Abstract
While stable isotope analysis of preserved human tissues holds considerable promise for the characterization of ancient human subsistence, certain questions remain difficult to resolve in a conclusive manner. A variety of local factors, including poor preservation and the complexity of available foodwebs, can combine to make even relatively coarse dietary determinations (e.g. foraging versus fishing versus farming) difficult. Such is the case for prehistoric Puerto Rico, where taphonomic hostility and an incredibly variegated isoscape make the characterization of the subsistence modes of the island’s prehistoric peoples, and in particular its earliest inhabitants, a frustratingly contingent exercise. These difficulties are illustrated here through a consideration of isotopic data gleaned from over 200 individuals representing almost the entire sweep of the prehistoric human occupation of the island.
The Caribbean climate and isoscape present at least two decided challenges to isotopic estimations of paleodiet. While stable isotope analysis of preserved human tissues holds considerable promise for the characterization of ancient human subsistence, certain questions remain difficult to resolve in a conclusive manner. A variety of factors inherent to the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico in particular, can combine to make even relatively coarse determinations of subsistence economy difficult to ascertain using stable isotope analysis alone. The characterization of human paleodiet through isotope analysis is predicated on known variation in the carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of broad classes of plant and animal foodstuffs. While most modern, and indeed many ancient, human societies fall neatly into either the category of food foragers or food producers, the mid-ground between the two extremes was populated by a myriad of people whose subsistence was based on a combination of both.