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Yes / Here we present a novel method which allows the measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) from much smaller samples of dentine than previously possible without affecting the quality parameters. The reconstruction of the diet of past populations using isotopic analysis of bone collagen is a well-established tool. However, because of remodelling of bone throughout life, this gives a blurred picture of the diet. The analysis of δ13C and δ15N from tiny increments of dentine utilizes tissue that does not remodel and permits comparison, at the same age, of those who survived infancy with those who did not at high temporal resolution. This new method has been tested on archaeological teeth from two sites: three molar teeth from the 19th Century Kilkenny Union Workhouse Famine cemetery, Ireland; and three from the Anglian (5-7th centuries AD) cemetery at West Heslerton, Yorkshire, England, selected on the basis of their varied preservation. The methods of incremental dentine sectioning described in Beaumont et al (2013)[1] were carried out and a sub-section removed prior to denaturing and lyophilisation. The two sample sets, dentine and collagen from each section, were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The profiles produced from each of the six teeth studied show close correlation in isotope ratios indicating that demineralized dentine which has not been denatured and lyophilised produces isotope ratios comparable with dentine collagen. This finding allows analysis of extremely small samples of dentine which could previously not be measured using current instruments and methods.

No

Yes / Abstract: The reconstruction of the diet of past populations using the stable isotope analysis of bone collagen has become a well-established tool for examining their lifeways. For example, variations in foods ingested can demonstrate differences in the foods available to individuals of different sex, age, status and in some cases identifying migrants. However, because of the remodelling of bone throughout life, this produces average values which have been incorporated in the tissues over a period of time and gives a blurred picture of the diet. The analysis of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) from tiny increments of dentine utilizes tissue that does not remodel and that permits comparison, at the same age, of those who survived infancy with those who did not at high temporal resolution. Here, we present a study of teeth from a Great Famine period workhouse cemetery in Kilkenny, Ireland, and a contemporary 19th-century cemetery in London, England and compare these with published data from early Neolithic individuals from Sumburgh, Shetland, Scotland. Covariation in δ13C and δ15N values suggests that even small variations have a physiological basis. We show that high-resolution intra-dentine isotope profiles can pinpoint shortduration events such as dietary change, and in the historical populations these can be related to known periods of nutritional deprivation in the juvenile years of life. We further suggest that the data from the Famine cemetery individuals suggest a physiological marker within these isotope profiles for a period of nutritional deprivation which could be utilised in other periods and geographical areas, particularly where there is a catastrophic cemetery assemblage with no known aetiology. This technique could also have applications in a forensic setting.

Yes / The Bioarchaeology of Care approach developed by Tilley is usually applied to skeletalized human remains, given the usual constraints of preservation bias that are seen with archaeological assemblages. However, other tissues, such as hair are sometimes preserved and can provide a wealth of information that can supplement the skeletal data. Archaeological hair has been analysed for drug compounds for almost thirty years. This article integrates data from hair analyses for coca metabolites, stable light isotope analysis and aDNA to expand the potential of the Bioarchaeology of Care approach using the example of a spontaneously mummified adult female from northern Chile. / Arts and Humanities Research Council, United Kingdom, Doctoral Studentship 2008/140561 (ELB)

No / Bone collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were obtained from three La Tène period inhumation cemeteries in the Czech Republic (Kutná Hora-Karlov, Radovesice I and Radovesice II) and 16 Hallstatt period inhumations in northern Austria. Results indicate that during the La Tène period in Bohemia, overall diet was based on animal protein and plant foods following the C3 photosynthetic pathway, although ¿13C values for two individuals from Kutná Hora-Karlov indicate at least some contribution from C4 plant foods, most likely millet. At Kutná Hora-Karlov, more positive ¿15N values for male individuals buried with items of iron weaponry indicate the existence of a differential dietary system within the male population based on individual ¿warrior¿ status. A comparison with data from a number of Hallstatt period inhumations in northern Austria and a previously published study of a Hallstatt period site in Slovenia [Murray, M.L., Schoeninger, M.J., 1988. Diet, status, and complex social structure in Iron Age Central Europe: Some contributions from bone chemistry. In: Gibson, D.B., Geselowitz, M.N. (Eds.), Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 155¿176] enables an examination of the spread of millet as a major dietary component. This data will be of use to studies of diet in prehistoric Europe and provides evidence for dietary divisions relating to social stratification during the La Tène B¿C, a period often seen as less complex than the preceding Hallstatt period.

