Stable Isotopes (Other Keyword)
26-50 (128 Records)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis is employed to assess diet in times of Wari influence in the southern hinterlands between the early (600–800 CE) and late (800–1000 CE) Middle Horizon (MH). We analyze bone collagen from 57 individuals interred at La Real, corresponding to two chronologically distinct mortuary contexts at this Majes Valley site...
Diet and Health in the Context of Medieval Mortality Crises (WGF - Post PhD Research Grant) (2016)
This resource is an application for the Post PhD Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Crisis mortality, a dramatic but temporary increase in mortality rate above the baseline level resulting from a single extraordinary factor, was an important phenomenon in past human populations and continues to affect living people in ways that might be preventable. One of the most important mortality crises in history was the Black Death; in Europe alone, the epidemic killed tens of millions of...
Diet and in-migration in the Tlajinga District of Teotihuacan: New insights from stable isotope analysis and AMS radiocarbon dating. (2017)
Thirty years ago, the apartment compound known as Tlajinga 33 (33:S3W1) in the southern district of Teotihuacan was extensively excavated, resulting in the recovery of over 100 individuals. A paleodemographic study of these individuals indicated that chronic morbidity was a serious health issue among residents. Additionally, previous geochemical analysis from 25 of these individuals suggested that at least 29% of residents grew up outside of Teotihuacan. Due to chronic health issues, the...
Diet and mobility patterns of hunter-gatherers and full-time farmers from the Tehuacan caves of Tehuacan, Puebla (2016)
The transition between the diet of the hunter-gatherers and the full-time farmers is described on an individual level based on evidence from three ancient caves in Tehuacan, Puebla. The populations studied occupied the caves for almost 8000 years from 6800 BC to AD 1520. The reconstruction of their diet was done on the basis of stable isotopic values of δ13C and δ15N of the bone collagen as well as the δ13C and δ18O from bone-bioapatite and from a series of slices from molars, alternating on...
Dietary and Environmental Reconstruction with Stable Isotopes of Early, Middle and Late Holocene Humans from Northern Malawi (2018)
The early Holocene African humid period (AHP, ~12,000-6000 bp) was followed by the Middle Holocene dry phase (MHDP, ~6000-3500 BP), and the modern climatic regime was established during the later Holocene (~3500 bp to present). The relationship of environmental change to human social and territorial organization adaptations are fairly well-documented in northern, eastern and southern Africa. However, the Holocene terrestrial record of environmental change in east-central Africa is poorly...
Dietary shift and cultural evolution relation to intercontinental cultural exchanges and climate change in the Hehuang and contiguous regions, northwest China ~3600 years ago: Evidence from Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopic Analysis (2015)
This study traces the extent to which dietary change coincides with intercontinental cultural exchanges in Eurasia, to enhance understanding of the effects of long-distance exchanges on the human diets. Through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age human and animal bone collagen, we find that intercontinental cultural exchanges in Eurasia led to significant changes in diet in the Hehuang and contiguous regions of northwest China. The isotopic evidence...
Earliest direct evidence of crop consumption in the central Tian Shan (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) (2015)
The main goal of this research is to explore the contribution of plant food to the diet of pastoral societies. It is still a subject of debate whether domesticated plants were being consumed and grown or just traded in this region during the Bronze Age, as the role of domesticated crops and their intensity of consumption in pastoral societies has been overlooked and until now hardly studied. This research presents the first results of stable carbon/nitrogen isotope analysis and archaeobotanical...
Effects of Sample Pretreatment and Contamination on Bivalve Shell and Carrara Marble δ18O and δ13C Signatures (2017)
Stable isotope signatures of bivalve shells serve as important proxies of past environmental conditions. However, such data can be biased as a consequence of physical and chemical pretreatment and contamination during sampling. To systematically assess these issues, homogenized aragonitic shell powder, as well as Carrara marble powder (calcite) were exposed to ultrasound, a set of different staining solutions and cleaning agents that are typically employed in bivalve sclerochronology....
