Dietary habits in N ew F rance during the 17th and 18th centuries

An isotopic perspective

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8311491
AutoresJacinthe Vigeant (0000-0001-5127-2792, Université du Québec à Montréal, autor correspondente), Isabelle Ribot (Université du Québec à Montréal), Jean‐françois Hélie (0000-0002-0994-5620, Université du Québec à Montréal), J-F Hélie (Geotop, Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal Québec H3C 3P8 Canada)
Ano2017
Volume162
Fascículo3
Páginas462-475
Data de publicação2017-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.23129
PMID27861699
OpenAlexW2554489452
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas39

Objective Little attention has been given, so far, to the early colonial diet in New France from an isotopic perspective. Historical records that compare France to New France suggest a shift toward a more diverse diet, including a higher protein intake due to an improvement in living conditions in the New World, despite the retention of ancestral dietary habits. This hypothesis will be explored here. Materials and methods Stable carbon (organic and mineral) and nitrogen isotopes were measured on 43 individuals from Notre Dame cemetery (first Catholic parish church cemetery in Montreal, 1683–1803) as well as 13 French compatriots from La Rochelle, France (Protestant Hospital Cemetery, 1765–1792). Intragroup variation (age at death, sex, and/or burial location) was investigated and compared to compiled data from various northeastern North American sites ( N = 99). Results The Notre Dame sample means are as follows: −19.6‰ versus VPDB for δ 13 C collagen , −12.22‰ versus VPDB for δ 13 C carbonate , and 11.5‰ versus AIR for δ 15 N. They are significantly lower than both La Rochelle (−18.4‰, −11.67‰, and 12.7‰, respectively, p ≤ .005) and the northeastern North American groups used for this comparison ( p = .000). Discussion The isotopic values obtained from Notre Dame cemetery suggest that the diet was mainly based on C 3 resources with limited C 4 resources. Although different from all comparable contemporary sites, colonial Montreal's diet remains most similar to La Rochelle, France. This study agrees with historians who have suggested that French dietary traditions seem to have been retained among the early colonial inhabitants of Montreal

Archaeology · Biology · Colonialism · Ethnology · Geography · Isotope analysis · Protestantism · Sociology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Ecology · History · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Philosophy · Religious studies