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Palaeodiet at Eton College Rowing Course, Buckinghamshire: isotopic changes in human diet in the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods throughout the British Isles

Palaeodiet at Eton College Rowing Course, Buckinghamshire: isotopic changes in human diet in the... Through isotopic investigations of directly dated human remains recovered from the Eton College Rowing Course, we examine changes in diet from the Neolithic to the Roman period. The human isotope signatures point to a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources. A significant correlation is visible between human δ13C values and time, but no such trend is observed in δ15N. The animal isotope data from Eton are unevenly distributed, making it difficult to determine if the human values mirror the animal values. To assess whether the results from Eton are typical, we compare our results to isotope data from other British sites dating from the Neolithic to the Roman period. Across this time period, we see a strong correlation between the mean δ15N of the humans and that of the main domesticated herbivores, with an offset of ∼4.5‰ between the two. Thus, the changes in the human isotope values are likely linked to changes in the isotopic signatures of the herbivores rather than changes in the protein composition of human diets. By contrast, no clear temporal relationship is observed between the mean δ13C of the humans and that of the main domesticated herbivores, with an offset of ∼1.4‰ between the two. There is, however, a weak correlation observed between the mean δ13C of the humans and that of the cattle, which may account for some of the variation in human δ13C values between sites. The absence of a strong correlation between mean human and animal δ13C suggests that the primary factor influencing human δ13C values between sites is dietary composition. The lack of co-variation between δ13C and δ15N is likely to reflect the different representation of dietary macronutrients. Given that the nitrogen results suggest that the animal protein consumption patterns are similar across sites, the human δ13C variation between sites is likely to reflect the plant portion of the diet. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Springer Journals

Palaeodiet at Eton College Rowing Course, Buckinghamshire: isotopic changes in human diet in the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods throughout the British Isles

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References (111)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by Springer-Verlag
Subject
Earth Sciences; Earth Sciences, general; Archaeology; Chemistry/Food Science, general; Geography, general; Life Sciences, general; Anthropology
ISSN
1866-9557
eISSN
1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-012-0089-0
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Through isotopic investigations of directly dated human remains recovered from the Eton College Rowing Course, we examine changes in diet from the Neolithic to the Roman period. The human isotope signatures point to a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources. A significant correlation is visible between human δ13C values and time, but no such trend is observed in δ15N. The animal isotope data from Eton are unevenly distributed, making it difficult to determine if the human values mirror the animal values. To assess whether the results from Eton are typical, we compare our results to isotope data from other British sites dating from the Neolithic to the Roman period. Across this time period, we see a strong correlation between the mean δ15N of the humans and that of the main domesticated herbivores, with an offset of ∼4.5‰ between the two. Thus, the changes in the human isotope values are likely linked to changes in the isotopic signatures of the herbivores rather than changes in the protein composition of human diets. By contrast, no clear temporal relationship is observed between the mean δ13C of the humans and that of the main domesticated herbivores, with an offset of ∼1.4‰ between the two. There is, however, a weak correlation observed between the mean δ13C of the humans and that of the cattle, which may account for some of the variation in human δ13C values between sites. The absence of a strong correlation between mean human and animal δ13C suggests that the primary factor influencing human δ13C values between sites is dietary composition. The lack of co-variation between δ13C and δ15N is likely to reflect the different representation of dietary macronutrients. Given that the nitrogen results suggest that the animal protein consumption patterns are similar across sites, the human δ13C variation between sites is likely to reflect the plant portion of the diet.

Journal

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 15, 2012

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