Employing Local Food Resources for Dietary Reconstruction via Stable Isotope Analysis

Isotopic ranges used to distinguish plant groups and types of animal protein vary according to local ecology and isotope mixing systems, as well as anthropogenic influences. This chapter reviews sources of isotopic variation in foods and proposes a conceptual model for how isotopic analysis of local foods can isotopic baselines and improve our understanding of the diets and foodways of past people. Previously published data from central and southern Gulf Coast Florida (3100 BC–AD 1550) and Atlantic coastal North Carolina (AD 800–1650) are used as case studies to illustrate the interpretive benefits of incorporating stable isotope analysis of local foods into dietary reconstruction.