Radiocarbon dating and carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on human skeletal remains from Koh and Ikawazu sites of the Jomon period

• Kusaka Soichiro

  Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka

• Saso Aiko

  The University Museum, The University of Tokyo

• Yoneda Minoru

  The University Museum, The University of Tokyo

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• 縄文時代の國府・伊川津遺跡から出土した人骨の放射性炭素年代測定と炭素・窒素安定同位体分析
• ジョウモン ジダイ ノ コクフ ・ イガワ ツ イセキ カラ シュツド シタ ジンコツ ノ ホウシャセイ タンソ ネンダイ ソクテイ ト タンソ ・ チッソ アンテイ ドウイタイ ブンセキ

Abstract

The authors investigated radiocarbon ages and carbon and nitrogen isotopes in human skeletal remains excavated from the Koh and Ikawazu sites in Osaka and Aichi Prefectures, respectively. Based on excavated pottery and tooth ablation patterns, the Koh population has been regarded as belonging to the Early and Final Jomon Periods. Radiocarbon dating was conducted on Koh skeletal remains to test this age assignment. Koh and Ikawazu human skeletal samples of the Final Jomon Period were analyzed to test the hypothesis that tooth ablation patterns were associated with diet during the period. Collagen was extracted from 28 Koh and 6 Ikawazu bone samples, and was found to be well-preserved in 14 and 4, respectively. Based on results of radiocarbon dating, Koh samples dated to 5440–5990 cal BP, 4410–4520 cal BP, and 2960–3070 cal BP, while Ikawazu samples dated to 2440–3070 cal BP. Among the Koh samples, dietary change was found to be associated to the period. Remains from the Early Jomon Period had higher nitrogen isotope ratios than those from the Final Jomon Period. The Ikawazu samples suggested that those individuals were more dependent on marine resources. The diet of individuals with type 4I and 2C tooth ablation patterns was not significantly different between the Koh and Ikawazu populations. These results suggest that radiocarbon dating of human skeletal remains is essential for proper assessment of dietary reconstruction and temporal patterns in diet.

Journal

• Anthropological Science (Japanese Series)

  Anthropological Science (Japanese Series) 123 (1), 31-40, 2015

  The Anthropological Society of Nippon

Keywords

• radiocarbon dating
• carbon isotope
• nitrogen isotope
• diet
• tooth ablation

Details

• CRID: 1390282679446147456
• NII Article ID: 130005078082
• NII Book ID: AA11307827
• DOI: 10.1537/asj.150414
• ISSN: 13488813
• ISSN: 13443992
• NDL BIB ID: 026572089
• Web Site: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I026572089
• Text Lang: ja
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • NDL
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed