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Identifying Cohorts Using Isotope Mass Spectrometry: The Potential of Temporal Resolution and Dietary Profiles
Author(s) -
Beaumont Julia,
Bekvalac Jelena,
Harris Samuel,
Batt Catherine M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12667
Subject(s) - radiocarbon dating , taphonomy , assemblage (archaeology) , archaeology , accelerator mass spectrometry , stable isotope ratio , population , human bone , geology , geography , biology , demography , physics , quantum mechanics , sociology , biochemistry , in vitro
Archaeological skeletal material from most sites represents a cross‐sectional, opportunistic sample of the burials. These are influenced by the proportion and area of the site that is excavated, the taphonomic conditions, and survival of tissues. This may not be representative of the population, and in an attritional cemetery may represent a long period of use, during which humans will have differing life courses. Here we describe a commingled skeletal assemblage, the only human remains recovered from the historically significant medieval site of St Stephen's Chapel, Palace of Westminster, London. Using carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) stable isotope ratios of bulk bone collagen and incremental dentine to investigate dietary life histories from five individuals, we combine the evidence with radiocarbon dating to assign them to two different temporal cohorts.