 individuals fell into this range, which might indicate local birth and life. Strontium isotope ratios of the tooth enamel samples of two individuals were very close to the upper and lower limits of this range, and are left for further study. Only the ratios of three individuals among the 22 fell outside the range showing that they might have been born in other regions and buried in the Lajia site after death. In addition, the similarities between bone and tooth enamel strontium isotope ratios suggest that native-born people at the Lajia site all had similar diets.