Tracking Individual Raptors in the Archaeological Record Using Stable Isotopes: Limitations, Possibilities, and Causes of Intraskeletal δ-Value Variation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Birds in Archaeology: New Approaches to Understanding the Diverse Roles of Birds in the Past" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ability to track trade of socially valued goods made from raptor bones can give archaeologists a deeper understanding of both human-raptor interactions and networks of exchange. Reconstructing distribution of such goods from production centers, however, requires the ability to identify bones from an individual bird. We explore a method to track the trade of raptor remains by examining intraskeletal variation and interindividual separation of δ13C, δ15N, and δ2H from 20 modern Cooper’s Hawks (*Accipiter cooperii). Our study is supplemented by analysis of the stable isotope signature of soft tissues from these hawks. Soft tissues have different turnover rates, which allows us to assess the linkage between individual hawk feeding ecology and interindividual separation. Archaeologists may be able to reconstruct networks of exchange in the archaeological record with stable isotope analysis.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Birds in Archaeology: New Approaches to Understanding the Diverse Roles of Birds in the Past

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32160