Using Compound Specific Isotope Analysis of Amino Acids to Distinguish Aquatic and Terrestrial Diets of Early Holocene Hunter-Gatherers in Southern Sweden

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this study, we present the results of compound specific carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on amino acids from bone collagen of Early Holocene humans and contemporaneous terrestrial and marine fauna recovered from multiple sites in southern Sweden. These analyses were aimed at individuals spanning the Early Mesolithic to the Middle Neolithic Pitted Ware Culture (9500–2700 BCE) to provide a high-resolution model for estimating the importance of different dietary resources at sites with differing proximities to coastlines. The application of compound specific isotope analysis in this study provided further insight into subsistence changes associated with technological improvements and increased investment in fishing, as well as the increasing salinity of the Baltic Sea during this time span, complementing data from previous isotopic analyses of bulk collagen and zooarchaeological evidence. In particular, the results of compound specific isotope analysis highlight the extent to which terrestrial versus aquatic resources were important to these Early Holocene foragers. Additionally, we examined the potential decrease in residence mobility and increased focus on local dietary resources at coastal marine-oriented sites compared to inland freshwater-oriented sites, by exploring the capability of compound specific isotope analysis for better distinguishing freshwater versus marine resource consumption.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36232.0