stable isotope analysis (Other Keyword)
51-75 (99 Records)
Casas Grandes is widely recognized as having cultural characteristics of both Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. Although the presence of objects and ideas from surrounding areas clearly demonstrates some degree of regional interaction, the nature and extent of Casas Grandes’ relationship with neighbouring communities is largely unresolved. In particular, one of the key issues in Chihuahuan archaeology is whether Medio period complexity arose from internal developments or external stimuli,...
Kroeber’s omnivore’s dilemma: regional perspectives on late Holocene human paleodiets in the San Francisco Bay area (2015)
The analysis of ancient hunter-gatherer diet in the San Francisco Bay Area has been the subject of enormous research effort over the past century. Hundreds of "shell mounds" that once dotted the landscape around the bayshore provide evidence for significant population growth during the Late Holocene. Resource intensification models link population increase to a shift away from exploitation of low-cost, high-ranked prey toward greater use of high-cost, low-ranked prey at a number of...
The Langobards in Italy? A Look at Migration in Vicenza Using Oxygen Stable Isotope Analysis (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. At the end of the Great Germanic Migrations in AD 568, Langobards from Pannonia entered and occupied 2/3 of the Italian peninsula. It is unclear how large these migrations were, as historical documents exaggerate mass movements; however, conservative estimates suggest they made up 8% of the Italian population. This research identified migrants in two 7th...
Leporids and Landscapes: Stable Isotope Ratios of Rabbit and Hare Bones Reflect Local Environmental Conditions at Modern and Archaeological Sites (2015)
This study investigates the utility of stable isotope analysis (δ13C apatite, δ18O apatite, δ13C collagen and δ15N collagen) of leporid (rabbit and hare) bones to monitor the environmental conditions in which the animals lived. Since leporids were one of the most commonly consumed vertebrates in the pre-Hispanic New World, their skeletal remains are frequently found at archaeological sites. The relatively small home ranges and short lifespans of leporids, moreover, make them an ideal species to...
Maize and Meat over Millennia: Meta-analysis of Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios from the Andean Preceramic to the Colonial Period (7000 BCE - 1600 CE) (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Within the last 40 years, stable isotope analysis has revolutionized bioarchaeology, particularly in the study of human diets in the past. Thousands of studies have analyzed human and animal bone collagen and apatite, tooth enamel, dentin, and hair, but results have rarely been aggregated and studied at large scale. For this investigation, I will compile...
The Many Lives of Wari Dogs: A Summary of Zooarchaeological and Isotopic Research (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Dogs in the Archaeological Record" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The widespread perception of the dog as humans’ closest companion species allows their remains to be used as proxies for human diet and mobility patterns. But these highly social animals held their own variable social and economic roles. Therefore, dog remains can provide information on the organization of animal management systems in past complex...
Maritime Archaic Subsistence in Newfoundland, Canada: Insights from δ13C and δ15N of Bulk Bone Collagen and Amino Acids (2017)
Port au Choix-3 (4800-3600 B.P.) is a large Maritime Archaic mortuary site in northwestern Newfoundland. Since the 1940s, archaeological excavations have yielded thousands of artifacts and the skeletal remains of over 100 individuals. This site has been instrumental for defining the Maritime Archaic tradition, and for understanding human-environment interactions during the Archaic occupation of Newfoundland and Labrador. As such, it is currently the focus of a multi-isotope and ancient DNA...
Meat or Grains: Compound Specific Carbon Isotope Analysis along the Northern Edge of the Tibetan Plateau (2018)
Various foothills, oases and valleys along the north edge of the Tibetan Plateau played important roles in the process of food globalization in prehistory. These are the key corridors that brought southwest Asian animals along with the western grains into China and Chinese cereals to the West. Recent research demonstrates that broomcorn and foxtail millet (both C4 plants) were the key staple food in this region during the third and second millennium BC, but it remains unclear to what degree...
