Reconstruction of palaeodiet in Nagano Prefecture based on the carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and the trace elemental analysis

Abstract

In this study, the dietary patterns in each period from the Middle Jomon period to the Edo period were reconstructed from δ13C, δ15N, Ba/Ca, and Sr/Ca in excavated human bone samples. The carbon isotopic data did not show evidence of intensive consumption of C4 millets. Although Edo samples demonstrated higher δ13C values, correspondingly higher δ15N values made clear that this tendency was not the result of millet consumption but the result of exploitation of more marine nutrition. We conclude that it is possible to reconstruct more detailed palaeodiets and to construct a new model for dietary history using isotope dietary analysis and trace element dietary analysis on same samples.