Trace-element analysis of Egyptian mummy hair by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry

Quantitative determinations of manganese, iron, copper, zinc and strontium in Ancient Egyptian hair samples were performed by tube-excited energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. The hair washing procedure was tested by scanning electron microscopy. A comparison was made between the obtained trace-element concentrations and the corresponding literature data. Particularly different concentration sequences of the examined elements were noted. In modern hair the decreasing order was zinc, iron, copper, strontium and manganese; in Ancient Peruvian hair it was iron, zinc, manganese, strontium and copper; in this work it resulted as iron, zinc, manganese, copper and strontium.