Stable Isotopic Evidence of Ancient Maya Diet at Caledonia,Cayo District,Belize

The skeletal remains of 18 individuals interred at the ancient Maya site of Caledonia (100 to 1000 C.E.), located in the Cayo District of Belize, w ere sampled for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis in order to reconstruct their diet. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in 18 bone collagen samples and stable carbon isotope ratios in bioapatite from 15 bone and 6 tooth enamel samples were assessed. Small sample sizes precluded the assessment of dietary variation with respect to age, sex, social status or time period among the Caledonia Maya. However, the sampled individuals consumed a varied diet consisting of maize, supplemented with some C₃ plants, terrestrial herbivores and/or lower order freshwater resources such as snails and molluscs and possibly maize‐fed animals. This dietary variability with an emphasis on maize is unsurprising given the biological diversity surrounding the site and the known importance of this crop to the ancient Maya. As expected, the isotopic values from Caledonia are similar to those from nearby sites from similar time periods. However, four individuals exhibit a marine dietary signature, possibly indicating inland trade of marine resources from coastal sites, or the migration of coastal people to Caledonia. This study demonstrates the validity of sampling small, fragmented collections from minor Maya centres in order to gain valuable insight into ancient Maya dietary practices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dietary Variability During Bronze Age in Central Italy: First Results

This research aims at delineating the dietary practices in Central Italy during the Bronze Age. The study of food choices is a mean for investigating palaeoenvironmental agricultural and economic activities and social relationships, which have been little explored until now in Italy from this specific perspective. Recent researches have showed that the Middle Bronze Age is a crucial period of dietary changes in Italy. Following these first observations, we studied three Bronze Age sites in Tuscany and Latium: Grotta dello Scoglietto, Grotta Misa and Felcetone. Analyses of stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes on 38 human and 22 animal collagen samples were performed. The results show three different dietary patterns. Data from Grotta dello Scoglietto (Early Bronze Age) indicate a high‐protein intake, with a probable consumption of fish. Additionally, sulphur results let us infer the presence of some non‐local people. Individuals from Felcetone (Initial phase of the Middle Bronze Age) show a terrestrial diet dominated by plant proteins, which suggests a low δ¹⁵N food intake, namely legumes, as well as C₄ plant, such as millet. Finally, values from Grotta Misa (Middle Bronze Age) highlight a mixed terrestrial diet and the consumption of millet. Given the variety of the obtained results, we are able to conclude that the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age represents a moment of change, which is reflected by the presence of different dietary patterns. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Archaeological excavations at Bosutswe,Botswana: cultural chronology,paleo-ecology and economy

Excavations at the site of Bosutswe on the eastern edge of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana have uncovered over 4 m of deposit ranging in age from CE 700 to 1700. Our research has produced quantitative and qualitative measures of the material and ecological dimensions that structured the everyday actions and behaviors through which social identities were constituted, maintained, and transformed during the period when the polities of Toutswe, Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe and Khami rose to power. By examining the material dimensions that underlay shifting relations of production, exchange, and social stratification we are able to contextualize the social judgments that ascribed value to material goods and food ways, while specifying the ways these were used to create and naturalize social relationships and power differentials. Stable isotope analyses, combined with evidence of vitrified dung, further enable us to suggest changes in herd management strategies used by the inhabitants of the site to compensate for ecological changes brought about by long-term occupation, while at the same time enabling them to economically tie subordinates to them as social divisions became more rigidly defined after CE 1300. The cultural and economic changes that took place at Bosutswe thus directly impact our understanding of the social transformations that immediately preceded contemporary configurations of ethnicity in Botswana.     

