Paleodietary implications from stable carbon isotope analysis of experimental cooking residues

Hart, John P.; Lovis, William A.; Schulenberg, Janet; Urquhart, Gerald R.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.08.006

Cited by 64 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The ␦ 13 C measurements from the AMS-dated ceramic residue samples show values of Ϫ24.8, Ϫ24.9, and Ϫ25.0‰ (see Table S2) indicating that, although a variety of C3 and C4 foods contributed to the residue ␦ 13 C signatures, maize may have represented 10-20% of the overall dry volume of foods cooked in the pots (36). More recent research into the interpretation of stable carbon analysis of cooking residues indicates that systematic underrepresentation of maize will result from not knowing the C3 and animal content of the residues, making any interpretation difficult without comparison to experimental cooking residues (37). The stable isotope ratios are a reflection of all foods that were cooked in the pots throughout their use-life (38), including C3 plants such as beans, arrowroot and manioc and animal protein sources that were not reliant on C4 grasses, with this then masking the maize signature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directly dated starch residues document early formative maize ( Zea mays L.) in tropical Ecuador

Zarrillo

Pearsall

Raymond

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

132

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The study of maize (Zea mays L.) domestication has advanced from questions of its origins to the study-and debate-of its dietary role and the timing of its dispersal from Mexico. Because the investigation of maize's spread is hampered by poor preservation of macrobotanical remains in the Neotropics, research has focused on microbotanical remains whose contexts are often dated by association, leading some to question the dates assigned. Furthermore, some scholars have argued that maize was not introduced to southwestern Ecuador until Ϸ4150 -3850 calendar years before the present (cal B.P.), that it was used first and foremost as a fermented beverage in ceremonial contexts, and that it was not important in everyday subsistence, challenging previous studies based on maize starch and phytoliths. To further investigate these questions, we analyzed every-day cooking vessels, food-processing implements, and sediments for starch and phytoliths from an archaeological site in southwestern Ecuador constituting a small Early Formative village. Employing a new technique to recover starch granules from charred cooking-pot residues we show that maize was present, cultivated, and consumed here in domestic contexts by at least 5300 -4950 cal B.P. Directly dating the residues by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon measurement, our results represent the earliest direct dates for maize in Early Formative Ecuadorian sites and provide further support that, once domesticated Ϸ9000 calendar years ago, maize spread rapidly from southwestern Mexico to northwestern South America.ceramic residues ͉ microfossil analysis ͉ AMS radiocarbon measurement ͉ crop dispersals ͉ agricultural origins

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directly dated starch residues document early formative maize ( Zea mays L.) in tropical Ecuador

Zarrillo

Pearsall

Raymond

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

132

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“…However, because very few wild prairie species have been analyzed for their starch content, we suggest that starch granules by themselves do not constitute strong proof of prehistoric maize in northern Plains archaeological sites. The need for multiple lines of evidence in reconstructing crop histories has been noted by others and should be considered standard procedure in archaeobotany (Hart et al, 2007;Smalley and Blake, 2003). In this study, we consider maize to be positively identified in a given sample only when phytoliths diagnostic of this plant (with or without maizetype starch) are recovered.…”

Section: Phytoliths and Starch Granulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The issue is similar for ceramic residues, and thus, the less negative d 13 C values of residues from the OLS and TH cannot easily be attributed to either consumption of bison (grazing on a mix of C4 and C3 forage), maize or both. Hart et al (2007) have recently cautioned against any estimations of the relative of amount of maize in ceramic residues from d 13 C values based on their experimental work. Their results strongly suggest that isotopic values on food residue may not always reflect the original proportions of C3 and C4 items cooked in the vessel (see discussion in Hart et al, 2007).…”

Section: Stable C and N Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other parts of the Americas, maize phytoliths and starch granules have been successfully extracted from food residue and soils, enabling key insight into the history of early agricultural economies (Hart et al, 2003;Pearsall, 2002;Pearsall et al, 2003;Pearsall et al, 2004b;Piperno, 2003;Staller and Thompson, 2002). In contrast, few previous studies have examined stable C and N isotope, and trace element, content of carbonized food residue (Barnard et al, 2007;Craig et al, 2007;Fie et al, 1990;Hart et al, 2007;Morton and Schwarcz, 2004;Sherriff et al, 1995), and no study has combined all of these analyses. We believe, however, that in combination these complementary proxies offer a powerful tool for understanding the relative importance, and possible provenience, of cultigens in small-scale prehistoric societies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reassessing the northern limit of maize consumption in North America: stable isotope, plant microfossil, and trace element content of carbonized food residue

