Food Has No Borders

Abstract

Isotopic analyses of human remains augment the biological profile with geolocation and dietary information, furthering efforts to identify unknown individuals from a forensic context. Here we test the methodological resolution of geolocation (δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr) and dietary (δ13C, δ15N) isotopes of one identified individual who immigrated to New York City from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Lesser Antilles. Isotope-based geolocation estimates did not identify the childhood residency on SVG, but did point to New York City as a possible residence during early adulthood. The individual’s C3-based diet did not significantly change from childhood to early adulthood, illustrating the maintenance of food traditions after the immigration event. This study illustrates that further development of tissue-specific isoscapes incorporating bioavailable foods, drinking water, and cultural traditions is warranted to refine methodological resolution of isotopic applications in forensic anthropology.

Bomb pulse 14C evidence for consistent remodeling rates of cortical femur collagen in middle‐late adulthood

“…Aspects of diet, residential mobility, health, and status are regularly inferred from isotopic values and elemental concentrations measured from human bone in archaeology (e.g., Koon & Tuross, 2013; Lamb et al, 2014; Reitsema & Vercellotti, 2012) and forensic anthropology (Lehn et al, 2015; Meier‐Augenstein & Fraser, 2008; Quinn et al, 2021). Bone remodeling rates provide the foundations for interpreting how much time of an individual's life is represented with biogeochemical measurements (e.g., Cox & Sealy, 1997; Fahy et al, 2017; Lamb et al, 2014; Scharlotta et al, 2013; Sealy et al, 1995).…”