Methods for the identification of dog and dog/wolf hybrids from wild canids in the Northern Plains (2017)
In Native North America, dogs (Canis familiaris) were an important resource, used for traction, food, security, and ritual. Given their ubiquity in settlements and their tendency to consume human food waste, dogs remains can provide significant information about past human diet. Stable carbon isotope (δ13C) ratios may be used to reconstruct maize consumption, while nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios increase by trophic level, and can be used to differentiate between marine, freshwater, and...
Migration and Inequality: Using Biochemistry in a Historical Skeletal Assemblage from Bogota, Colombia (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Skeletal assemblages from the recent past present a valuable opportunity to contextualize bioarchaeological analyses with historical documentation. This study integrates historical and osteological data with analyses of multiple isotope systems to discuss inequality and migration within a sample of individuals (n = 120) from a 19th-20th century skeletal...
Migrations and Exchange: Early Pastoral Mobility in Kenya Assessed Through Stable Isotope Analysis (2015)
Specialized pastoralism emerged in Kenya around 3000 years ago and has adapted with changes in the social and ecological landscape to this day. Ethnographic research has documented significant changes in herding strategies among pastoral groups throughout colonial and post-colonial periods. Stable isotope analysis sheds light on how crucial mobility was in maintaining herds before the appearance of iron-using and –producing peoples in the region. Intra-tooth sequential sampling of livestock...
Molecular Archaeology in the Central Amazon: paleogenetic and isotopic analyzes of human remains from Hatahara (2016)
This study examines early population dynamics and ecology at Hatahara, an approximately 1500-year-old archaeological site in the Brazilian Central Amazon. Due to poor preservation of pre-Columbian human remains, little is known about the genetic make-up and diversity of this region before European contact. In contrast to other regions of South America and especially the Central Andes, this underrepresentation of human paleobiological data inhibits our potential to fully reconstruct Native South...
A Multi-method Investigation of the Diets of Dogs from the Angel Site (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Dogs in the Archaeological Record" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Angel site (12VG1) is located in southern Indiana, USA, on the Ohio River, and was occupied from approximately 1100 to 1450 CE. This site is part of a larger Mississippian cultural landscape. Research presented in this paper employs two methods for investigating the dietary behavior of domestic dogs recovered from the Angel site. Both dental...
Neolithic to Bronze Age Human Impact on Island Landscapes and Faunal Communities: Exploring the Wild/Domestic Dichotomy (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches in Zooarchaeology: Addressing Big Questions with Ancient Animals" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper synthesizes zooarchaeological and stable isotope evidence from the eastern and western Mediterranean to consider the influence of humans on island landscapes and ecosystems from the earliest Neolithic through the Bronze Age. How did the importation of new faunal species, whether...
A Novel Application of δ15N Values to Segregate Human and Non-Human Remains (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeologists are routinely tasked with sorting and identifying osseous remains in complex assemblages. When dealing with non-diagnostic fragments or significant taphonomic alterations, a straightforward determination of human or non-human based on osteological analysis is not always feasible. This study tests the use of nitrogen isotope delta values...
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica: Stable Isotopic Analysis of Lagomorphs from La Ferrería, Durango, Mexico (2015)
Central to understanding the social and economic dynamics of past societies is the reconstruction of the environment in which they developed. The marginal environmental region of Northwest Mexico, in particular, has been a focus of debate concerning the importance of environmental change in the rise and decline of complex societies in the region. This study analyzes 49 Leporid (rabbit and hare) bones from the settlement of La Ferrería in modern Durango, Mexico for stable isotope ratios of...
Prehistoric Population Mobility in the Caribbean: Genetic and Isotopic Investigations at Grand Bay, Carriacou, West Indies (2015)
Archaeological research at Grand Bay, a large Late Ceramic Age (ca. AD 400-1300) Amerindian village site on Carriacou in the southern Caribbean, has revealed vast amounts of evidence that sheds light on Pre-Columbian adaptations to small island environments. More than a decade of research here and at other locations on Carriacou have revealed dozens of human burials, including many found in mortuary contexts rarely seen in this part of the Lesser Antilles. Ongoing research on past lifeways of...
