Lecture Summaries:  9 April, 2003

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Diets from Isotope Analysis of Human Bones
by
Jessica Pearson
Research Laboratory for Archaeology
University of Oxford

Stable isotope analysis is currently used to aid diet reconstruction in Europe, Africa and much of the New World. This technique is not, however, commonly used in the Near East. The strength of stable isotope analysis as tool of dietary reconstruction lies in how it can be used to reveal the importance of isotopically distinct food groups including: marine mammals, fish, shellfish, terrestrial herbivores and different plant foods. It can also be used to determine age of infant weaning and provide clues as to how past herds were managed, how domestication occurred and finally the type of environments in which food resources were exploited.

This paper will provide an introduction of the potential utility of stable isotope analysis in archaeology and will discuss current results from the Neolithic site of Khirokitia, Cyprus. The evidence suggests that plant consumption was extremely variable in the earlier levels becoming increasingly isochronous over time and that despite being located only 6km from the sea, marine resources were not exploited and that plants and herbivores formed the core of the diet of the Khirokitia inhabitants. 

Further information on the Oxford University stable isotope research facility can be found at:   http://www.rlaha.ox.ac.uk/D/index_D.php?group=D