scholarly journals Ancient Beringian paleodiets revealed through multiproxy stable isotope analyses

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (36) ◽  
pp. eabc1968
Author(s):  
Carrin M. Halffman ◽  
Ben A. Potter ◽  
Holly J. McKinney ◽  
Takumi Tsutaya ◽  
Bruce P. Finney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Essential Amino Acids ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Isotope Analyses

The earliest Native Americans have often been portrayed as either megafaunal specialists or generalist foragers, but this debate cannot be resolved by studying the faunal record alone. Stable isotope analysis directly reveals the foods consumed by individuals. We present multi-tissue isotope analyses of two Ancient Beringian infants from the Upward Sun River site (USR), Alaska (~11,500 years ago). Models of fetal bone turnover combined with seasonally-sensitive taxa show that the carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of USR infant bone collagen reflects maternal diets over the summer. Using comparative faunal isotope data, we demonstrate that although terrestrial sources dominated maternal diets, salmon was also important, supported by carbon isotope analysis of essential amino acids and bone bioapatite. Tooth enamel samples indicate increased salmon use between spring and summer. Our results do not support either strictly megafaunal specialists or generalized foragers but indicate that Ancient Beringian diets were complex and seasonally structured.

Early herding at Măgura-Boldul lui Moş Ivănuş (early sixth millennium BC, Romania): environments and seasonality from stable isotope analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Balasse ◽  
Adrian Bălăşescu ◽  
Anneke Janzen ◽  
Joël Ughetto-Monfrin ◽  
Pavel Mirea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Sequential Analysis ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
Isotope Analyses

Stable isotope analyses were conducted on faunal remains from the site of Măgura-Boldul lui Moş Ivănuş with the objective of characterizing the environments and seasonality of husbandry in the earliest Neolithic (Gura Baciului-Cârcea/Starčevo-Criş I) of southern Romania. Results from bone collagen analysis indicate extensive herding strategies for cattle and pigs. However, sequential analysis in tooth enamel also provides evidence for winter leaf foddering in one bovine, potentially kept by the settlement over winter. In some instances, sheep were fed a13C-enriched resource in late winter, which may have also coincided with lactation. It could not be determined whether this contribution was from C3or C4plants. Although isolated, these findings may be important in evaluating how early agricultural communities dealt with environmental constraints. These results are also interpreted with reference to the models of intensive mixed farming systems recently proposed by Bogaard (2004) and Halstead (2006).

Diet and subsistence mode of Neolithic Yuan-Shan people in Taiwan: Perspective from carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bone collagen

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Yi Lee ◽  
Maa-Ling Chen ◽  
Peter Ditchfield ◽  
Li-Hung Lin ◽  
Pei-Ling Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Isotope Analyses

Paleodietary Patterns of the Cherepakha 13 Site Population (Early Iron Age) in Primorye (Maritime) Province, Russian Far East, based on Stable Isotope Analysis

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1611-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav V Kuzmin ◽  
Vsevolod S Panov ◽  
Viacheslav V Gasilin ◽  
Sergei V Batarshev
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Far East ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Maritime Province

ABSTRACTNew paleodietary data were obtained after the discovery and excavation in 2015–2017 of the Cherepakha 13 site in the southern part of Primorye (Maritime) Province in far eastern Russia. The site is located near the coast of Ussuri Bay (Sea of Japan) and belongs to the Yankovsky cultural complex of the Early Iron Age 14C-dated to ca. 3000 BP (ca. 1200 cal BC). The stable isotope composition of the bone collagen for 11 humans and 30 animals was determined. For humans, the following values (with±1 sigma) were yielded: δ13C=–10.2±0.8‰; and δ15N=+12.4±0.3‰. The majority of terrestrial animals show the usual isotopic signals: δ13C=–19.4 ÷ –23.3‰; and δ15N=+4.6÷+6.6‰ (for wolves, up to +10.1‰); dogs, however, have an isotopic composition similar to humans: δ13C= –11.7±1.2‰; and δ15N=+12.4±0.4‰. Marine mammals have common values for pinnipeds: δ13C=–13.7 ÷ –14.6‰; and δ15N=+17.4 ÷ +18.0‰. The main food resources for the population of Cherepakha 13 site were (1) marine mollusks, fish, and mammals; and (2) terrestrial mammals; and possibly C4 plants (domesticated millets).

How ‘Best’ to Determine Trophic Levels in Archaeological Agricultural Communities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Reynard
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Isotope System

Stable isotope ratios of bone collagen have been used to determine trophic levels in diverse archaeological populations. The longest established and arguably most successful isotope system has been nitrogen, followed by carbon, and more recently hydrogen. These trophic level proxies rely on a predictable change in isotope ratio with each trophic level step; however, this requirement may not always be met, which can lead to difficulties in interpreting archaeological evidence. In agricultural communities, in particular, there are several possible complications to the interpretation of nitrogen and carbon isotopes. Recent approaches to overcome these limitations include better quantification and understanding of the influences on consumer isotope ratios; inclusion of evidence from plant remains; further investigation of apatite δ13C—collagen δ13C spacing in bones; measurement of carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in individual amino acids, rather than collagen; and development of other stable isotope proxies for trophic level, such as hydrogen isotopes.

scholarly journals Environmental factors shaping stable isotope signatures of modern red deer (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting various habitats

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255398
Author(s):  
Maciej Sykut ◽  
Sławomira Pawełczyk ◽  
Tomasz Borowik ◽  
Boštjan Pokorny ◽  
Katarina Flajšman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Carbon Isotopic Composition ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon Isotopic

Stable isotope analyses of bone collagen are often used in palaeoecological studies to reveal environmental conditions in the habitats of different herbivore species. However, such studies require valuable reference data, obtained from analyses of modern individuals, in habitats of well-known conditions. In this article, we present the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of bone collagen from modern red deer (N = 242 individuals) dwelling in various habitats (N = 15 study sites) in Europe. We investigated which of the selected climatic and environmental factors affected the δ13C and δ15N values in bone collagen of the studied specimens. Among all analyzed factors, the percent of forest cover influenced the carbon isotopic composition most significantly, and decreasing forest cover caused an increase in δ13C values. The δ15N was positively related to the proportion of open area and (only in the coastal areas) negatively related to the distance to the seashore. Using rigorous statistical methods and a large number of samples, we confirmed that δ13C and δ15N values can be used as a proxy of past habitats of red deer.

Climate and Habitat Reconstruction Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Collagen in Prehistoric Herbivore Teeth from Kenya

1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley H. Ambrose ◽  
Michael J. DeNiro
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Analytical Methods ◽  
Rift Valley ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Habitat Conditions ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen

AbstractStable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios have been determined for tooth collagen of 27 prehistoric herbivores from a rock shelter in the central Rift Valley of Kenya. Collagen samples whose isotope ratios were not altered by diagenesis were identified using several analytical methods. During the later Holocene, when the climate was as dry or drier than at present, the isotopic compositions of individual animals are similar to those of modern individuals of the same species. During the earlier Holocene, when the climate was wetter than at present, the δ15N and δ13C values are lower than those for their modern counterparts. When diagenetic factors can be discounted and adequate modern comparative data are available, stable isotope analysis of herbivore teeth and bones can be used to evaluate prehistoric climate and habitat conditions.

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