Same island, different diet: Cultural evolution of food practice on Öland, Sweden, from the Mesolithic to the Roman Period

The Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in north-west Europe has been described as rapid and uniform, entailing a swift shift from the use of marine and other wild resources to domesticated terrestrial resources. Here, we approach the when, what and how of this transition on a regional level, using empirical data from Öland, an island in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish east coast, and also monitor changes that occurred after the shift. Radiocarbon dating and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bones and teeth from 123 human individuals, along with faunal isotope data from 27 species, applying to nine sites on Öland and covering a time span from the Mesolithic to the Roman Period, demonstrate a great diversity in food practices, mainly governed by culture and independent of climatic changes. There was a marked dietary shift during the second half of the third millennium from a mixed marine diet to the use of exclusively terrestrial resources, interpreted as marking the large-scale introduction of farming. Contrary to previous claims, this took place at the end of the Neolithic and not at the onset. Our data also show that culturally induced dietary transitions occurred continuously throughout prehistory. The availability of high-resolution data on various levels, from intra-individual to inter-population, makes stable isotope analysis a powerful tool for studying the evolution of food practices.     

Meteorological influences on the spatial and temporal variability of NO2 in Toronto and Hamilton

The spatial and temporal variability of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) concentrations and their relationships with meteorology was evaluated in the Toronto–Hamilton urban airshed. NO₂ concentrations were highest in the early morning and late evening. Mean concentrations were highest in winter, although individual one-hour NO₂ concentrations were found to be highest in summer. Wind direction was the strongest control on hourly NO₂ concentration, and temperature and wind speed also had an effect. Our analysis of NO₂ concentration variation by wind direction showed that areas downwind of major highways, urban centres and industry were exposed to higher pollutant concentrations. Seasonal patterns of NO₂ concentration displayed significant spatial heterogeneity, in particular, in Toronto. Onshore winds sheltered coastal inhabitants from the full extent of NO₂ exposure they would otherwise experience. Seasonal variations in meteorology and emissions mean that the degree of spatial variability in NO₂ concentrations changes from season to season. This study will help to improve existing land-use regression-based NO₂ prediction models by incorporating meteorological controls on NO₂ distributions for health effect studies.     

Intra‐individual variation in stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes in mandibles of modern caribou of Qamanirjuaq (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) and Banks Island (Rangifer tarandus pearyi): Implications for tracing seasonal and temporal changes in diet

Intra‐individual variations in carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope measurements of dentine collagen in ungulate teeth can be related to diet and environmental changes at different periods during the life of the animal. A protocol of serial sampling of first, second and third molar roots was applied to modern caribou (17–27 months old) of the Qamanirjuaq herd (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), Canada. Based on a previous study, we predicted that M2 would reflect winter, M3 summer and M1 a complete year in terms of the isotopic record. Relatively high δ¹⁵N values (ca. 6 to 8‰), previously attributed to winter stress, were found in different molars of different specimens, reflecting a period of growth between April 1966 to April 1967. Previous results on other teeth from the same population confirmed that a high δ¹⁵N_coll value signal corresponded to the winter of 1966/67. This temporary increase in δ¹⁵N value was probably linked to diet and/or environmental change. Collagen from M1 reflects the first winter whereas M2 and M3 reflect the second winter of life of young caribou. A longer time record including summer is represented by the bone collagen of the mandible. Results obtained on molar roots and mandible bone of the modern caribou of Banks Island herd (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) confirmed this seasonal record. Such collagen isotopic analysis on M1, M2 and M3 roots and jawbone can be applied to reindeer found in archaeological sites. Mandibles retaining deciduous premolars are preferable to avoid the possible loss of the winter tooth signal observed in animals older than 2 years. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hunter–gatherer foraging ranges, migrations, and travel in the middle Holocene Baikal region of Siberia: Insights from carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures

