Cattle, Sheep, Goat, and Gazelle Tooth Isotope Statistics

Summary statistics for carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope values measured from sequentially sampled third mandibular molars of cattle, goat, sheep, and gazelle. The dataset, published by Cheryl A. Makarewicz on figshare, includes the number of increments per tooth, the range of intra-tooth isotopic change, and identification of specimens exhibiting a full seasonal cycle. It was last updated on April 10, 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling seasonal animal movement patterns based on intra-tooth oxygen isotope sequences.
• Investigating dietary sources and forage changes based on carbon isotope values.
• Assessing local geological signatures and potential migration based on strontium isotope ratios.
• Comparing mobility and feeding strategies between cattle, sheep, goats, and gazelle.

Strengths

• Data includes three distinct isotope systems (δ13C, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr) for comparative analysis.
• Intra-tooth sequential sampling provides a temporal record for each individual.
• Includes a metric (∆) for the range of isotopic change within each tooth.
• Identifies specimens exhibiting a full seasonal cycle in oxygen isotopes.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is very small at 9.5 KB, indicating limited scope.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Isotope analysis of sequentially sampled animal teeth.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 17:37:43; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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