Sulphur isotope analysis of modern and archaeological animal remains from marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems on the west coast of Canada

对考古材料中硫同位素的分析是重建古代生态系统、饮食和环境的一种新颖而潜在的强大工具。与其他稳定同位素方法一样，在硫同位素分析成为考古研究的常规方法之前，显然需要在海洋、淡水和陆地食物网等领域进行假设驱动的研究。加拿大西部富饶的沿海地区就是这样一个机会，因为该地区包含了上述三种生态系统。此外，考古证据表明，狩猎采集者在整个全新世都利用了这三种生态系统，从而可以直接比较现代和古代的环境。该项目将围绕四个主要案例研究展开，它们都将对我们对硫同位素系统学的理解做出重大贡献：其中包括使用硫同位素重建海洋哺乳动物的行为生态学（显示了第一个初步结果）；洄游鱼类硫同位素特征历时变化研究淡水环境和陆地环境中硫同位素相互作用的评估；并通过硫同位素分析重建考古河口生态系统。这些数据的综合不仅将对稳定同位素研究作出巨大贡献，而且还将对该地区狩猎采集者的饮食以及当地环境对当代人类生存策略的变化影响产生更全面的看法。这项研究将结合多个学科（生态学、考古学和人类学），以增加我们对狩猎采集社会的了解，并对其他重要的考古学问题产生重大影响。

The analysis of sulphur isotopes in archaeological materials is a novel and potentially powerful tool for the reconstruction of ancient ecosystems, diets and environments. As with other stable isotope approaches, before sulphur isotope analysis can become routine in archaeological research there is clear need for hypothesis-driven research in areas including marine, freshwater and terrestrial foodwebs. The rich coastal zones of western Canada represent one such opportunity as the area includes all three of these ecosystems. Furthermore, archaeological evidence demonstrates hunter-gatherer populations exploited all three ecosystems throughout the Holocene, allowing modern and ancient environments to be directly compared. This project will centre around four main case studies which will all make significant contributions to our understanding of sulphur isotope systematics: These include reconstruction of marine mammal behavioural ecology using sulphur isotopes (first preliminary results are shown); a study of the diachronic changes of sulphur isotopic signatures in migratory fish species; an assessment of the interaction between sulphur isotopes of freshwater and terrestrial environments; and the reconstruction of an archaeological estuarine ecosystem through sulphur isotope analysis. The synthesis of this data will not only contribute greatly to stable isotope research, but will also result in a more comprehensive view of hunter-gatherer diets in the area, and the changing influence of the local environments of the subsistence strategies of contemporary human populations. This study will combine multiple disciplines (ecology, archaeology and anthropology) to increase our knowledge of hunter-gatherer societies with large implications for other important archaeological questions.