Humans have contaminated environments across the world with lead (Pb). Clair Patterson was the first to realize that Pb in the 20^th century environment was elevated above natural levels (Patterson, 1965). Lee and Tallis (1973) showed that this modern increase in Pb could be detected in lake sediments. Soon after, researchers compiled historical and archaeological evidence to estimate Pb production rates over the past 5000 years (Settle and Patterson, 1980). These records revealed a distinct rise in Pb production during both the modern and Roman periods, suggesting that Pb pollution could extend into antiquity. Ice cores from Greenland later confirmed that the rise in Pb production during the Greek and Roman periods could be detected (Hong et al., 1994). Since the 1990s, the use of sediment and ice cores to document pollution chronologies has revealed complex regional histories of heavy metal pollution across Europe (Renberg et al., 1994; Cooke and Bindler, 2015; Longman et al., 2018), Asia (Lee et al., 2008; Hillman et al., 2014, 2015), and South America (Abbott and Wolfe, 2003; Cooke and Bindler, 2015; Uglietti et al., 2015). Despite the exceptionally long tradition of metal use in North America, few sediment-based reconstructions of metal pollution extend back more than 500 years. Until this past decade, nothing was known about the sources and geographical patterns of pre-Columbian (i.e., before 1492 CE) Pb pollution in North America.

中文翻译：

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在北美可以发现铅污染已有数千年的历史了

人类已经在世界范围内用铅（Pb）污染了环境。克莱尔·帕特森（Clair Patterson）是第一个在20^世纪认识到铅的人世纪的环境被提升到自然水平之上（Patterson，1965）。Lee和Tallis（1973）指出，在湖泊沉积物中可以检测到Pb的这种现代增加。不久之后，研究人员收集了历史和考古证据，以估计过去5000年中的铅生产速度（Settle和Patterson，1980年）。这些记录表明，在现代和罗马时期，铅的生产量都有明显的增长，这表明铅的污染可能扩展到古代。格陵兰岛的冰芯后来证实，在希腊和罗马时期，铅的产量增加了（Hong等，1994）。自1990年代以来，使用沉积物和冰芯记录污染年代记录已揭示了整个欧洲地区重金属污染的复杂区域历史（Renberg等，1994; Cooke和Bindler，2015; Longman等。（2018年），亚洲（Lee等人，2008年； Hillman等人，2014年，2015年）和南美地区（Abbott和Wolfe，2003年； Cooke和Bindler，2015年； Uglietti等人，2015年）。尽管北美地区使用金属的历史非常悠久，但是几乎没有基于沉积物的金属污染重建可以追溯到500多年前。直到过去十年，人们对北美之前哥伦布时期（即1492年之前）的Pb污染的来源和地理格局一无所知。