Reconstructing Past Environmental Landscapes in the Semi-arid Regions of North America Using Stable Isotope Analysis of Faunal Bones

Summary

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 landscapes of archaeological settlements. This paper presents stable isotope results from analyses of rabbit and hare bones at the archaeological sites of La Quemada (Zacatecas, Mexico), La Ferreria (Durango, Mexico) and Pueblo Grande (Arizona, USA). The environmental implications of the results are discussed and contextualized in relation to the known culture history of the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Journeying to the South, from Mimbres (New Mexico) to Malpaso (Zacatecas) and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Ben A. Nelson   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25041