Embodied Political Ecology in Colonial Livestock: Using Tooth Enamel Serial Sampling to Understand Seasonal Herd Management in Colonial Arizona (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Isotopic and Animal aDNA Analyses in the Southwest/Northwest" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Political ecology examines the relationship between politics and the environment and how that relationship affects ecosystems. While bioarchaeologists have shown the extensive biochemical connections in human remains resulting from political and economic inequalities, less attention has been given to the ways in which animals...
Emergence and Evolution of a Colonial Urban Economy: Charleston, South Carolina (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Boxed but not Forgotten Redux or: How I Learned to Stop Digging and Love Old Collections" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. We explore the emergence and evolution of a colonial urban center from the perspective of its animal economy in order to clarify relationships between rural and urban societies and the impact of those relationships on colonial environments.The project expands upon long-term studies of...
The Environmental Context of the Dorset-Thule Transition: Evidence from Stable Isotope Analysis of Archaeofauna (2018)
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of fauna from archaeological sites in the Central Canadian Arctic Archipelago were performed to examine the environmental context of the Dorset-Thule transition. Isotopic data from a large number of ringed seals demonstrate that there was a reduction in the importance of primary production derived from sea ice-associated algae during the Thule occupation relative to the earlier Dorset occupation; these data are consistent with an increase in open water...
Examination of Paleoindian and Archaic subsistence in Southern Belize (2015)
Recent excavations at Tzib’te Yux, a small rockshelter in Southern Belize, have revealed evidence of human occupation in the area spanning the Paleoindian and Archaic periods. Strata dating to the Late Pliestocene contain abundant faunal remains, lithic debitage, and highly fragmentary human remains. Preliminary indicators suggest that a broad spectrum of food resources was exploited including considerable input of lotic protein sources as early as the Late Pliestocene with continued...
Examining the Dietary Ecology of Ancient Channel Island Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and Island Foxes (Urocyon littoralis) Through Compound Specific Isotope Analysis of 13C and 15N from Bone Collagen (2017)
Advancements in gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) have allowed researchers to examine isotopic compositions for individual amino acids (AAs) comprising protein-based tissues. This method, known as Compound Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA), has the potential to overcome certain limitations associated with bulk tissue (e.g., bone collagen) isotopic analysis. Specifically, CSIA allows information about organismal ecology to be generated from discrete samples...
Explaining Isotopic Variability among the Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers of Lake Baikal (2017)
Lake Baikal is unique in continental northern Eurasia for the size of its large hunter-gatherer cemeteries with good preservation of human bone. Many hundreds of stable carbon and nitrogen measurements are available on human bone collagen, made over the last two decades. The isotope ecology of Lake Baikal is very complex and highly variable, showing one of the largest ranges of δ13C values in the world. Thus, it is not surprising that the human results show considerable variation. This...
An Exploration into Ancient Human Diet Using Stable Isotopes from Helminth Eggs (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In South Korea, the Baekje Kingdom (18 BCE – 660 CE) is well-known for maritime trade with Japan and China. Despite ample historical texts and archaeological data, the subsistence economies of the local groups within the Baekje Kingdom are relatively unknown. The region’s highly acidic soil is a major impediment to archaeological research because it...
Exploring Domestic Food Origins of The Chinese Community At Terrace (42BO547) Through Isotopic Studies (2022)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Diverse and Enduring: Archaeology from Across the Asian Diaspora" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Analysis of stable isotopes in bone collagen has been widely used to determine diet in humans and other vertebrates. The methods are well established in theory and practice. This exploratory project is focused on pig and cattle bones collected from surface contexts at Terrace to obtain δ13C, δ15N and Sr...
Exploring Migration and Kinship of the Ancient Maya through Isotopes and aDNA in NW Belize (2017)
As a uniquely sustained archaeological research program that has annually excavated in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area for 25 years, the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) offers a wealth of knowledge for bioarchaeological research. This paper examines ancient Maya burials from northwestern Belize, spanning the Late Preclassic (250 BCE – 250 CE) to the Terminal Classic (850 – 950 CE). Detailed here are stable isotope, ancient DNA, and osteological analyses from a...
