The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. 
The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. 
The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. 
The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals

Bones of recent mammals in the Amboseli Basin, southern Kenya, exhibit distinctive weathering characteristics that can be related to the time since death and to the local conditions of temperature, humidity and soil chemistry. A categorization of weathering characteristics into six stages, recognizable on descriptive criteria, provides a basis for investigation of weathering rates and processes. The time necessary to achieve each successive weathering stage has been calibrated using known-age carcasses. Most bones decompose beyond recognition in 10 to 15 yr. Bones of animals under 100 kg and juveniles appear to weather more rapidly than bones of large animals or adults. Small-scale rather than widespread environmental factors seem to have greatest influence on weathering characteristics and rates. Bone weathering is potentially valuable as evidence for the period of time represented in recent or fossil bone assemblages, in- cluding those on archeological sites, and may also be an important tool in censusing populations of animals in modern ecosystems.

Taphonomic and Ecologic Information Form Bone Weathering

Forces in Joints, Skeletal Biology, Analysis of Bone Remodeling, Mechanical Properties of Bone, Fatigue and Fracture Resistance of Bone, Mechanical Adaptation of the Skeleton, Synovial Joint Mechanics, Mechanical Properties of Ligament and Tendon

Skeletal Tissue Mechanics

We present a compilation of tropospheric 14 CO 2 for the period 1950–2010, based on published radiocarbon data from selected records of atmospheric CO 2 sampling and tree-ring series. This compilation is a new version of the compilation by Hua and Barbetti (2004) and consists of yearly summer data sets for zonal, hemispheric, and global levels of atmospheric 14 C. In addition, compiled (and extended) monthly data sets for 5 atmospheric zones (3 in the Northern Hemisphere and 2 in the Southern Hemisphere) are reported. The annual data sets are for use in regional and global carbon model calculations, while the extended monthly data sets serve as calibration curves for 14 C dating of recent, short-lived terrestrial organic materials. DOI:  10.2458/azu_js_rc.v55i2.16177

/pdf/atmospheric-radiocarbon-for-the-period-1950-2010-389xyc3dxt.pdf

Atmospheric Radiocarbon for the Period 1950–2010

Currently, it is widely accepted that only one hominin genus, Homo, was present in Pleistocene Asia, represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Both species are characterized by greater brain size, increased body height and smaller teeth relative to Pliocene Australopithecus in Africa. Here we report the discovery, from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia, of an adult hominin with stature and endocranial volume approximating 1 m and 380 cm3, respectively--equal to the smallest-known australopithecines. The combination of primitive and derived features assigns this hominin to a new species, Homo floresiensis. The most likely explanation for its existence on Flores is long-term isolation, with subsequent endemic dwarfing, of an ancestral H. erectus population. Importantly, H. floresiensis shows that the genus Homo is morphologically more varied and flexible in its adaptive responses than previously thought.

https://www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~sereno/107B/readings/09.08-FloresHomininDebate.pdf

A new small bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia

Course Description and Goals: In this hands-on laboratory course, we will take an in-depth study of the human skeleton as a dynamic, living system. We will examine each bone, with a review of normal and abnormal variations. In the course of this examination, we will cover bone biology, growth and development, and anatomy. You will learn how to record osteological observations and apply this knowledge to make determinations about age, sex, stature, and pathological conditions. We will also discuss how these data are used in the anthropological interpretation of historic and prehistoric patterns of health, disease, stress, and trauma, as well as discuss ethical considerations in studying human remains. Much of the course will be based on handling real human bones, so be prepared (and be gentle with material)!

Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains: Proceedings of a Seminar at the Field Museum of Natural History

Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains

The Osteological Paradox: Problems of Inferring Prehistoric Health from Skeletal Samples [and Comments and Reply]

Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation

https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/8212/Ubelaker_the_forensic_evaluation_of_burned_skeletal_remains.pdf?sequence=1

Douglas H. Ubelaker

Papers

Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains: Proceedings of a Seminar at the Field Museum of Natural History

Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains

The Osteological Paradox: Problems of Inferring Prehistoric Health from Skeletal Samples [and Comments and Reply]

Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation

The forensic evaluation of burned skeletal remains: A synthesis