Dissertation Research: Amino Acid Stable Isotopes and Ancient Diet

9317579奥康奈尔在詹姆斯·奥康奈尔博士和托马斯·斯塔福德博士的指导下，琼·科尔特兰女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将测定从七具美洲原住民骨骼的骨胶原中提取的氨基酸的碳同位素比率。所有这些都有很好的年代，来自安全的考古背景。对于6，已知玉米是否构成饮食的一部分，这些将作为部分控制。第七个是一个具有考古价值的未知之物。一段时间以来，古人类学家已经认识到，一个人的饮食反映在骨骼的化学成分中，这一考古工具已被用于极大的优势。人们的注意力集中在将玉米引入史前美洲原住民的饮食中，部分原因是它服从于这样的分析，但也因为考古学家假设，这种社会中复杂性的增长可能直接与玉米种植有关。在玉米具有独特碳同位素特征的中西部地区，这种方法效果相对较好。然而，在干旱的西部，其他植物也有玉米状的碳同位素比率，事实证明，这一程序更难应用。科尔特兰女士将通过分析单个氨基酸的同位素比例来解决这个问题，而不是像通常那样使用大量胶原蛋白。她认为，在这个微观层面上，应该有可能形成玉米特有的模式。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。正在开发的技术应该适用于广泛的或考古情况。它还将为了解美国西部的史前历史提供新的线索，并有助于培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。***

9317579 O'Connell Under the direction of Drs. James O'Connell and Thomas Stafford, Ms. Joan Coltrain will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will determine the carbon isotopic ratios of amino acids extracted from the bone collagen of seven Native American skeletons. All are well dated and derive from secure archaeological contexts. For 6, it is known whether or not corn formed part of the diet and these will serve as partial controls. The seventh is an unknown of archaeological interest. For some time paleoanthropologists have realized that the diet of an individual is reflected in the chemical composition of the skeleton and this archaeological tool has been used to great advantage. Attention has focussed on the introduction of corn into prehistoric Native American diet in part because it is amenable to such analysis but also because archaeologists have postulated that the growth of complexity in such societies may be directly tied to corn cultivation. In the Midwest, where corn has a distinctive carbon isotope signature this approach has worked relatively well. In the drier West however other plants also have cornlike carbon isotope ratios and the procedure has proven more difficult to apply. Ms. Coltrain will deal with this by analyzing the isotopic ratios of individual amino acids rather than use bulk collagen as is normally done. She believes that on this micro-level it should be possible to a pattern which is unique to corn. This research is important for several reasons. The technique being developed should be useable in a wide range or archaeological situations. It will also shed new light on the prehistory of the U.S. West and contribute to the training of a promising young scientist. ***