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Characterizing the Diet of Individuals at the Neolithic Chambered Tomb of Hazleton North, Gloucestershire, England, Using Stable Isotopic Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID8354534
AuthorsR Hedges (University of Oxford, corresponding author), Alan Saville (National Museums Scotland), T C O''Connell (0000-0002-4744-0332, University of Cambridge), T O’CONNELL
Year2008
Volume50
Issue1
Pages114-128
Publication date2008-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeometry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-813X • E-ISSN: 1475-4754
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1475-4754.2007.00379.x
OpenAlexW1496757570
LanguageEN
Citations received30
References cited37

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were measured on human and faunal bones, sampled from the Neolithic chambered tomb of Hazleton North, Gloucestershire, UK. The values were used to characterize the diet of the burial community as a whole. Humans were higher in δ 15 N by 4.5–5.0‰ relative to animal δ 15 N, from which we conclude that, based on currently accepted interpretations of isotopic data, the humans consumed a diet that was very high in meat or animal products (75% by weight of protein). Comparison was also possible between cortical and cancellous femoral collagen, with the results showing no significant difference for the adult humans. The sample of human isotopic values showed little variability, in contrast to that found in the domestic and wild animals from the site (including cattle, pigs, sheep and deer). We suggest that this is due to local environmental differences, rather than to environmental change over time or physiological differences between individual animals, and that this pattern is likely to hold for many other archaeological sites when analysed with sufficient statistical weight

Animal science · Archaeology · Biology · Geography · Human animal · Human bone · Isotope analysis · Livestock · Stable isotope ratio · Zoology · δ13C · δ15N · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Ecology · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Isotope Analysis in Ecology

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Unique citing works30
Citations per year1,76
Citation span2009 - 2025 (17)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 29
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