Regional Food Paths of Ancient Tropical Agriculturists: A Multi-isotope Approach

Summary

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

Understanding dietary patterns in past societies is critical for interpreting economic and social transformations. The analysis of dietarily derived isotopes is a reliable source of categorical information about the types of foods consumed by an individual. Furthermore, multisystem-isotope analyses can clarify inferences about food sources and relative protein/carbohydrate contributions. We present dietary data from three Maya regions (Northern Lowlands, Central Lowlands, and Highlands) and one Mesoamerican descendent society (inhabitants of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica) during the Classic to early Postclassic periods using carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and sulfur (δ36S) stable isotopes from bone collagen with δ13C and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotopes of dental bioapatite. We contextualize our results compared to reported isotopic data from over 1,000 individuals from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. We discuss patterns based on behavioral choices (diet) and geology (probable food and water sources). In specific areas in the Maya Lowlands, C3 plant-consuming animals were being eaten along with maize (C4 plant)-consuming animals. This pattern varied regionally and temporally, with a marked increase in maize consumption towards the end of the Classic period and the beginning of the early Postclassic period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39272.0