Paleodietary analysis of the prehistoric population of the Canary Islands inferred from stable isotopes (carbon,nitrogen and hydrogen) in bone collagen |
| |
Authors: | M. Arnay-de-la-Rosa,E. Gonzá lez-Reimers,Y. Yanes,J. Velasco-Vá zquez,C.S. Romanek,J.E. Noakes |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Dpto. de Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua, La Laguna, Tenerife Canary Islands, Spain;2. Hospital Universitario de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife Canary Islands, Spain;3. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, The University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA;4. Dpto. de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain;5. Center for Applied Isotopes Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA |
| |
Abstract: | Nitrogen and carbon isotope compositions were measured in the bone collagen from a total of 86 prehispanic samples of the Canary Islands, and hydrogen in 70, all of them with enough amount of bone collagen, and adequate N and C content. These samples belong to prehistoric population of El Hierro (n = 27), Tenerife (n = 18), and Gran Canaria (n = 41). Isotope compositions were also obtained for prehistoric and modern food resources that were likely consumed by these people. Marked differences were observed among the three islands regarding the three isotopes analyzed: the δ15N values were highest among the population of Gran Canaria (10.8‰ ± 0.9‰), who also showed the highest δD values (7 ± 8‰). The population of El Hierro showed the highest δ13C values (−18.6‰ ± 0.7‰). These data suggest a high consumption of marine products by the population from El Hierro, and also an important consumption of terrestrial meat or marine, piscivore fish, by the population from Gran Canaria, together with domesticated C3 plants (barley and/or wheat), fruits of Ficus carica and other wild species, and goat products. Additionally, marked differences were observed between men and women, which suggest that women consumed a more vegetal-based diet, a finding which is in agreement with the higher proportion of teeth with carious lesions among women. |
| |
Keywords: | Bone collagen hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen isotopes Paleodiet Tenerife El Hierro Gran Canaria Canary Islands Guanches |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|