Stable isotope analysis of dog, fox, and human diets at a Late Holocene Chumash village (CA-SRI-2) on Santa Rosa Island, California (original) (raw)
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Scientific Reports, 2020
Domestic dogs are frequently encountered in Indigenous archaeological sites on the Northwest Coast of North America. Although dogs depended on human communities for care and provisioning, archaeologists lack information about the specific foods dogs consumed. Previous research has used stable isotope analysis of dog diets for insight into human subsistence ('canine surrogacy' model) and identified considerable use of marine resources. Here, we use zooarchaeological data to develop and apply a Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) to estimate dietary composition from 14 domestic dogs and 13 potential prey taxa from four archaeological sites (2,900-300 BP) in Tseshaht First Nation territory on western Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Two candidate models that best match zooarchaeological data indicate dogs predominantly consumed salmon and forage fish (35-65%), followed by nearshore fish (4-40%), and marine mammals (2-30%). We compared these isotopic data to dogs across the Northwest Coast, which indicated a pronounced marine diet for Tseshaht dogs and, presumably, their human providers. These results are broadly consistent with the canine surrogacy model as well as help illuminate human participation in pre-industrial marine food webs and the long-term role of fisheries in Indigenous economies and lifeways. Although Indigenous communities on the Northwest Coast of North America have been classically described as 'hunter-gatherers' or 'fisher-hunter-gatherers' , they maintained disproportionately high population densities, extensive trade networks, and elaborate territorial and governance structures with a corresponding influence on coastal landscapes 1. A less well recognized component of cultural practices in this region is the care and maintenance of domestic dog (Canis familiaris) populations. Domestic dogs occur frequently in the early historic and oral historical accounts of the social and economic practices of Indigenous communities on the coast 2,3. The skeletal remains of dogs, including purposeful interments, are regularly encountered in archaeological site deposits dating back to the earliest sites with preserved fauna 3,4. Given that dogs depended on human communities for provisioning and protection from predators such as wolves, it has been postulated that the diet of dogs can reflect human subsistence practices through provisioning as well as scavenging of human refuse 5. One method by which researchers have generated insight into this relationship has been stable isotope analysis 6,7. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) estimates the relative contribution of foods that comprise an organism's diet and is a widely used method in ecology, archaeology, paleobiology, and forensics. Isotopic signatures can estimate diets among populations of the past via use of bone collagen and other preserved tissue of consumers and their foods. Two of the most commonly analyzed isotopes include carbon (δ 13 C), which can be used to assess whether an animal's protein is derived from marine or terrestrial sources 8 , and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotopes, which open
Research Square, 2023
Under the archaeological canine surrogacy approach (CSA) it is assumed that because dogs were reliant on humans for food, they had similar diets to the people with whom they lived. As a result, the stable isotopes of their tissues (bone collagen and apatite, tooth enamel and dentine collagen) will be close to the humans with whom they cohabited. Therefore, in the absence of human tissue, dog tissue isotopes can be used to reconstruct past human diets. Here d13C and d15N ratios on previously published dog and human bone collagen from fourteenth-seventeenth century AD ancestral Iroquoian village archaeological sites and ossuaries in southern Ontario are used with MixSIAR, a Bayesian dietary mixing model, to determine if dog stable isotope ratios are good proxies for human diets. The modeling results indicate that human and dogs had different diets. Human dietary protein came primarily from maize and high trophic level sh and dogs from maize, terrestrial animals, low trophic level sh, and human feces. This indicates that CSA is likely not a valid approach for the reconstruction of ancestral Iroquoian diets.
Anthropological Science, 2014
The Okhotsk people were sedentary hunter-gatherer-fishers who lived and prospered in Sakhalin, Hokkaido, and the Kurile Islands during the fifth-thirteenth centuries AD. They expanded rapidly along the northeastern coast of Hokkaido where archaeological evidence suggests an increasing dependence on hunting marine mammals. In this study, we present the results of carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of 18 faunal (including two domesticated dogs) and 58 adult human skeletons excavated from the Moyoro site of the Okhotsk culture in eastern Hokkaido. Although the mean human isotope ratios did not differ between sexes, the variances of carbon isotope ratios were significantly greater in males. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios suggest that the Moyoro humans and dogs heavily depended on marine foods for their dietary protein intake. The Bayesian mixing model suggests that humans obtained a maximum of 80-90% of their dietary protein from marine mammals, whereas domesticated dogs obtained 2-33%, 3-40%, and 5-45% of dietary protein from brackish-water fish, marine fish, and marine mammals, respectively. This suggests an avoidance of significant dietary overlap between the sympatrically living humans and dogs at the Moyoro site. Significant maritime adaptation would have enabled the subsistence of the Okhotsk people in the harsh northern environment of Hokkaido.
Sources of Stable Isotope Variation in Archaeological Dog Remains
North American Archaeologist, 2009
Assessment of the δ 15N ratios and δ 13C isotope values of archaeological dog and human bone collagen, ethnoarchaeological dog bone collagen, and ethnoarchaeological dog and human hair protein demonstrates that these tissues can be used to show subtle differences in diet between households at the same site. While δ 13C isotope values for dog and human bone and hair protein can be used as evidence of C4 photosynthetic plant foods, it is not necessarily an accurate measure for the presence or absence of maize in the diet. Less than 50% of the ethnoarchaeological dog and human samples from households that consumed an average of 0.01 kg of maize per day, had δ 13C isotope values greater than −19%.
