Historical archaeology as venue for the integration stable isotope and zooarchaeological analyses: A case study for Australian animal husbandry and meat trade

Summary

Stable isotope-based paleodietary reconstructions are scarcely conducted on faunal remains from historical sites in the New World. We argue that stable isotope applications have significant potential for answering a wide variety of questions about human-animal relations in historical settings. By way of example, we present a case study detailing the first use of stable isotope analyses for the purpose of reconstructing animal husbandry and meat trade during the early development of colonial Australia. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from grazing livestock and other fauna collected during excavations of the nineteenth century working class community of ‘Little Lon’ at the Commonwealth Block site, Melbourne, Australia, are considered to demonstrate how a relatively simple set of analyses can begin to illuminate historical strategies for cow and sheep husbandry and trade practices that may otherwise remain unknowable.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Environmental Archaeology: Building from Successes

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-55,07