Stable Isotopic Analysis of Chinese Domestic Animal Bones from the Central Pacific Railroad Community of Terrace, Box Elder County, Utah

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 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 Chinese and European American surface contexts at Terrace (42BO547) to obtain δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures. Comparison with isotopic signatures from local plants and animals, plus published records, will provide a picture of whether these animals were being raised locally or being imported. Understanding the development of food networks along the Transcontinental Railroad with specific attention to the immigrant Chinese community is an important topic of research involving the archaeological record. The information obtained can move beyond a simple understanding of local economic conditions to explore intimate details of this immigrant group and how they adapted traditional foodways to the potential constraints of living in America.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• 2020 SHA Poster Submissions

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 937