Radiocarbon Dates and Freshwater Resource Use within Prehistoric Diets (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Northeast Asian Prehistoric Hunter-Gather Lifeways: Multidisciplinary, Individual Life History Approach" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The human remains of Early to Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age populations surrounding Lake Baikal have known and large offsets in their radiocarbon ages caused by “old carbon” in freshwater ecosystems. This freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) causes human radiocarbon ages to appear...
The Rat’s-Eye View: Tracing the Impacts of the Human-Introduced Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans) on Mangareva through Stable Isotope Analysis and Zooarchaeology (2015)
Early Polynesian voyagers transported a suite of plant and animal species to each new island they colonized, forming the foundation of the Polynesian subsistence economy and leading to long-lasting transformations of island landscapes. The Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) was nearly ubiquitous on these journeys, perhaps as a potential food source or simply an inadvertent stowaway. With few natural predators, rat populations multiplied quickly after arrival and spread across island landscapes. Their...
Reconsidering Stable Isotope Analysis of Bone Collagen for the Interpretation of Prehistoric Breastfeeding and Weaning Practices: A Case Study from Santa Clara Valley, California (2017)
Breastfeeding and weaning practices (BWPs) are deeply personal, influenced by individual choices, circumstances of health and opportunity, community support, and cultural norms. This presentation will discuss the advantages and challenges of using bone collagen composition to interpret breastfeeding and weaning practices, using data from the Yukisma Mound (CA-SCL-38), a Late Period (~740-230 BP) ancestral Ohlone mortuary site in Santa Clara County, California. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope...
Reconstructing Mobility in the San Francisco Bay Area: Strontium and Oxygen Isotope Analysis at two California Late Period sites, CA-CCO-297 and CA-SCL-919 (2015)
Stable isotope analysis can reconstruct individual mobility of prehistoric California on a scale that can distinguish movement between different parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. This study uses strontium and oxygen isotope analysis to compare individual mobility patterns of two Late Period sites, CA-CCO-297 and CA-SCL-919. Three life stages are used for comparison, including early childhood from first molars, early adolescence from third molars, and adulthood/time of death from bone....
Reconstructing Past Environmental Landscapes in the Semi-arid Regions of North America Using Stable Isotope Analysis of Faunal Bones (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Journeying to the South, from Mimbres (New Mexico) to Malpaso (Zacatecas) and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Ben A. Nelson" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stable isotope values of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in animal bones are influenced by the environmental and climatic conditions present during the lifetime of the organisms. Stable isotope analysis of faunal bones thus permits the reconstruction of past environmental...
Regional Diversity and Population Migration of the Classic Maya: Stable Isotope Analysis of Individuals from the Holmul Region, Guatemala (2017)
Stable isotope analysis is a productive tool for understanding the migratory histories of past populations in various regions of the world, including the ancient Maya. This paper presents the strontium and oxygen isotopic ratio values of dental enamel samples as compared to the geographical location of burial to address questions of regional identity, population migration, and social complexity of the Maya at the archaeological site of Holmul and the nearby centers of La Suficaya, K’o, Cival,...
The relationship between cribra orbitalia, zinc deficiency, and dietary habits in children from 17th-18th century Jēkabpils, Latvia (2015)
In this study we investigated 28 skeletons of children (age 0-18 years) from a 17 th-18th century cemetery in the city of Jēkabpils, Latvia. The cemetery is located in the city center, and was part of a salvage excavation effort in 2011 due to ongoing construction work. It is still unclear to which church and Christian denomination the cemetery belonged. Bioarchaeological evidence indicates high mortality for children: half of the burials were children under the age of 14, while a third were...
The Relationship between Isotopic Evidence of Childhood Diet and Childhood Rickets in a Nineteenth-Century Jordanian Bedouin Population (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The site of Tell Hisban offers a unique perspective on the history of metabolic disease among nineteenth-century Middle Eastern Bedouin populations. Compared to regional samples from the same period, Hisban has a high rate of childhood metabolic disease, including rickets. Many infants at the site died with active rickets, and analysis of interglobular...