Bone chemistry and paleodiet

Pate, F. Donald

doi:10.1007/bf02231415

Cited by 181 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 221 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

123

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It has also been confirmed from earlier analytical studies that continuous intake of terrestrial food reduce the concentration level of Mg, Sr and Zn in the animal bones, while it increases the values of Ba, but continuous intake of terrestrial food along with meat reversed the concentration values of these elements which is clearly shown in Tables 1 and 2 [6,25,26]. Earlier studies also described that plant tissue contain a greater amount of Mg as compared to animal flesh but concentration of Mg also records the relative amounts of vegetation and meat in the animal diet [25,26].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 64%

“…Earlier studies also described that plant tissue contain a greater amount of Mg as compared to animal flesh but concentration of Mg also records the relative amounts of vegetation and meat in the animal diet [25,26]. It is evident from the analysis of present results shown in Tables 1 and 2 that the values of concentration of Mg, Zn and Ba are higher in the bones of Roopkund as compared to coastal reference samples, which indicate a high terrestrial component in their diet.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Study of Preservation Status and Dietary Reconstruction in the Human Remains Recovered from Roopkund Lake through Chemical Analysis of Faunal Remains

Farswan¹,

Singh²

2015

JCCE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Present study is carried out in the bone samples collected from Roopkund Lake in district Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand which is located at 5,029 meters from main sea level in between Nanda Ghunghti and Trishuli peak. This historical site belongs to 9th century A.D. All the samples selected for the study were dried in room temperature as well as hot air oven at 32 o C. Cleaning, pretreatment and digestion process of faunal remains was followed through established scientific methods. Chemical analysis i.e. concentration of different elements such as calcium, strontium, barium, magnesium and zinc as well as isotopic ratios of Carbon and Nitrogen was estimated with the help of ICP (inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy) and AAS (atomic absorption spectrophotometer). The results obtained from the chemical analysis are significant. On the basis of concentration of different elements and ratios of Nitrogen and Carbon isotopes, the dietary habits of the peoples buried in the Roopkund Lake are identified, which is different from sample to sample person to person. Besides this, the results are also significantly helpful for knowing the preservation status of faunal remains in Roopkund Lake. Finally this study also indicated the potentiality of chemical analysis for reconstructing the palaeodiet behaviour and preservation status of bone remains.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of Preservation Status and Dietary Reconstruction in the Human Remains Recovered from Roopkund Lake through Chemical Analysis of Faunal Remains

Farswan¹,

Singh²

2015

JCCE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, 12 C, 13 C, and 14 C are three Schwarcz and Schoeninger, 1991;Schoeninger and Moore, 1992;Pate, 1994;Fry, 2006;Hoefs, 2010). This relative abundance is referred to as the isotope ratio, and it is generally expressed in terms of d values that are parts per thousand (&) differences from a standard:…”

Section: Stable Isotope and Trace Element Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both of these elements are alkaline earth metals, which behave like Ca in organisms and become trapped in the crystal lattice of bones and teeth. These elements experience apparent systematic changes in concentrations relative to Ca through biological processes, and are thus expressed as Ca-standardized concentrations, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca (reviewed by Sillen and Kavanagh, 1982;Pate, 1994;Katzenberg and Harrison, 1997). These elemental concentrations are usually measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).…”

Section: Stable Isotope and Trace Element Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stable nitrogen isotope analysis, as well as carbon, has been used in the dietary reconstruction in ecology and bioarchaeology (reviewed by Schwarcz and Schoeninger, 1991;Schoeninger and Moore, 1992;Pate, 1994;Katzenberg and Harrison, 1997;Crawford et al, 2008;Lee-Thorp, 2008;Crowley, 2012;Sandberg et al, 2012). The d 15 N value increases with an elevated trophic level (bioenrichment: DeNiro and Epstein, 1981;Minagawa and Wada, 1984;Schoeninger and DeNiro, 1984;Bocherens and Drucker, 2003), and, in general, is higher in marine organisms than in terrestrial organisms (Schoeninger et al, 1983;Schoeninger and DeNiro, 1984).…”

Section: Nitrogen Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review

Tsutaya

Yoneda

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

196

188

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biogeochemical methods using stable isotopes and trace elements have been increasingly developed and applied to reconstruct modern and ancient breastfeeding and weaning practices of mammals, including humans, because they offer direct proxies for the dietary intake of subadults. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes have been used to evaluate breast milk lipid, protein, and water intake, respectively. Carbon and sulfur isotopes have been used to estimate the content of weaning foods. The elemental concentrations of Sr and Ba in subadult tissues differ because of the dietary change during the weaning process. For analyses, various tissues have been used, such as hair, nail, blood, and feces for modern mammals and bone and teeth for ancient ones. Of these, trace element analysis of tooth enamel offers a good opportunity for the reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices of the more distant past at finer resolution, although further understanding of the metabolism of trace elements is necessary. There are various tissue-and element-specific advantages and disadvantages, and a combination of different proxies can illuminate practices from various viewpoints. Finally, applying the geochemical reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices to human ecology, primatology, and paleoanthropology is important; basic studies of the underlying physiological mechanisms and technical improvements in the analyses will further highlight avenues for future research. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 156:2-21, 2015. V C 2014 American Association of Physical AnthropologistsThe reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices (BWPs) of ancient human and other mammalian species is one of the most important fields in anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, and history. Infant feeding practices affect the overall health of the population because diet, health status, and growth at a young age have profound effects on an individual's later life (Dettwyler and Fishman, 1992;Katzenberg et al., 1996;WHO, 1998WHO, , 2009Lewis, 2007). Breastfeeding and weaning practices can be viewed from the evolutionary perspectives of life history theory, parental investment, child development, social system, and reproductive strat-

show abstract

Weaning and infant mortality: Evaluating the skeletal evidence

Katzenberg

Herring

Saunders

1996

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

300

215

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Studies of prehistoric patterns of health and disease focus on interpretations of the evidence from hard tissue remains of past peoples. These interpretations are based on observations of living peoples and the sources of stress which may be expected to leave a record in their bones and teeth. One presumed source of stress that has received wide attention in the recent literature is weaning. The process of weaning is often associated with elevated risks of infant mortality and morbidity because infants no longer receive passive immunity from their mothers, and they are exposed to new sources of infection through the weaning diet. The process of weaning has also been tied to the duration of the contraceptive effects of nursing and the return of fecundity, which in turn provides information about birth spacing and population growth. Recently some of the basic assumptions about nursing and weaning, and their effects on morbidity, mortality and population growth, have been challenged, based on new technical and cross-cultural information. It is clear from the demographic literature that some studies based on skeletal samples tend to be too simplistic in terms of the causes of infant morbidity and mortality. This paper reviews current research which relates weaning and infant mortality to health and reproduction in past populations and evaluates studies of enamel hypoplasia and bone chemistry for reconstructing infant feeding practices in the past. o 1996 WiIey-Liss, Inc.

show abstract

Bone chemistry and paleodiet

Cited by 181 publications

References 221 publications

Study of Preservation Status and Dietary Reconstruction in the Human Remains Recovered from Roopkund Lake through Chemical Analysis of Faunal Remains

Study of Preservation Status and Dietary Reconstruction in the Human Remains Recovered from Roopkund Lake through Chemical Analysis of Faunal Remains

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review

Weaning and infant mortality: Evaluating the skeletal evidence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About