Showing papers in "Journal of Archaeological Science in 1991"

TL;DR: Variations in nitrogen isotope ratios in terrestrial foodwebs are described, and alternative models for variation in the enrichment between trophic levels are evaluated, and herbivore species with physiological adaptations to water conservation have higher nitrogen isotopes than water-dependent species.

TL;DR: The natural and stable isotopes of carbon vary in systematic ways largely determined by the photosynthetic pathway which fixes atmospheric CO 2 into organic matter, and an appreciation of these sources of variation is necessary as the authors quantify their diet interpretations.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reported δ 13 C measurements for CO 2 at different heights in two forests of the upper Amazon basin and found that much of the 13 C depletion in leaves derives from photosynthetic recycling of CO 2 produced by forest soil respiration.

TL;DR: In this article, the carbon isotopic compositions of separated amino acids from the C3 and C4 diets were transferred to amino acids in bone collagen, and fractionation between pigs and their diets was determined at the molecular level on individual amino acids separated by ion exchange chromatography.

TL;DR: Studies of ancient human populations from North and Central America are used to show that variation in diet within a single time plane for a given “culture” is very limited except possibly where status differences occur.

TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of 1 m acetic acid pretreatment on modern and fossil biological apatites were investigated and only enamel was used for an applied study of the diets of 1·8 Ma extinct primates.

TL;DR: The study demonstrates significant niche separation between Middle and Upper Paleolithic hominids in Mediterranean Europe and demonstrates strong links between predator strategies, assemblage size and anatomical content, and some spatial characteristics of food supply.

TL;DR: In this article, a "completeness index" for compact bones (carpals, tarsals, fibulae) is proposed to evaluate the impact of post-depositional destruction on the two Kenyan assemblages.

TL;DR: In this paper, a combination of the solubility profile method and strontium isotope analysis was used for reconstructing palaeodiets from shell-midden skeletons.

TL;DR: In this article, high elevation archaeological sites in the White Mountains of eastern California document the establishment of small villages at elevations above 3100 m at about ad 800, replacing occupations that lacked substantial structures, storage facilities, and abundant plant-processing equipment.

TL;DR: The validity of using carbon isotopes in biological apatite from bone for dietary studies has been questioned because of diagenetic alterations and supposed exchange of carbon from the burial environment as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors used AMS 14C dates for human-modified femora of extinct dwarf hippos from SW Madagascar to establish the minimum age for initial human presence on the island at approximately 2000 bp.

TL;DR: The earliest widespread use of the olive in Israel dates back to the Early Bronze Age as mentioned in this paper, when the olive was one of the first fruit trees to be cultivated by man in the world.

TL;DR: In this paper, the first paper in a series presenting stable lead isotope studies of geological and archaelogical specimens obtained in 7 years of archaeometallurgical surveys in Turkey is presented.

TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of post-depositional intrusion of soil organic matter on organic residues retained in the porous walls of pottery vessels has been largely overlooked, and the results show that in the majority of cases clear qualitative and quantitative distinctions can be drawn between the lipid constituents of the soil, arising from the decay of higher plants and micro-organisms, and those absorbed in the sherd during its period of use.

TL;DR: In this article, four stages of polish formation are derived from the glass polishing theory because they are useful for identifying mechanisms of how silica acts as a polishing agent, and it is concluded that use-polish may be less precise indicator of Australian contact materials than has been reported for other areas.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare archaeological and isotopic characterizations of diet, specifically the role of maize, for Woodland, Mississippian, and Oneota populations from the North American midcontinent.

TL;DR: In this article, experimental studies of the behavior of synthetic apatites in the solubility profile system, and second, Solubility Profile studies of fossils from the Pleistocene site of Swartkrans are explored.

TL;DR: Since processing for within-bone nutrients at Ngamuriak created patterns of skeletal part representation that are similar to those attributed at other sites to meat transport, the results suggest that the role of within-bones nutrients should be examined before transport based on meat value is assumed.

TL;DR: In this article, a metabolic critique of the isotope interpretation is offered, in which the suggestion is made that marine food signals are exaggerated in skeletons because of protein induced high turnover rates.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the first results of an experimental approach aimed at the assessment of in vivo elemental composition from bones which have been incinerated prior to inhumation, and conclude that the trace element spectrum available for palaeodietary reconstruction is limited due to volatilization and crystal modification at higher temperatures.

TL;DR: A potentially important class of plant remains, vegetative parenchymous organs, commonly sources of food, are indicated as being such a class rarely identified from archaeological contexts.

TL;DR: In this paper, a new analysis of vertebrate remains from the Mousterian open-air site of Il'skaya I was undertaken, where Steppe bison (Bison priscus) dominated the mammalian assemblage.

TL;DR: In this article, the bone accumulations at two dens utilized by brown hyaenas in the Namib Desert were investigated and the results confirm that such assemblages can accurately reflect the composition of the vertebrate fauna from which brown hyaaenas scavenge food.

TL;DR: A more realistic model of the variation of tree-ring widths is developed and the question of the development and use of national or regional chronologies is addressed.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed over 5300 modern fishbones from 14 assemblages in lakeshore and channel-associated contexts at Lake Turkana, Kenya, and compared with the composition of fishbone assembls from a fishing camp site.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used SEM photographs of surface abrasion of human teeth from Mesolithic and Neolithic levels at Tell Abu Hureyra, Syria, indicating that there was a change in the diet between the Mesolithic to the Neolithic.

TL;DR: Atomic absorption analysis of recently discovered human remains from a 19 century British Arctic expedition indicates lead levels consistent with lead intoxication as discussed by the authors, and levels up to 30 times higher than those found in modern exposed individuals indicate that the effects of lead may have contributed to the loss of the entire expedition.