Stable Isotopes in Archaeology
The application of the field of organic chemistry called stable isotope analysis has been used to identify evidence for human dietary elements like maritime creatures such as whales, fish and shellfish, various domesticated plants such as corn and millet, and cattle dairying and mother’s milk. Here are a few applications on this burgeoning topic.
A diagram showing how stable isotopes travel through the food chain, from Nora Reber
The very first archaeological application of stable isotope research was by South African archaeologist Nikolaas van der Merwe, who was excavating at the Iron Age site of Kgopolwe 3
The application of stable isotope analysis to archaeological questions is about 30 years old; and since this innovative research was conducted in the mid 1970s, the variety and number of applications have exploded.
An explanation of the chemical reactions of stable isotopes; not for the faint of heart.
This essay is a vastly over-simplified discussion of why stable isotope research works. If you are a stable isotope researcher, the imprecision of the description will drive you mad; but it is a fairly accurate description of the natural processes used by stable isotope researchers today.
Most plants fall into three groups, based on their chemical makeup: C4, C3, and CAM; archaeologists are particularly interested in C3 and C4 plants. Here's why.
A selected list of references about archaeological applications of stable isotope research.
From Robert Tykot at the University of South Florida, an explanation of how stable isotopes are used to reconstruct prehistoric diets.
A fairly technical description of the process, from the Stable Isotope/Soil Biology Laboratory of the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology.
