Re: Tim

Interview with Stanley Ambrose, Ph.D. of the department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana

http://www.omnimag.com/archives/chats/bm121097.html

>>>Could we begin by talking about your research on the dietary evidence found in prehistoric bones? Where have you done your work? Which peoples are you studying?

I have performed stable isotopic analysis of bones and teeth ranging from 14 million years old to modern ones, uncluding mammals and humans. I have also worked on bones from Europe, North America and Micronesia

>>>What are the dietary differences between hunter-gatherers and early farmers?

Ice age hunters were on average 7 inches taller than prehistoric farmers. Much of the difference can be attributed to two factors: First, lower diet quality, meaning fewer food types were eaten, and often very little animal protein. Second, higher frequencies of illness, from overcrowding, polluted water and poorer nutrition.

>>Can you tell about disease from your research?

This method can be used to tell very little about health directly, but it can be used to help identify possible nutritional sources of long-term chronic conditions that may leave traces on the skeleton. For example, a diet with little protein may lead to anemia, which then leads to specialized forms of osteoporosis in parts of the skeleton, especially around the face and eye sockets. This condition is called cribra orbitalia. Corn actually depletes iron stores (I don't know why). If the skeletons that show this specialized form of iron-deficiency anemia have very high 13C values, then the specialized diet with imbalanced nutrients, such as one would get with corn, is the likely cause of anemia.

>>What are the most striking dietary differences you've seen?

"I analyzed skeletal populations from three islands in Micronesia: Guam, Rota and Saipan. The bone carbonate of the Saipan people showed extremely high levels of a 13C-rich plant food, but the archaeologists and anthropologists could not tell me what it was. After digging into the literature I found one possibility.
The food source had to be one with no protein because it did not affect the nitrogen isotope values. The food source that best fits this description is Sugar cane. The ethnohistoric literature seems to show that Sugar cane was a staple food crop until 200 years ago, when it was replaced by sweet potatos. In NewGuinea, where Sugar cane was domesticated over 45000 years ago, they also fed sugar cane scraps to the pigs. The meat was described as sweet and tender! The archaeologists did not like my conclusions at first, but the teeth of Saipan people had 3 times more cavities than those from Guam and Rota."

>>Have you ever seen dietary differences reflecting different status in a social group?

Yes. In East St. Louis Illinois, is the largest prehistoric man-made structure, at the site called Cahokia. There are about 100 mounds of different sizes, as well as astronomical features, villages, etc. It was a large ceremonial and trade center. Mound 72 had about 240 individuals buried in it. One male was buried on a bed of 17,000 marine shell beads. Several other males were also associated with high status items such as copper sheets, piles of arrowheads and fancy game stones. There were also large pits with dozens of young females - aged 20-25, many with lots of cavities and osteoporosis.
The high status males and apparently sacrificial females had very different carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. The males apparently ate a lot of meat and a small amount of corn. The females had very low nitrogen isotope ratios, indicating little animal protein, and very high 13C, indicating they ate 5-% more corn than the males. The low-status females apparently ate 50-60% more corn than the males.