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Kusaka S, Uno KT, Nakano T, et al. Carbon isotope ratios of human tooth enamel record the evidence of terrestrial resource consumption during the Jomon period, Japan. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2015;158(2):300-311doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22775.
Kusaka, S., Uno, K. T., Nakano, T., Nakatsukasa, M., & Cerling, T. E. (2015). Carbon isotope ratios of human tooth enamel record the evidence of terrestrial resource consumption during the Jomon period, Japan. American journal of physical anthropology, 158(2), 300-311. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22775
Kusaka, Soichiro, et al. "Carbon isotope ratios of human tooth enamel record the evidence of terrestrial resource consumption during the Jomon period, Japan." American journal of physical anthropology vol. 158,2 (2015): 300-311. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22775
Kusaka S, Uno KT, Nakano T, Nakatsukasa M, Cerling TE. Carbon isotope ratios of human tooth enamel record the evidence of terrestrial resource consumption during the Jomon period, Japan. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2015 Oct;158(2):300-311. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22775. Epub 2015 Aug 17. PMID: 26279451.
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Am J Phys Anthropol. 2015 Oct;158(2):300-311. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22775. Epub 2015 Aug 17.

Carbon isotope ratios of human tooth enamel record the evidence of terrestrial resource consumption during the Jomon period, Japan.

American journal of physical anthropology

Soichiro Kusaka, Kevin T Uno, Takanori Nakano, Masato Nakatsukasa, Thure E Cerling

Affiliations

  1. Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, 422-8017, Japan.
  2. Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA.
  3. Center for Research Promotion, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan.
  4. Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.
  5. Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84013, USA.

PMID: 26279451 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22775

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Archaeological remains strongly suggest that the Holocene Japanese hunter-gatherers, the Jomon people, utilized terrestrial plants as their primary food source. However, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen indicates that they primarily exploited marine resources. We hypothesize that this inconsistency stems from the route of protein synthesis and the different proportions of protein-derived carbon in tooth enamel versus bone collagen. Carbon isotope ratios from bone collagen reflect that of dietary protein and may provide a biased signal of diet, whereas isotope ratios from tooth enamel reflect the integrated diet from all macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins).

METHODS: In order to evaluate the differences in inferred diet between the archaeological evidence and bone collagen isotope data, this study investigated carbon isotopes in Jomon tooth enamel from four coastal sites of the Middle to Late-Final Jomon period (5,000-2,300 years BP).

RESULTS: Carbon isotope ratios of human teeth are as depleted as coeval terrestrial mammals, suggesting that C

CONCLUSION: This study highlights the usefulness of coupling tooth enamel and bone collagen in carbon isotopic studies to reconstruct prehistoric human diet. Am J Phys Anthropol 158:300-311, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: Holocene; collagen; diet; enamel; human

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