This edited volume compiles a series of chapters written by experts of isotopic analysis in order to highlight the utility of various isotope systems in the reconstruction of past human behaviors. Rather than grouping contributions by specific isotopes or analytical techniques, as many isotope review articles are arranged, the volume organizes chapters by broadly defined themes of archaeological research. These include: paleodiet and life histories, human-animal interactions, and migration and mobility. In this sense, the book is arranged with the intent of being as much question based as method based.
Chapters under these themes provide background information on the principles of the techniques and on the theoretical underpinnings of the research; yet they are written with the non-specialist in mind and attempt to convey these ideas clearly and succinctly. In addition to the case studies and reviews, three chapters provide greater context to the field of isotopic archaeology, discussing its history, basic principles, and future potential. The volume aims to serve as a reference source for students and practicing archaeologists seeking to apply isotopic studies to their own research projects or to act as a reader for courses in archaeological science.
Chapter 6 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Author(s): Melanie M. Beasley, Andrew D. Somerville
Series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 307
City: Cham
Preface
About the Book
Keywords
Contents
Editors and Contributors
About the Editors
Contributors
Part I: History and Introduction
Chapter 1: Stable Isotope Analyses and Human Behavior: A Science Driven by Ideas and Tools
References
Chapter 2: Exploring Human Behavior Through Isotopic Analyses: Tools, Scales, and Questions
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Elements of Interest
2.2.1 Principles of Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis
2.2.2 Principles of Stable Nitrogen Isotope Analysis
2.2.3 Principles of Stable Sulfur Isotope Analysis
2.2.4 Principles of Stable Oxygen Isotope Analysis
2.2.5 Principles of Radiogenic Strontium Isotope Analysis
2.2.6 Other Isotopes of Anthropological Interest
2.3 Considerations for Isotopic Studies
2.3.1 Types of Tissue Analyzed
2.3.2 Diagenesis
2.3.3 Precision and Accuracy
2.3.4 Analysis and Interpretation
2.4 Scales of Analysis
2.5 Human Behaviors Investigated in This Volume
2.5.1 Paleodiet and Life History
2.5.2 Human-Animal Interactions
2.5.3 Human Mobility and Migration
2.6 Conclusion
References
Part II: Paleodiet and Life History
Chapter 3: Stable Isotope Evidence for Breastfeeding and Weaning Variables in Past Populations: Infant and Child Feeding in Ancient Siberian Foragers
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Mid-Holocene Foragers of Siberia’s Cis-Baikal
3.2.1 The Cis-Baikal
3.2.2 Early Versus Late Neolithic Populations
3.3 Part 1
3.3.1 Comparison of Weaning Cessation Age in Subsistence Groups
3.4 Part 2
3.4.1 Intra-population Weaning Variability
3.4.2 Weaning Initiation Age
3.4.3 Weaning Velocity and Regularity
3.4.4 Weaning Foods
3.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Human Paleodiet on Tutuila Island, American Samoa: Isotopic Evidence of Dietary Continuity Through the Medieval Warm Period-Little Ice Age Transition
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Archaeological Background and Chronology
4.2.1 Lapita Settlement by Austronesian Speaking Peoples, ca. 2900–2700 cal BP
4.2.2 Development of Polynesian Plainware Ceramics and Ancestral Polynesian Society, ca. 2700–1500 cal BP
4.2.3 The Dark Ages, Absence of Ceramic Technology, ca. 1500–1000 cal BP
4.2.4 Monument Building and Formation of the Traditional Samoan Village, ca. 1000–200 cal BP
4.3 Food Web
4.3.1 Stable Isotopes
4.3.2 Tutuila Food Web
4.4 Materials and Methods
4.4.1 Sex and Age Estimation
4.4.2 Isotope Sample Preparation
4.4.3 AMS Dating
4.5 Results
4.5.1 Dietary Variation
4.5.2 Temporal Patterns
4.6 Discussion
4.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Multi-isotopic Evidence for Prehispanic Maya Use of Multiple Subsistence Catchments at Caledonia, Cayo District, Belize
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Environmental and Archaeological Setting
5.3 Stable Isotope Analysis Background
5.4 Sample and Methods
5.5 Results
5.6 Discussion
5.7 Conclusions
References
Chapter 6: The Potential of Dental Calculus as a Novel Source of Biological Isotopic Data
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Composition of Dental Calculus
6.2.1 Formation of Dental Calculus
6.2.2 Mineral Composition of Dental Calculus
6.2.3 Organic Composition of Dental Calculus