Yes / In this study, period-specific dietary trends, along with socio-economic and religious influences on foods consumed by Pictish and medieval inhabitants from Portmahomack are investigated. Bone collagen from human adults (n = 137) and fauna (n = 71) were analysed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios to enable dietary reconstructions of the whole adult skeletal assemblage. Adult mean δ13C and δ15N values from all periods (6th to 17th century) were −19.5‰ ± 1.3‰ and 13.3‰ ± 1.7‰ respectively. A diachronic change in diet between early medieval Pictish lay and monastic communities (periods 1–3) and the later medieval parish layfolk (periods 4–5) was found that suggests changing socio-economic and religious influences, along with age and gender differences in diet that reflect possible divisions in labour and status. Faunal data also reflected a diachronic change in diet, most likely related to a change in animal husbandry practices over time. This is the first large-scale study on the Portmahomack assemblage and presents new isotope data to provide a more comprehensive insight into Pictish and medieval subsistence patterns, along with evidence of how religious and social foci may influence diet over time. Such comprehensive investigations can only be adopted by analysing the whole skeletal assemblage, providing robust faunal baselines and inter- and intra-site comparisons. Most importantly, this significant new evidence fundamentally changes our knowledge of diet and subsistence in medieval Scotland and the potential influences therein. / Supported by grants from the NERC Isotope Geosciences Facility Steering Committee (IP‐1302‐0512), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/I019103/1), and Historic Scotland (AMJ/4208/4).

In an exploratory study, techniques were developed for isolating bulk plant proteins and measuring the ¹³C isotopic compositions of their constituent amino acids by HPLC-IRMS. Samples of plants expected to be of potential palaeodietary significance in northwestern Europe were selected for investigation. Different tissues of plants, leaves and seeds, may be distinguished from each other by the relative ¹³C isotopic compositions (‘isotopic signatures’) of the amino acids of their constituent proteins. For each tissue type, different plant types may be distinguished in the same way. These signatures can vary slightly according to environment and season, but the variation among types is greater than this. For leaves, isotopic signatures can be used to differentiate (i) nettles, (ii) true grasses, (iii) reeds etc, (iv) trees, (v) legumes, (vi) maize, (vii) freshwater plants and (viii) marine algae. For seeds, these signatures are able to differentiate (i) wheat-type cereals, (ii) barley-type cereals, (iii) C4 cereals, (iv) pseudocereals, (v) legumes and (vi) tree nuts. From investigations using a mixing model, it appears that these signals, particularly those of essential amino acids, are reflected in the tissues of their consumers. Freshwater plants are identified as the base of the food chain for dragonfly larvae, marine algae as the diet of marine molluscs and grass as the diet of archaeological cattle and aurochs. Isotopic ‘marine signals’ identified by previous researchers have been refined using these data and the isotopic signatures of fish muscle. These findings are expected to be of particular value in the study of palaeodiets using proteins from archaeological tissues, especially bone and hair. This approach will also find application in the fields of plant physiology and biochemistry.

Yes / Background: stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in bone and dentine collagen have been used for over 30 years to estimate palaeodiet, subsistence strategy, breastfeeding duration and migration within burial populations. Recent developments in dentine microsampling allow improved temporal resolution for dietary patterns. Aim: We propose a simple method which could be applied to human teeth to estimate chronological age represented by dentine microsamples in the direction of tooth growth, allowing comparison of dietary patterns between individuals and populations. The method is tested using profiles from permanent and deciduous teeth of two individuals. Subjects and methods: using a diagrammatic representation of dentine development by approximate age for each human tooth (based on the Queen Mary University of London Atlas) (AlQahtani et al., 2010), we estimate the age represented by each dentine section. Two case studies are shown: comparison of M1 and M2 from a 19th century individual from London, England, and identification of an unknown tooth from an Iron Age female adult from Scotland. Results and conclusions: The isotopic profiles demonstrate that variations in consecutively-forming teeth can be aligned using this method to extend the dietary history of an individual, or identify an unknown tooth by matching the profiles.