| Abstract: |
pg 156 In general the following estimations concerning the compositon of daily diet in the past are possible: 1) The relative amound of food of vegetal or animal orgin. For example, plant food is enriched with Sr butpoor in Zn, while meat, milk and dairy products contain much Zn, but are poor in Sr. Thus, Sr:Zn-ratio in the boneis good estimate for the amount ofplants versus meat and dairy products consumed. 2) The relative amount of seafood. Compared with the terrestrial environment, sea water is enriched with <sup>13<\sup>C and <sup>15<\sup>N. Thus, the tissues of people consuming large amounts of seafood are also enriched with both the heavy isotopes. 3) The relative amount of certain plant groups. Most important for central European ecosystems is the differentiation between leguminous and non-leguminous plants by delta<sup>15<\sup>N. This information provide insights into teh quality of ancient diets, into age- and sex-specific dietary habits, and into changes fo subsistence strategies in prehistoric populations (e.g., hunting and gathering versus agriculture). Moreover, it is possible to esitmate the average weaning age ina given population trac element analsysis of young infants' bones, since weaning means a shift in a baby's diet from mother's milk to diets containing a higher amount of plant food.
|