Foraging ranges, migrations, and travel among Middle Holocene hunter–gatherers in the Baikal region of Siberia are examined based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures obtained from 350 human and 203 faunal bone samples. The human materials represent Early Neolithic (8000–6800 cal BP), Late Neolithic (6000–5000 cal BP), and Early Bronze Age periods (∼5000–4000 cal BP) and come from the following four smaller areas of the broader region: the Angara and upper Lena valleys, Little Sea of Baikal’s northwest coast, and southwest Baikal. Forager diets from each area occupy their own distinct position within the stable isotope spectrum. This suggests that foraging ranges were not as large as expected given the distances involved and the lack of geographic obstacles between the micro-regions. All examined individuals followed a similar subsistence strategy: harvesting game and local fishes, and on Lake Baikal also the seal, and to a more limited extent, plant foods. Although well established in their home areas, exchange networks with the other micro-regions appear asymmetrical both in time and direction: more travel and contacts between some micro-regions and less between others. The Angara valley seems to be the only area with the possibility of a temporal change in the foraging strategy from more fishing during the Early Neolithic to more ungulate hunting during the Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age. However, the shift in stable isotope values suggesting this change can be viewed also as evidence of climate change affecting primary productivity of the Baikal–Angara freshwater system.     

Living and dying as subjects of the Inca Empire: Adult diet and health at Puruchuco-Huaquerones,Peru

Imperial strategies varied as the Inca expanded their empire from the capital in Cusco. Some communities were conquered violently while others were ruled indirectly with little evidence of Inca presence. According to ethnohistorical evidence, the central coast was peacefully annexed by the Incas ca. A.D. 1470, but little is known about how Inca imperialism may have affected the quality of life of subjects of the Inca Empire. We integrate multiple lines of evidence to assess diet, health and disease for a sample of human remains from the Late Horizon cemetery of Puruchuco-Huaquerones, Peru. Specifically, we examine and analyze osteological, dental and stable isotope data (n = 162, 90 and 46 respectively) in order to investigate whether the Inca period population at Puruchuco-Huaquerones experienced nutritionally insufficient diets and poor health under imperial policies. Diet at Puruchuco-Huaquerones incorporated a variety of foods, both plant and animal. Osteological lesions and stature indicate periods of stress, with males experiencing more illness relative to females. Stature sexual dimorphism, the presence of healed lesions and isotope data indicate a sufficiently nutritious diet and support the conclusion that, although disease was present, individuals were healthy enough to survive and recover. Geographical and temporal comparisons suggest that health changed little with the Inca annexation of this region, but future work is needed.     

Relative and absolute dating of the human skull and skeleton from Galley Hill,Kent

Over a period of some 100 years it has gradually been accepted that the human skeletal remains found in the late nineteenth century in ancient gravels at Galley Hill, Kent are not those of early man, but are of much more recent date. This conclusion was finally verified by means of relative (N, F) and absolute (¹⁴C) dating. Here we present the results of further analysis of the remains from Galley Hill for their uranium content by a method having general application to the relative dating of fossil human and other mammalian bone.     

Raising Practices of Neolithic Livestock Evidenced by Stable Isotope Analysis in the Wei River Valley,North China

Although a patchwork of projects shows a process of agriculture intensification in North China during the Neolithic, the impact of cereal farming on animal husbandry and their mutual interaction remain cloudy. This study reports bone collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of humans and animals from Wayaogou (ca 6.5–6.0 kyrs bp ) and Dongying (ca 5.9–5.6 kyrs bp , 4.6–4.0 kyrs bp ) to explore temporal trend of livestock raising and particularly the importance of millet fodder to stock raising practices in the Wei River valley, North China. The isotopic evidence overall shows that millet products increased in human and domestic animal diets during the mentioned chronological span. δ¹³C values of pigs and dogs at Dongying are higher than those at Wayaogou, implying that the importance of millet nutrients increased to animal husbandry diachronically. Interestingly, δ¹³C results of domestic cattle of Dongying late phase (−14.1 ± 1.1‰, N = 5) are more enriched than Wayaogou wild Bos (−17.8 ± 0.3‰, N = 3), indicating that millet fodder had taken a significant place in early cattle husbandry. Besides, differences between Bos species of the two periods also imply that δ¹³C values of bone collagen constitute a potential indicator for tracing the origin of cattle husbandry in North China. In addition, domestic sheep at Dongying produced similar isotope data to wild ovicaprid at Wayaogou, suggesting that they possibly had grazed for the most in grassland and therefore experienced a different lifestyle from cattle. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.