Natural variations in the carbon isotope values of plants: Implications for archaeology, ecology, and paleoecology

Tieszen, Larry L.

doi:10.1016/0305-4403(91)90063-u

Cited by 538 publications

(400 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Apart from evaporation, other properties such as soil depth, water holding capacity, salinity, soil resistance and nitrogen content can either limit the water available to crops or affect photosynthesis rates in other ways (see Masle and Farquhar, 1988;Farquhar et al, 1989;Condon et al, 1992;Shangguan et al, 2000; Shaheen and Hood-Nowotny, 2005;Cabrera-Bosquet et al, 2007). The variable nature of soil properties means that they can change considerably within a relatively small area, affecting noticeable intra-and interspecies differences in plant stable isotope composition within the same habitat (Tieszen, 1991;Heaton, 1999).…”

Section: Evapotranspiration and Local Growing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation into the archaeological application of carbon stable isotope analysis used to establish crop water availability: solutions and ways forward

Stokes¹,

Müldner²,

Jenkins³

2011

Water, Life and Civilisation

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Section: Evapotranspiration and Local Growing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation into the archaeological application of carbon stable isotope analysis used to establish crop water availability: solutions and ways forward

Stokes¹,

Müldner²,

Jenkins³

2011

Water, Life and Civilisation

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“…e.g. 7 The 18 O/ 16 O ratio in the phosphate and carbonate components of fossil bioapatite in individuals reflects the isotopic composition of the total ingested water in food and drink 8,9 and, in turn, climate variability via the effects of temperature and Rayleigh distillation on the isotopic composition of precipitation environmental water. Sequential intra-tooth measurements of 18 O/ 16 O and 13 C/ 12 C along the direction of growth are useful to assess the compositional variations of these parameters along a tooth mineralisation trajectory, as they reflect seasonal environmental variations during this period.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Faunal migration in late‐glacial central Italy: implications for human resource exploitation

Pellegrini

Donahue

Chenery³

et al. 2008

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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The hunter-gatherer transhumance model presents foragers as specialised hunters of migratory ungulates, which moved seasonally between coastal lowlands and interior uplands. We studied six animal teeth of horse (Equus hydruntinus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) from four different archaeological sites: the Grotta di Vado all'Arancio, Grotta di Settecannelle, Grotta Polesini and Grotta di Pozzo, in central Italy to test whether the migratory patterns and seasonal variations recorded in their teeth were consistent with expectations of the transhumance model for this region during the late Upper Palaeolithic. Sequential sub-samples of enamel were analysed from each tooth for oxygen, carbon and strontium isotope ratios to reconstruct mobility and yearly seasonal variations. The results show little evidence that these animals were moving over different geological terrains throughout the year, although small variations in Sr isotope ratios and concentrations were detected that corresponded to probable seasonal variations as shown by variability in oxygen isotope sequences. The results do, however, demonstrate that Cervus elaphus and Equus hydruntinus had different ranging behaviours, with the former moving over wider areas than the latter. This methodology produces results appropriate to assess animal migratory behaviour and, in turn, to test the consistency of proposed models of hunter-gatherer subsistence and mobility strategies. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Eurasian hunter-gatherer populations experienced rapid and extreme environmental changes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the early Holocene (ca. 18 000 to 8000 BP). e.g. 1,2 During this period profound socio-economic changes and technological developments took place that culminated with the transition to agriculture. Various models have been applied to explore the relationship between the environment and hunter-gatherer behaviour during the late-glacial in Mediterranean Europe. The hunter-gatherer transhumance model, a variation of the seasonal mobility model originally developed by Higgs, 3,4 presents foragers as specialised hunters of migratory ungulates that moved seasonally between coastal lowlands and interior uplands. In Italy, Barker hypothesised that hunter-gatherers of the late Pleistocene followed seasonally migratory herd species including Cervus elaphus and Equus hydruntinus between the Apennine uplands and the coastal plains. 5,6 These two locations offer seasonally distinct opportunities for grazing species: in winter the mountains are inhospitable and cold while the coastal plains remain grass-covered. In summer, instead, the lowlands are dry with little vegetation and the mountains remain vegetated. These distinctions would have been intensified in the late Pleistocene, and Barker argued that the seasonal climatic variations of this Mediterranean landscape would have suited wild species of grazing herbivores that could migrate between these two regions. 6 Although the hunter-gatherer transhumance model is attractive for various reasons...

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“…Elemental composition (particularly %C) of each foodstuff/macronutrient group was based on formulae provided in Morrison et al (2000). Isotopic offsets between measured bulk food isotope values and the isotopic values of specific dietary macronutrients were derived from Tieszen (1981). Digestibility was determined following Hopkins et al (1981).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eating out or dining in: modeling diverse dietary strategies in the Middle Period, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Pestle

Torres‐Rouff

Hübbe

et al. 2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The Middle Period of the Atacama oases, North Chile, has been characterized as a time of peace, uniform abundance, and widespread access to exotic materials. In the present work, we test this notion through a comparison of Middle Period human isotopic data (δ 13 C co , δ 15 N co , and δ 13 C ap ) representing two distinct ayllus, Solcor and Tchecar, in the San Pedro de Atacama oases. We employ Bayesian mixture modeling of individual-level isotopic data to quantify and compare dietary composition within and between the cemetery populations of these two contemporary locales. Ultimately, our research shows that dietary diversity, which we take as a proxy for differential levels of participation in long-distance exchange or the access to the products thereof, was unequally distributed, and that the supposedly uniform richness of the Middle Period was similarly discontinuous. While average isotopic values for the two ayllus were similar, variance within each differed significantly, as did variance in dietary composition arrived at through modeling. By all measures, the individuals interred in Solcor 3 had more varied diets, particularly in terms of carbohydrate-rich plants, than their contemporaries interred at Tchecar Túmulo Sur, suggesting that more individuals from Solcor 3 had greater participation in/access to long-distance exchange networks. Besides providing novel insights into the lived experience of the Middle Period residents of far northern Chile, this work also demonstrates the power of Bayesian mixture modeling for the reconstruction of individual paleodiet.

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Natural variations in the carbon isotope values of plants: Implications for archaeology, ecology, and paleoecology

Cited by 538 publications

References 52 publications

An investigation into the archaeological application of carbon stable isotope analysis used to establish crop water availability: solutions and ways forward

An investigation into the archaeological application of carbon stable isotope analysis used to establish crop water availability: solutions and ways forward

Faunal migration in late‐glacial central Italy: implications for human resource exploitation

Eating out or dining in: modeling diverse dietary strategies in the Middle Period, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

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