Exploring Seasonal Aspects of Past Herding Systems Using Bayesian Modeling of Animal δ13C and δ18O Enamel Isotopic Profiles (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Novel Statistical Techniques in Archaeology II (QUANTARCH II)" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Intra-tooth samples of enamel δ18O and δ13C isotopic values produce isotopic profiles that reflect seasonal fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, and dietary composition. Archaeologists have interpreted trends found in animal isotopic profiles to estimate birth seasonality and to elucidate past management strategies...
Finding Value: Integrating Multiple Datasets to Clarify the Nuances of Past Food Choices (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Thinking about Eating: Theorizing Foodways in Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeological studies of ancient foodways focus on understanding subsistence practices in terms of the movement of species over space and time, human/plant/animal strategies, ecological transformations, periods of abundance/famine, economics, and politics. The values that foods are imbued with, the meaning and significance they...
Geographic and Temporal Variation in Canid Dietary Patterns from Five Huron-Wendat Village Sites in Ontario, Canada (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen in 48 dogs (Canis familaris) was conducted to investigate geographic and temporal variation in diet at five Huron-Wendat sites (A.D. 1250-1650) in southern Ontario, Canada. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data indicate intra- and inter-site variation in dietary protein for these dogs, as well as temporal variation in diet...
Geographic origin of sacrificed camelids at Huanchaquito (Chimú period, northern coast of Peru): insight from stable isotopic analysis (2017)
Excavations at the Chimú site of Huanchaquito located in the Moche Valley (northern coast of Peru) leaded to the discovery of an exceptional sacrificial deposit of more than 200 domestic camelid skeletons. This finding adds to the many testimonies of the presence of camelids on the Peruvian coast during the pre-Hispanic era. The abundant presence of animals suggests - but does not bring definitive evidence - that breeding took place locally in an unfavorable arid environment. Measurements of...
Geomorphic and isotopic indicators of anthropogenic change from Holocene-length alluvial deposits in the Rio Blanco watershed (2017)
Recent geoarchaeological investigations in southern Belize have focused on the Paleoindian to Archaic site of Tzib’te Yux located in the Rio Blanco watershed and dating between 3000-12500 BP as well as adjacent river terraces. Landscape-level vegetation changes are apparent within the area in the form of forest clearance by 5000 BP. Evidence of pedogenesis derived from four years of excavations and sedimentation rates established through modeling and high-precision 14C AMS dating have produced...
Herding Strategies during the Xiongnu Period of Mongolia: A comparison in the diet of domestic fauna from the Egiin Gol Valley and Baga Gazaryn Chuluu (2015)
During the Xiongnu Period (300 BC-AD 100), mobile agro-pastoralism constituted the primary form of subsistence. While this is supported by domesticated animal remains uncovered in mortuary and domestic contexts and historical and micro-botanical evidence for the use of agricultural products, a dearth of research exists concerning the variation of mobile agro-pastoralism among the Xiongnu. As such, this paper centers on regional differences in herding patterns and specifically does so through the...
High-Elevation Bison in the Rocky Mountain Front Range during the Late Holocene (2023)
This is an abstract from the "A Tribute to the Contributions of Lawrence C. Todd to World Prehistory" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the late Holocene, large bison herds occurred in grass-dominated ecological zones across much of the North American mid-continent. However, in situ fossils and historic accounts illustrate the adaptability of bison to a broad ecological niche space, from grassy prairies and plains to eastern forests. Yet,...
Historical Marine Ecology in Northwestern Greenland: Insight from Stable Isotope Analysis (2015)
This study presents stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions for zooarchaeological specimens from three sites in Inglefield Land (northwestern Greenland) representing approximately the last 1,000 years. Isotopic compositions for planktivorous seabirds (little auks, Alle alle) reveal general stability in biogeochemical cycling at the base of the food web since the end of the Medieval Warm Period. On the other hand, marine mammals (ringed seal, bearded seal, walrus) exhibit variable...