Abstract
The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human bone collagen have been used to determine the diet of a sample of United States soldiers who died during the siege of Fort Erie in the War of 1812. controls were enacted during the analysis to discriminate between well-preserved and contaminated bone. results from a sample of 15 individuals, recruited from diverse regions of the northeastern United States, indicate that the diet of this population was quite varied. Statistical analysis was used to explore the relationship between diet and skeletal pathologies. There were no significant differences in means between the individuals exhibiting skeletal pathologies and those not exhibiting skeletal pathologies, suggesting the pathologies are more likely tied to the physical hardships endured in these men’s civilian or military lives as opposed to their civilian or military diets.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ambrose, Stanley H. 1990 Preparation and Characterization of Bone and Tooth Collagen for Isotopic Analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 17(4):431–451.
Ambrose, Stanley H. 1993 Chemical and Isotopic Techniques of Diet Reconstruction in Eastern North America. In Emergent Horticultural Economies of the Eastern Woodlands, William F. Keegan, editor, pp. 87–107. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Ambrose, Stanley H., and Michael J. DeNiro 1986 The Isotopic Ecology of East African Mammals. Oceologia 69(3):395–406.
Ambrose, Stanley H., and Lynette Norr 1992 On Stable Isotopic Data and Prehistoric Subsistence in the Soconusco Region. Current Anthropology 33(4):401–404.
Aufderheide, Arthur C., and Conrado Rodriguez-Martin 1998 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, UK.
Barrie Andrew, and Simon J. Prosser 1996 Automated Analysis of Light-Element Stable Isotopes by Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry. In Mass Spectrometry of Soils, Thomas W. Boutton and S. Yamasaki, editors, pp. 1–46. Marcel Dekker, New York, NY.
Bender, Margaret M., David A. Baerreis, and Raymond L. Steventon 1981 Further Light on Carbon Isotopes and Hopewell Agriculture. American Antiquity, 46(2):346–353.
Benson, Sarah, Chris Lennard, Philip Maynard, and Claude Roux 2006 Forensic Applications of Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry: A Review. Forensic Science International 157(1):1–22.
Calvin, Melvin, and Andrew A. Benson 1948 The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis. Science 107(2784):476–480.
Chisholm, Brian S., D. Erle Nelson, and Henry P. Schwarcz 1982 Stable Carbon Isotope Ratios as a Measure of Marine Versus Terrestrial Protein in Ancient Diets. Science 216(4550):1131–1132.
Collins, M. J., C. M. Nielsen-Marsh, J. Hiller, C. I. Smith, J. P. Roberts, R. V. Prigodich, T. J. Weiss, J. Csapo, A. R. Millard, and G. Turner-Walker 2002 The Survival of Organic Matter in Bone: A Review. Archaeometry 44(3):383–394.
Deines, Peter 1980 The Isotopic Composition of Reduced Organic Carbon. In Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, Peter Fritz and Jean-Charles Fontes, editors, pp. 329–406. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
DeNiro, Michael J. 1985 Postmortem Preservation and Alteration of In-Vivo Bone Collagen Isotope Ratios in Relation to Paleodietary Reconstruction. Nature 317(6040):806–809.
DeNiro, Michael J. 1987 Stable Isotopy and Archaeology. American Scientist 75(2):182–191.
DeNiro, Michael J., and Samuel Epstein 1978 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42(5):495–506.
DeNiro, Michael J., and Samuel Epstein 1981 Influence of Diet on Distribution of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica 45(3):341–351.
DeNiro, Michael J., and Stephen Weiner 1988 Chemical, Enzymatic, and Spectroscopy of “Collagen” and Other Organic Fractions from Prehistoric Bones. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52(9):2197–2206.
Ehleringer, James R. 1989 Carbon Isotope Ratios and Physiological Processes in Arid-Land Plants. In Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research, Philip W. Rundel, James R. Ehleringer, and Kenneth A. Nagy, editors, pp. 41–54, Springer Verlag, New York, NY.
Fuller B. T., J. L. Fuller, N. E. Sage, D. A. Harris, T. C. O’Connell, and R. E. Hedges 2004 Nitrogen Balance and δ15N: Why You’re Not What You Eat during Pregnancy. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 18(23):2889–2896.
Fuller B. T., J. L. Fuller, N. E. Sage, D. A. Harris, T. C. O’Connell, and R. E. Hedges 2005 Nitrogen Balance and δ15N: Why You’re Not What You Eat during Nutritional Stress. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 19(18):2497–1506.
Guixe, Elena Garcia, Michael P. Richards, and M. Eulalia 2006 Paleodiets of Humans and Fauna at the Spanish Mesolithic Site of El Collado. Current Anthropology 47(3):549–556.
