Trophic level and macronutrient shift effects associated with the weaning process in the postclassic Maya

Williams, Jocelyn S.; White, Christine D.; Longstaffe, Fred J.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.20229

Cited by 76 publications

(62 citation statements)

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“…Others have proposed a comparison of phosphate and carbonate isotope ratios or the amount of CO 2 extracted from each sample to identify possible diagenetic alteration (Iacumin et al, 1996(Iacumin et al, , 2014. In a study of Maya human bones from Belize, researchers used CO 2 gas yield produced during the combustion of apatite samples in the mass spectrometer (Williams et al, 2005), accepting the range of CO 2 yields between 0.6 and 1.3% as indicative of unaltered samples (Ambrose, 1993). In the only relevant study of the preservation of apatite carbonate stable isotope ratios in the Pacific area, Ambrose et al (1997) examined diagenetic effects in bone from the Marianas by the means of assessing correlation between carbonate carbon concentration (%C) and δ 13 C ap .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

Herrscher¹,

Fenner²,

Valentin³

et al. 2018

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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A B S T R A C TBoth archaeological and isotopic data document dietary changes over the first five centuries of Western Pacific island settlement, a time period beginning with the Lapita expansion about 3000 years ago. This change is marked by a decrease in marine food intake and an increase in vegetal food intake occurring in the Late Lapita/ immediately post-Lapita populations. The recent discovery of human burials at Talasiu (~2700-2600 cal. BP) in the Kingdom of Tonga opens new opportunities to assess this matter. We characterize the nature of the food items consumed by the Talasiu humans (n = 21) using collagen and apatite carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. We conducted an intra-Pacific comparison to examine the use of marine resources and the contribution of horticultural products and to look at the homogeneity of dietary practices within the Tongan group. Isotope results indicate a mixed diet of terrestrial and marine resources including a differential contribution of more specific marine foods (e.g., non-reef fish/inshore fish and shellfish). The Talasiu dietary pattern appears closer to that of the early Lapita population of Teouma than to other Late Lapita populations suggesting a different pattern of dietary change at the eastern end of the Lapita distribution. The slower rate of change may be due to the small size of both the island and the population, and also the additional potential role of social or cultural factors.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

Herrscher¹,

Fenner²,

Valentin³

et al. 2018

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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“…18 O values are a proxy for the contribution of water sources and have the potential to detect liquid supplementation, which is difficult to reconstruct using stable nitrogen isotope analysis (Wright andSchwarcz, 1998, 1999;Williams et al, 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…O values and discussed that the macronutrient intakes in subadults together with stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic results from bone collagen (Williams et al, 2005;Turner et al, 2007). Cross-sectional BWPs have also been reconstructed by trace element analysis in the past human skeletal populations from an 11th to 12th century cemetery in Germany (H€ uhne-Osterloh and Grupe, 1989), a 10th to 12th century Slavonic settlement in Germany (Grupe and Bach, 1993), and a medieval (800-1300 AD) Arab graveyard in Israel (Sillen and Smith, 1984).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If this is the case, the relative contributions of trace elements from human and nonhuman animal milk would be similar, interfering with the reconstruction of weaning ages. Although few studies have evaluated the contributions of nonhuman animal milk to infant tissues, the combination of several geochemical signals is a good strategy to detect and interpret the possibility of consuming special weaning foods (Wright andSchwarcz, 1998, 1999;Dupras et al, 2001;Williams et al, 2005;Fuller et al, 2006b;Nehlich et al, 2011;. Furthermore, the carbon isotope analysis of lipid residues preserved in archaeological pottery-a direct proxy of nonhuman animal milk use in prehistory (e.g., Dudd and Evershed, 1998;Copley et al, 2003;Evershed et al, 2008)-provides a qualitative contribution to the reconstruction of animal milk supplementation in infants.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Tsutaya

Yoneda

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

196

188

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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-

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“…The pace of this process with regard to the compact bone of long bones reaches 4-8%/year in adult individuals, which means that that the oxygen isotope composition indicated in this tissue represents the final years of life of the investigated individuals (Manolagas, 2000;Ruff and Hays, 1988). In children, the process is faster due to the intense pace of bone development, growth and modelling, lasting about a year, and only a few months in the case of newborns (Parfitt et al, 2000;Turner et al, 2007;Williams et al, 2005).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The human bone oxygen isotope ratio changes with aging

2014

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Abstract:The oxygen isotope ratio (δ 18 O) in tissues is the outcome of both climatic and geographical factors in a given individual's place of abode, as well as the physiology and metabolism of his organism. During an individual's life, various rates and intensities of physiological and metabolic processes are observable in the organism, also within the bone tissue. The aim of this study is to verify whether involutional changes occurring as a result of the organism's ageing have a significant impact on δ 18 O determined in the bone tissue. The material used for analysis was fragments of the long bones taken from 65 people, (11 children and 54 adults), whose remains had been uncovered at the early mediaeval (X-XI century) cemetery located at the Main Market Square in Kraków (Poland). The correlation analysis between δ18 O of bone tissue and an individual's age shows that up to 40 years of age, such a relationship does not exist in both, males and females. However, the conducted correlation analysis prompted the observation that after 40 years of life, δ 18 O in bone tissue significantly drops as females increase in age. Results suggest that the δ 18 O in bone tissue among older people may be the outcome not only of environmental factors but also involutional changes in bone linked to an organism's ageing. Therefore, the interpretation of δ 18 O results relating to the description of the origin and migrations of older individuals should be treated with caution.

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Trophic level and macronutrient shift effects associated with the weaning process in the postclassic Maya

Cited by 76 publications

References 61 publications

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

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

The human bone oxygen isotope ratio changes with aging

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