Boron Isotopes: A New Tool for Characterizing Wetland Use In The Past

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ethnographic and historical evidence shows that wetlands are highly variable environments, and humans exploit them in both spatially- and seasonally-specific ways. Reconstructing such patterned use with currently-available archaeological methods is extraordinarily difficult or, in most cases, impossible. We have identified a promising new tool for precise interpretations of human (and animal) wetland use. Work done at the Facility for Isotope Research and Student Training at Stony Brook University has demonstrated that boron isotope analysis can distinguish between saltwater and freshwater environments and thus between different locations within coastal wetlands. Moreover, as boron’s isotopic composition is predictably related to environmental conditions like pH, it is an effective proxy for distinguishing between seasons, salinities, even the ends of a pond. This paper presents data on spatial and seasonal variation in boron isotopes taken on wetland taxa widely used by humans. We highlight the advantages of using boron isotopic analysis to investigate seasonally- and spatially-dependent subsistence and mobility strategies within past wetlands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39198.0