2013
The Canine Surrogacy Approach (CSA) is a form of analogy in which stable isotope information from dog remains is used as a proxy for associated human keepers. The approach has garnered increasing attention in recent years due to its capacity to provide information on human diets in contexts where human remains are limited or unavailable. CSA applications have often been conducted on an ad hoc basis and rarely has the human–dog analogy been treated systematically or cohesively. This case study aims to remedy this issue. Using a recently developed CSA interpretive framework (Guiry, 2012), we test the feasibility of using dog bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures as a proxy for their human keepers among two similar marine oriented Late Archaic populations that occupied the northeastern coast of North America. After characterizing the feasibility of CSA applications in these archaeological contexts, the CSA is then used to reconstruct diet at a culturally related site at which no human remains have been recovered.
Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans
Journal of Human Evolution, 2005
We report here on direct evidence for the intensive consumption of marine foods by anatomically modern humans at approximately 12,000 years ago. We undertook isotopic analysis of bone collagen from three humans, dating to the late Palaeolithic, from the site of Kendrick's Cave in North Wales, UK. The isotopic measurements of their bone collagen indicated that ca. 30% of their dietary protein was from marine sources, which we interpret as likely being high trophic level marine organisms such as marine mammals. This indicates that towards the end of the Pleistocene modern humans were pursuing a hunting strategy that incorporated both marine and terrestrial mammals. This is the first occurrence of the intensive use of marine resources, specifically marine mammals, that becomes even more pronounced in the subsequent Mesolithic period.
Scientific Reports, 2023
Under the archaeological canine surrogacy approach (CSA) it is assumed that because dogs were reliant on humans for food, they had similar diets to the people with whom they lived. As a result, the stable isotope ratios of their tissues (bone collagen and apatite, tooth enamel and dentine collagen) will be close to those of the humans with whom they cohabited. Therefore, in the absence of human tissue, dog tissue isotopes can be used to help reconstruct past human diets. Here δ 13 C and δ 15 N ratios on previously published dog and human bone collagen from fourteenth-seventeenth century AD ancestral Iroquoian village archaeological sites and ossuaries in southern Ontario are used with MixSIAR, a Bayesian dietary mixing model, to determine if the dog stable isotope ratios are good proxies for human isotope ratios in dietary modeling for this context. The modeling results indicate that human dietary protein came primarily from maize and high trophic level fish and dogs from maize, terrestrial animals, low trophic level fish, and human feces. While isotopes from dog tissues can be used as general analogs for human tissue isotopes under CSA, greater insights into dog diets can be achieved with Bayesian dietary mixing models.
The late Holocene archaeofaunal record of the San Francisco Bay Area demonstrates temporal declines in the abundance of low-cost, high-ranked marine and terrestrial resources. During later periods of occupation, faunal assemblages are often dominated by lower-ranked, higher-cost resources, suggesting an increase in diet breadth through time. Archaeological resource intensification models argue that this marks a late Holocene decline in foraging efficiency in the Bay Area, driven by human-induced harvest pressure. This study examines dietary change in the region using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from 65 human burials, spanning two temporal components (cal AD 55e890 and cal AD 762e1550) at the Ellis Landing site (CA-CCO-295). The strong linear relationship between collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope values reflects both marine and terrestrial food consumption, with individuals showing a high level of dietary variability at the site. No temporal trend or meaningful sex differences were found in isotope values. The widening of diet breadth predicted by the archaeofaunal record occurred prior to the occupation of the Ellis Landing shellmound site. The trend in exploiting a greater amount of terrestrial resources during the Middle and Late Period in central California was supported by isotopic evidence.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2012
In contexts where human remains are scarce, poorly preserved, or otherwise unavailable for stable isotope-based paleodietary reconstruction, dog bone collagen as well as other tissues may provide a suitable proxy material for addressing questions relating to human dietary practices. Inferences drawn from applications of this “canine surrogacy approach” (CSA) must be made with caution to ensure the accuracy and transparency of conclusions. This paper shows that CSA applications are essentially analogical inferences which can be divided into two groups that provide specific types of information and may require different levels of substantiation. A framework of three categories of factors is outlined to aid in establishing positive, negative, and neutral elements of comparison of dog and human diets. CSA applications may benefit from explicitly detailing the type and nature of the analogical reasoning employed and from providing a systematic assessment of the degree to which stable isotope values of dogs and humans under comparison are thought to be like, unlike, or of unknown likeness.
This study reports ancient DNA (aDNA) and stable isotope analyses of eight dog skeletal elements from the Cathlapotle site on the Lower Columbia River of the western United States. The aDNA analysis confirmed the elements as dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Two haplotypes were found, both of which group within dog Clade A, and have patchy distributions to the north in British Columbia and as far south as Teotihuacan (Mexico). The isotopic analysis showed that the dogs' dietary protein was derived almost exclusively from marine sources. Lower Columbia River ethnohistoric accounts and Cathlapotle zooarchaeological records indicate that while marine fish were dietary keystones, the local diet was more diverse, and included terrestrial organisms and freshwater fishes. This apparent discrepancy raises the possibility the dogs were selectively fed. Thus their diet may not be a close proxy for human diet in this context.