Trabecular bone mass and bone content of diet-related Trace elements among the Prehispanic inhabitants of the western Canary Islands

The trabecular bone mass (TBM) of 29 bone cylinders (obtained at the iliac crest with a Bordier's trephine) belonging to non-sanile adult skeletons of the prehispanic inhabitants of the Western Canary Islands was determined histomorphometrically. Scanbning electron microscope and/or binocular microscope observations of the cylinders were also performed in order to exclude diagenetic alterations of the bones. Bone content of Sr, Mg, Mn, Co, Cu, Fe and Zn of the skeletons and of soil samples from the burials where they were found were also measured. These procedures were also performed in a control group of 21 preciously healthy individuals dead as a result of trauma. Although mean TBM values of the prehispanic samples not different from those of the control group, some individual TBM values of skeletons from La Palma and El Hierro were fully in the osteoporotic range. Individuals from La Palma and El Hierro showed high mean Sr, Mg and Mn bone contents, whereas Zn and Fe contents were below the normal range, indicating a mainly vegetarian diet. Individuals from Tenerife showed nearly normal Sr and Mg bone contents, low Zn and higher Fe values than those from the other islands; these results indicate a more mixed diet. No relationship was found between TBM and bone trace element contents.