Harrison, Roman G., and M. Anne Katzenberg 2003 Paleodiet Studies Using Stable Carbon Isotopes from Bone Apatite and Collagen: Examples from Southern Ontario and San Nicolas Island, California. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 22(3):227–244.
Hatch, Marshall D., and C. Roger Slack 1966 Photosynthesis by Sugar Cane Leaves. A New Carboxylation Reaction and the Pathway of Sugar Formation. Biochemical Journal 101(1):103–111.
Hobson, Keith A., Ray T. Alisauskus, and Robert G. Clark 1993 Stable-Nitrogen Isotope Enrichment in Avian Tissues Due to Fasting and Nutritional Stress: Implications for Isotopic Analyses of Diet. The Condor 95(2):388–394.
Hutchinson, Dale L., and Lynette Norr 2006 Nutrition and Health at Contact in Late Prehistoric Central Gulf Coast Florida. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 129(3):375–386.
Katzenburg, M. Anne 1991 Analysis of Stable Isotopes of Carbon and Nitrogen. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, Susan Pfeiffer and Ronald F. Williamson, editors, pp. 247–255, Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Katzenberg, M. Anne, and Nancy C. Lovell 1999 Stable Isotope Variation in Pathological Bone. International Journal of Osetoarchaeology 9(5):316–324.
Klepinger, Linda, and Richard W. Mintel 1986 Metabolic Considerations in Reconstructing Past Diet from Stable Carbon Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen. In Proceedings of the 24th International Archaeometry Symposium, J. S. Olin and M. J. Blackman, editors, pp. 43–48, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
Krueger, Harold W., and Charles H. Sullivan 1984 Models for Carbon Isotope Fractionation between Diet and Bone. In American Chemical Society Symposium Series, Stable Isotopes in Nutrition, Vol. 258, J. F. Turnlund and P. E. Johnson, editors, pp. 205–220, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.
Larsen, Clark Spencer, Margaret J. Schoeninger, Nikolaas J. van der Merwe, Katherine M. Moore, and Julia A. Lee-Thorp 1992 Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopic Signatures of Human Dietary Change in the Georgia Bight. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 89(2):197–214.
Lewis, Mary, and Charlotte Roberts 1997 Growing Pains: The Interpretation of Stress Indicators. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7(6):581–586.
Liden, Kerstin, Cheryl Takahashi, and D. Erle Nelson 1995 The Effects of Lipids in Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis and the Effects of NaOH Treatment on the Composition of Extracted Bone Collagen. Journal of Archaeological Science 22(2):321–326.
Litt, Paul, Ronald F. Williamson, and Joseph W. A. Whitehorne 1993 Death at Snake Hill: Secrets from a War of 1812 Cemetery. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Michel, Véronique, Hervé Bocherens, Isabelle Thery-Parisot, Karel Valoch, and Patricia Valensi 2006 Coloring and Preservation State of Faunal Remains from the Neanderthal Levels of Kulna Cave, Czech Republic. Geoarchaeology 21(5):479–501.
Nier, A. O., and E. A. Gulbransen 1939 Variations in the Relative Abundance of the Carbon Isotopes. Journal of the American Chemical Society 61(3):697–698.
O’Leary, Marion H. 1981 Carbon Isotope Fractionation in Plants. Phytochemistry 20(4):553–567.
O’Leary, Marion H. 1988 Carbon Isotopes in Photosynthesis. Bioscience 38(4):328–336.
Ortner, Donald J. 2003 Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
Owsley, Douglas W., Robert W. Mann, and Sean P. Murphy 1991 Injuries, Surgical Care, and Disease. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, Susan Pfeiffer and Ronald F. Williamson, editors, pp. 198–226. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Papathanasiou, Anastasia 2003 Stable Isotope Analysis in Neolithic Greece and Possible Implications on Human Health. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 13(5):314–324.
Park, Roderick, and Samuel Epstein 1961 Metabolic Fractionation of 13C and 12C in Plants. Plant Physiology 36(2):133–138.
Pate, F. Donald 1994 Bone Chemistry and Paleodiet. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1(2):161–209.
Pate, F. Donald 1998 Bone Collagen Preservation at the Roonka Flat Aboriginal Burial Ground: A Natural Laboratory. Journal of Field Archaeology 25(2):203–217.
Pfeiffer, Susan 1991 Estimation of Age at Death. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, Susan Pfeiffer and Ronald F. Williamson, editors, pp. 167–175. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Pfeiffer, Susan, and Ronald F. Williamson (editors) 1991 Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Privat, Karen L., and Tamsin C. O’Connell 2002 Stable Isotope Analysis of Human and Faunal Remains from the Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Berinsfeld, Oxfordshire: Dietary and Social Implications. Journal of Archaeological Science 29(7):779–790.