Boyd

Varney

Surette

et al. 2008

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Recent archaeological applications of δ 13 C in Mesoamerican archaeology have focused on detection of the presence of maize in soils (Webb et al, 2004(Webb et al, , 2007Wright, 2005;Johnson et al, 2007) or as residues in cooking vessels (Hart et al, 2007(Hart et al, , 2009Seinfeld et al, 2009). Stable carbon isotopes have been also used to reconstruct aspects of past human environments, based on the analysis of tooth enamel in mammals (Feranec, 2008), charcoal (Hall et al, 2008) and soil organic matter (Pessenda et al, 1998;Vågen et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2010).…”

Section: Stable Carbon Isotopes and Vegetation Reconstruction In Teotmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable Carbon Isotopes Applied to Vegetation Reconstruction in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico

Tapia¹,

Adriano-Morán²

2012

BSGM

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Stable carbon isotope values (δ 13 C) from organic material in soils and sediments suggest possible sources of carbon in the organic component and contribute to the development of hypotheses concerning the composition of regional vegetation. This paper explores the application of δ 13 C to the study of soils and sediments in conjunction with the analysis of plant remains in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico, located approximately 50 km NE of Mexico City, known for the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, occupied between ca. AD 1-650. The ratios of 13 C/ 12 C from soil organic matter (SOM) provide a complementary approach towards the analysis of past vegetation change in regions characterized by relatively poor preservation of plant macrofossils and pollen. The analysis of phytoliths recovered from soils and sediments offers an additional source of evidence for broad changes in environmental conditions based on changes in the relative proportions of C3 and C4 grasses. In this paper δ 13 C ratios obtained from SOM in profiles in the Teotihuacan Valley are compared with the results of phytolith analysis in the same horizons. The relative proportion of carbon derived from C4-CAMS (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) plants was calculated. Phytolith analysis focused on the relative proportions of C3 (diagnostic phytoliths of the Pooideae subfamily of Poaceae) and C4 grass taxa (subfamilies Panicoideae, Chloridoideae and Aristodoideae). The δ 13 C ratios obtained from Tlajinga, located in an area of prehispanic irrigation south of the San Lorenzo River in the central Valley, indicate the predominance of C4-CAMS plants while phytoliths from the same horizons reflect a greater proportion of C4 grasses, although proportionally lower than isotopic indicators. The values of δ 13 C in SOM from Otumba, situated in close proximity to a river that also provided water for a prehispanic irrigation system, reflect a slightly lower predominance of C4-CAMS plants, and a slight increase in C4 grass phytoliths, with respect to Tlajinga. San Pablo provided evidence for the greatest predominance of C4-CAMS plants based on δ 13 C values in SOM whereas the phytoliths recovered from the same horizons indicate a higher proportion of C3 grasses. In general, the isotopic signatures reported here indicate changes in relative proportions of C4-CAMS plants, suggesting variability in the response of vegetation to local conditions, with a predominance of C4-CAMS plants in soil organic matter and considerable variability in proportions of C4 grass phytoliths in the contexts analyzed.Keywords: Stable carbon isotopes, buried soils, Teotihuacan, phytoliths. Resumen Los valores de los isótopos estables de carbono (δ

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Paleodietary implications from stable carbon isotope analysis of experimental cooking residues

Cited by 64 publications

References 43 publications

Directly dated starch residues document early formative maize ( Zea mays L.) in tropical Ecuador

Directly dated starch residues document early formative maize ( Zea mays L.) in tropical Ecuador

Reassessing the northern limit of maize consumption in North America: stable isotope, plant microfossil, and trace element content of carbonized food residue

Stable Carbon Isotopes Applied to Vegetation Reconstruction in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico

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