Dissertation Research: Amino Acid Stable Isotopes and Ancient Diet

[9317579]奥康奈尔。James O'Connell和Thomas Stafford， Joan Coltrain女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她将测定从7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。所有这些都是年代久远的，并且来自安全的考古背景。对于6人来说，我们知道饮食中是否有玉米，这些将作为部分控制。第七个是一个未知的考古兴趣。一段时间以来，古人类学家已经意识到，一个人的饮食可以从骨骼的化学成分中反映出来，这种考古工具已经被利用得很好。人们把注意力集中在将玉米引入史前美洲原住民饮食上，部分原因是它符合上述分析，但也因为考古学家假设，这些社会的复杂性增长可能与玉米种植直接相关。在中西部，玉米具有独特的碳同位素特征，这种方法效果相对较好。然而，在干旱的西部，其他植物也有类似玉米的碳同位素比率，这一程序已被证明更难应用。Coltrain女士将通过分析单个氨基酸的同位素比率来解决这个问题，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，应该有可能形成一种玉米特有的模式。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。正在开发的技术应可用于广泛的考古情况。它还将为美国西部的史前史提供新的线索，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. ***