Prowse Tracy L., Henry P. Schwarcz, Shelley R. Saunders, Roberto Macchiarelli, and Luca Bondioli 2005 Isotopic Evidence for Age-Related Variation in Diet from Isola Sacra, Italy. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 128(1):2–13.
Richards, Michael P., Benjamin T. Fuller, and Theya I. Molleson 2006 Stable Isotope Paleodietary Study of Humans and Fauna from the Multi-Period (Iron-Age, Viking, and Late Medieval) Site of Newark Bay, Orkney. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(1):122–131.
Richards, Michael P., Simon Mays, and Benjamin T. Fuller 2002 Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Values of Bone and Teeth Reflect Weaning Age at Medieval Wharram Percy Site, Yorkshire, UK. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 119 (3):205–210.
Richards, Michael P., Paul B. Pettitt, Erik Trinkaus, Fred H. Smith, Maja Paunovic, and Ivor Karavanic 2000 Neanderthal Diet at Vindija and Neanderthal Predation: The Evidence from Stable Isotopes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97(13):7663–7666.
Richards, Michael P., T. Douglas Price, and Eva Koch 2003 Mesolithic and Neolithic Subsistence in Denmark: New Stable Isotope Data. Current Anthropology 44(2):288–295.
Roberts, Charlotte, and Keith Manchester 2005 The Archaeology of Disease. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Saunders, Shelley R. 1991 Sex Determination, Stature and Size, and Shape Variation in the Limb Bones. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, Susan Pfeiffer and Ronald F. Williamson, editors, pp. 176–197. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Schmorl, Georg, and Herbert Junghanns 1971 The Human Spine in Health and Disease. Grune and Stratton, New York, NY.
Schoeninger, Margaret J. 1989 Reconstructing Prehistoric Human Diet. In The Chemistry of Prehistoric Bone, T. Douglas Price, editor, pp. 38–67. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, UK.
Schoeninger, Margaret J. 1995 Stable Isotope Studies in Human Evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology, 4(3):83–98.
Schoeninger, Margaret J., and Michael J. DeNiro 1983 Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ratios Reflect Marine and Terrestrial Components of Prehistoric Human Diet. Science 220(4604):1381–1383.
Schoeninger, Margaret J., and Michael J. DeNiro 1984 Nitrogen and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Bone Collagen from Marine and Terrestrial Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48(4):625–639.
Sealy, Judith C., and Nikolaas J. van der Merwe 1986 Social, Spatial, and Chronological Patterning in Marine Food Use as Determined by 13C Measurements of Holocene Human Skeletons from the Southwestern Cape, South Africa. World Archaeology 20(1):87–102.
Smith, Bruce N. 1972 Natural Abundance of Stable Isotopes of Carbon in Biological Systems. BioScience 22(4):226–231.
Smith, Bruce N., and Samuel Epstein 1971 Two Categories of 13C/12C Ratios for Higher Plants. Plant Physiology 47(3):380–384.
Thomas, Stephen C., and Ronald F. Williamson 1991 Archaeological Investigations. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, Susan Pfeiffer and Ronald F. Williamson, editors, pp. 70–159. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Tieszen, L. L., and T. Fagre 1993 Effect of Diet Quality and Composition on the Isotopic Composition of Respiratory CO2, Bone Collagen, Bioapatite, and Soft Tissues. In Molecular Archaeology of Prehistoric Human Bone, Joseph Lambert and Gisela Grupe, editors, pp. 123–135. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
Tuross, Noreen 2002 Alterations in Fossil Collagen. Archaeometry 44(3):427–434.
Vogel, J. C., and Nikolaas van der Merwe 1977 Isotopic Evidence for Early Maize Cultivation in New York State. American Antiquity 42(2):238–242.
White, Christine D., and Henry P. Schwarcz 1994 Temporal Trends in Stable Isotopes for Nubian Mummy Tissues. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 93(2):165–187.
Whitehorne, Joseph W. A. 1988 The Snake Hill Site: A War of 1812 American Cemetery, Ronald F. Williamson, editor, pp. 15–47. Manuscript, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Whitehorne, Joseph W. A. 1991 Fort Erie and U.S. Operations on the Niagara Frontier, 1814. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, Susan Pfeiffer and Ronald F. Williamson, editors, pp. 25–60. Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raynor, L.A., Kennett, D.J. Dietary Variability among a Sample of United States Soldiers during the War of 1812. Hist Arch 42, 76–87 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03377155
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03377155