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Stable Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Maize Agriculture in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mark J. Lynott ,
Thomas W. Boutton ,
James E. Price  and
Dwight E. Nelson
Mark J. Lynott
Affiliation:
Midwest Archeological Center, National Park Service, Federal Building, Room 474, Lincoln, NE 68508
Thomas W. Boutton
Affiliation:
Stable Isotope Program, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030
James E. Price
Affiliation:
Center for Archaeological Research, Southwest Missouri State University, Naylor, MO 63953
Dwight E. Nelson
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201
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Abstract

Analysis of bone collagen extracted from human skeletal remains from archaeological sites dating from the Archaic period through Euro-American settlement provides evidence for the introduction of maize into regional subsistence patterns. Stable carbon isotope ratios of samples from both the eastern Ozarks and the Mississippi River alluvial valley indicate that human populations living prior to ca. A.D. 1000 consumed little or no C4 plant material. In populations dating after ca. A.D. 1000, stable carbon isotope ratios indicate that maize represented a significant part of the human diet throughout the region. The change in dietary patterns coincides with a shift in settlement patterns from dispersed hamlets and small villages to civic-ceremonial centers with associated villages, hamlets, and farmsteads. This isotopic evidence indicates that Emergent Mississippian diets did not include substantial quantities of maize or other C4 plant material.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , January 1986 , pp. 51 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1986

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References

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