6.3 Conventional Analysis of Collagen Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopes in Paleodietary Reconstruction
6.3.1 Stable Isotope Analysis from Mineralized Tissues
6.3.2 Collagen and Bioapatite Carbon Stable Isotopes
6.3.3 Collagen Nitrogen Stable Isotopes
6.4 New Directions: Stable Isotope Analysis of Bulk Dental Calculus
6.4.1 Need for Alternatives to Collagen in Isotopic Analysis
6.4.2 Suitability of Dental Calculus for Isotopic Measurement
6.5 Paleodietary Inference from Dental Calculus
6.5.1 Initial Studies
6.5.2 Recent Studies Comparing Isotopic Values from Dental Calculus and Conventional Tissues
6.5.3 Potential Problems and Pitfalls in Isotopic Analysis of Dental Calculus
6.6 Case Study: Human Subsistence During the Basketmaker II Period at Grand Gulch
6.6.1 Study Design and Archaeological Context
6.6.2 Methods
6.6.3 Results
6.6.4 Discussion
6.7 Conclusion and Future Perspectives
References
Part III: Human-Animal Interactions
Chapter 7: Isotopes, Domestication, and Past Animal Husbandry Practices: A Review of the Formative Studies
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 Domestication and Animal Husbandry
7.2 The Application of the Isotope Analysis to Study Animal Husbandry in the Past
7.2.1 Identification of Wild and Domestic Animals
7.2.2 Birth Seasonality and the Identification of Dairying
7.2.3 The Movement of Animals
7.2.4 Feeding and Animal Management
7.2.4.1 Asia
7.2.4.2 African Continent
7.2.4.3 Europe
7.2.4.4 The Americas
7.2.4.5 The Pacific Islands
7.3 Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: Human-Animal Interactions in the Pre-colonial Americas: Insights from Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis in Terrestrial Ecosystems
8.2.1 Stable Isotopes of Carbon
8.2.2 Stable Isotope Variation at the Base of the Food Web
8.2.3 Additional Sources of Variation of 13C Abundance
8.3 Human Food Systems of the Americas
8.4 Strategies of Management for Domesticated and Wild Animals in the Americas
8.4.1 Turkeys
8.4.2 Llamas
8.4.3 Rabbits
8.5 Evidence of Animals for Ritual Use in the Americas
8.5.1 Captive Carnivores at Teotihuacan
8.5.2 Macaws of Northern Mexico
8.6 Summary and Future Research
References
Chapter 9: Reassessing the Abandonment of Pig Husbandry in Post-Viking Iceland: An Isotopic Approach
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Stable Isotope Theory
9.3 A Short History of Pigs in Iceland
9.4 Historical Background of Eyri
9.5 Methods
9.6 Results and Discussion
9.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: Ratting out the Past: Investigating Anthropogenic Landscapes in Polynesia Through Stable Isotope Analysis of the Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans)
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Early Impacts of Humans and Rats on Polynesian Islands
10.3 A Case Study from the Onemea Site, Mangareva
10.4 Rat Bone Collagen δ13C and δ15N Analysis
10.5 Rat Dietary Change in Anthropogenic Landscapes
References
Part IV: Mobility of Humans
Chapter 11: Migration and Paleomobility in the Face of Environmental Change and Political Collapse: Case Studies from San Pedro de Atacama, Northern Chile
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Methodological Background: Identifying Paleomobility Through Biogeochemistry
11.3 Introduction to the Study Area: The San Pedro de Atacama Oases During the Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period
11.4 Case Study: Environmental and Political Change in the South Central Andes
11.4.1 Materials and Methods
11.4.2 Results
11.4.3 Discussion
11.4.4 Paleomobility After Environmental and Political Changes
11.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 12: Isotopic Investigation of Tiwanaku Mobility During the Middle Horizon: Preliminary Data from the Site of Piñami in the Cochabamba Valley of Bolivia
12.1 Introduction
12.1.1 Tiwanaku
12.1.2 The Cochabamba Valley
12.1.3 Piñami
12.2 Geological Setting and Regional Strontium Isotope Ratios
12.2.1 The Eastern Cordillera
12.2.2 The Altiplano
12.2.3 Biologically Derived Strontium Isotope Ratios
12.3 Analytical Methodology
12.3.1 Sample Selection
12.3.2 Laboratory Procedures for Elemental Isolation
12.3.3 Trace Element Concentration Analysis for Detection of Diagenesis
12.4 Results
12.4.1 Archaeological Rodent Data
12.4.2 Archaeological Human Data
12.4.3 Element Concentration Analysis for Detection of Diagenesis
12.4.4 Burial Contexts of Local Individuals
12.4.5 Burial Contexts of Non-local Individuals
12.5 Interpretations and Discussion
12.6 Conclusion
References
Part V: Future Directions
Chapter 13: Epilogue: Stable Isotope Analysis in Archaeology – Current Perspectives and Future Directions
References
