Using stable isotope analysis to obtain dietary profiles from old hair

A case study from Plains Indians

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8315601
AutoresDiana Roy (Oregon State University, autor correspondente), Diana M Roy, Roberta L Hall (Oregon State University), Roberta Hall, Alan C Mix (0000-0001-7108-3534, Oregon State University), Robson Bonnichsen (Texas A&M University)
Ano2005
Volume128
Fascículo2
Páginas444-452
Data de publicação2005-10-01
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.20203
PMID15795896
OpenAlexW1976503559
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas21
Referências citadas27

Stable isotope composition of human tissue reflects that of foods consumed, and can provide information about diet independent of artifactual remains. Here we refine and test this method by analyzing nitrogen (delta(15)N) and carbon (delta(13)C) isotope ratios in historic North American Plains Indians hair. Gas-source isotope-ratio mass spectrometry provides high-precision data for both delta(15)N and delta(13)C (+/-0.2 per thousand, 1 sigma) in single hair strands as short as 2 cm (100-150 mug). Because hair contains more carbon than nitrogen, if only delta(13)C data are needed, shorter strands (<1 cm) can be analyzed. This reduction in sample size opens new opportunities for analysis of small hair fragments found in archaeological excavations, as well as for analysis of seasonal variations in long hair strands. We find distinct isotope profiles (delta(15)N vs. delta(13)C) for two cultural groups, the Lower Brule reservation Sioux of 1892 and the reservation Blackfoot of 1892 and 1935. The resultant dietary profiles indicate a higher consumption of meat by the Blackfoot and a higher consumption of maize (or of animals that had fed on maize or other C(4) plants) by the Lower Brule. The two groups of Blackfoot yield similar isotopic profiles despite the passage of four decades, suggesting a strong role for cultural preference even as food sources change. Such stable isotope profiles can be used to link samples from the same cultural tradition based on their similar diets

Biology · Carbon fibers · Isotope · Isotope analysis · Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry · Isotopes of carbon · Isotopes of nitrogen · Mass spectrometry · Nitrogen · Stable isotope ratio · Total organic carbon · δ13C · δ15N · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Ecology · Environmental Chemistry · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Mathematics · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies