Red deer bone and antler collagen are not isotopically equivalent in carbon and nitrogen

Stevens, Rhiannon E.; O’Connell, Tamsin C.

doi:10.1002/rcm.7670

Cited by 15 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 89 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Captive, control-fed, white-tailed deer had a mean δ 15 N for antler collagen of +4.29±0.42 ‰ [69]; for a pure C 3 diet, the mean was +3.73±0.43‰. Subtracting 25 red deer (Cervus elaphus) antler collagen values from same-individual bone collagen values [70] resulted in a mean difference of +0.38±0.37 ‰, suggesting that there is essentially no difference between bone collagen and antler collagen δ 15 N values. As a result, we subtracted 4.0 ‰ from individual archaeological deer bone collagen values to estimate average consumed plant δ 15 N values, resulting in a mean of +1.6±1.0 ‰ and a median of +1.5 ‰ (Fig 2).…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Using Maize δ15N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields

Hart

Feranec

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Native Americans developed agronomic practices throughout the Western Hemisphere adapted to regional climate, edaphic conditions, and the extent of dependence on agriculture for subsistence. These included the mounding or "corn hill" system in northeastern North America. Iroquoian language speakers of present-day New York, USA, and Ontario and Qué bec, Canada were among those who used this system. While well-known, there has been little archaeological documentation of the system. As a result, there is scant archaeological evidence on how Iroquoian farmers maintained soil fertility in their oftenextensive agricultural fields. Using δ 15 N values obtained on fifteenth-and sixteenth-century AD maize kernels from archaeological sites in New York and Ontario, adjusted to take into account changes that result from charring as determined through experiments, we demonstrate that Iroquoian farmers were successful at maintaining nitrogen in their agricultural fields. These results add to our archaeological knowledge of Iroquoian agronomic practices. Our results also indicate the potential value of obtaining δ 15 N values on archaeological maize in the investigation of Native American agronomic practices. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Hart JP, Feranec RS (2020) Using Maize δ 15 N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth-and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0230952. https://doi.org/ 10.Groups using the mounding system in northeastern North American included Iroquoian language family speaking peoples in present-day New York, USA, and Ontario and Québec, Canada. From the fourteenth century AD onwards, Iroquoians lived in villages and towns that were occupied for 20 to 40 years or more [9] and housed hundreds to well over 1,000 individuals [10][11][12]. A major source of calories for these communities derived from agricultural produce, primarily maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) [13], but also other crops, including common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), squash (Cucurbita pepo), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) [14]. Non-cultivated foods included a wide range of terrestrial animals and plants [14,15], but with freshwater fish being an important source of animal protein for at least some populations [16,17]. The only domesticated animal present was dog (Canis lupus familiaris), which was consumed occasionally at feasts and ceremonies [18].The typical seventeenth-century AD ethnohistorically documented Iroquoian agricultural field consisted of many small mounds measuring approximately 46-120 cm in diameter and spaced 76-180 cm apart, which were formed with wooden, bone, antler, or stone hoes ([18], p. 178). Each mound contained 3-4 maize plants [18]. Common bean vines often were grown in the same hills with maize whose stalks acted as climbing poles for the bean vines, while squash vines were planted at intervals and occupied spaces around the mounds [19,20]. These fields were highly productive with some estimates suggesting they surpassed that of contemporaneous European and Euro-American farms [21]. While t...

show abstract

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Using Maize δ15N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields

Hart

Feranec

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Isotopic results for teeth were excluded unless the samples were adult mammoth teeth or bison third molars, as the isotopic compositions of these elements reflect adult rather than juvenile diets (Balasse et al, 1999;. Isotopic data for antler were excluded as this tissue reflects seasonal and/or physiological signals (Finstad and Kielland, 2011;Miller et al, 492 2014; Stevens and O'Connell, 2016). When multiple data were available for a given sample as 493 the result of radiocarbon measurements, we accepted the stable isotope results associated with 494 the oldest date for collagen that had undergone ultrafiltration.…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reframing the mammoth steppe: Insights from analysis of isotopic niches

Schwartz-Narbonne

Longstaffe

Kardynal

et al. 2019

Quaternary Science Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our findings are consistent with those of prior bulk collagen isotopic studies. Stevens and O'Connell (2016) noted that the pattern of increasing δ 15 N from antler base to the tip was not consistent with rapid growth as the primary control on the nitrogen isotope signal. If such was the case, an S -shaped δ 15 N pattern would be expected, as initial antler growth is relatively slow, followed by a period of exponential growth and then a final period of slow growth before antler death (Stevens and O'Connell 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Stevens and O'Connell (2016) noted that the pattern of increasing δ 15 N from antler base to the tip was not consistent with rapid growth as the primary control on the nitrogen isotope signal. If such was the case, an S -shaped δ 15 N pattern would be expected, as initial antler growth is relatively slow, followed by a period of exponential growth and then a final period of slow growth before antler death (Stevens and O'Connell 2016). Darr and Hewitt's (2008) feeding study also suggests that physiological mechanisms are not the primary control on antler δ 13 C and δ 15 N. Their measured enrichments in 13 C and 15 N from diet to antler were consistent with such increases from diet to bone reported in similar studies (Cormie and Schwarcz 1994; Koch et al 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Seasonal paleoecological records from antler collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N

Schwartz-Narbonne¹,

Plint²,

Hall³

et al. 2021

Paleobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cervids living in high latitudes have evolved to thrive in ecosystems that experience dramatic seasonal changes. Understanding these seasonal adaptations is important for reconstructing cervid life histories, ecosystem dynamics, and responses in the distant and not-so-distant past to changing seasonality caused by climate change. Cervid antlers provide a rare opportunity for insight into faunal seasonal ecology, as they are grown and shed each year. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen measured directly from antlers have the potential to provide seasonal dietary data for individuals. If the isotopic signals in bone and antler are controlled by the same metabolic processes, then the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of collagen (δ13CColl and δ15NColl) from incrementally grown antler tissue provide time-constrained dietary signals from the spring and summer growth season. Bone, by comparison, provides an average signal over several years. The amino acid (glutamate and phenylalanine) δ15N in antlers from modern captive caribou showed similar trophic discrimination factors to earlier results for other collagenous tissues (bone, tooth dentin, and cementum). Hence, growth rate was not the primary control on the stable isotope composition of antler collagen. We applied this knowledge to assess seasonal shifts in Quaternary fossils of three Cervidae species: elk (Cervus elaphus), moose (Alces alces), and caribou (Rangifer tarandus). Paired antler–bone δ13CColl and δ15NColl from the same individual were used to identify differences between summer and annual diet and ecology. Intra-antler isotopic variability from serially sampled antlers was used to examine seasonal dietary shifts and specialization.

show abstract

Red deer bone and antler collagen are not isotopically equivalent in carbon and nitrogen

Cited by 15 publications

References 89 publications

Using Maize δ15N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields

Using Maize δ15N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields

Reframing the mammoth steppe: Insights from analysis of isotopic niches

Seasonal paleoecological records from antler collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Red deer bone and antler collagen are not isotopically equivalent in carbon and nitrogen

Cited by 15 publications

References 89 publications

Using Maize δ15N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields

Using Maize δ15N values to assess soil fertility in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ad Iroquoian agricultural fields

Reframing the mammoth steppe: Insights from analysis of isotopic niches

Seasonal paleoecological records from antler collagen δ13C and δ15N

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Seasonal paleoecological records from antler collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N