Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
a powerful tool for investigating residential mobility, it is clear that more work needs to be
done to characterize local signatures on the north coast and throughout the Andes in general.
In essence, the geological birthplace of these two individuals remains unknown, and more
importantly, we continue to investigate why they were interred at CA3 in the first place.
This case study demonstrates that stable isotope analysis is a powerful addition to the tool-
kit of Andean bioarchaeologists. It is evident that maize consumption was widespread
throughout the north coast, and the pattern observed at Santa Rita B corroborates previous
evidence and shows the inhabitants were maize consumers who relied on terrestrial protein
sources. Moreover, we have learned that several individuals interred at CA3 were most likely
not born in the middle Chao Valley. We are hopeful that our results will add to a growing
dataset regarding the subsistence and residential mobility of people who inhabited the north
coast of Peru. As with all research, new results often lead to new questions, and my
colleagues and I look forward to tackling those in the near future.
CONCLUSION
In the nearly four decades since the first pioneering work on stable isotope analysis
emerged, skeletal biologists have seen a tremendous increase in the application of the tech-
nique across the various constituencies of the discipline. Contemporary bioarchaeologists
have generated remarkably nuanced biocultural interpretations by carefully coupling isotopic
data with archaeological and ethnographic information. Of course, these developments could
not have occurred without those dedicated researchers who toiled in their laboratories for
countless hours perfecting extraction procedures, troubleshooting mass spectrometer prob-
lems, and critically considering the role of analytical (and sometimes destructive) techniques
in human skeletal biology (see DiGangi andMoore [Chapter 2], this volume for a discussion of
ethical issues). It cannot be understated that researchers in the twenty-first century must not
take for granted the contributions of earlier scholars who originally perfected the ideas and
procedures that now seem commonplace. Moreover, researchers must take exceptional care
to thoroughly understand each step of a stable isotope project rather than proceeding with
a rushed research design that does not take into account each step in the process. As other
authors in this volume have stressed, perhaps the most important next step in planning
a potential project is reading as much literature as one can so that each complex part of a stable
isotopic project is well thought out from the beginning. Throughout the entire process, expe-
rienced mentors are invaluable; therefore, all interested skeletal biologists are urged to ally
themselves with an experienced practitioner early on in the process.
In closing, stimulating new developments in stable isotope analysis have expanded to the
forensic realm of skeletal biology, as investigators have employed these data to aid in the
identification of unidentified individuals (
Meier-Augenstein and Liu, 2004; Juarez, 2008;
Meier-Augenstein and Fraser, 2008; Ehleringer et al., 2010
). Certainly, as forensic applications
of skeletal biology continue to mature around the globe, I suspect that uses of stable isotope
analysis will continue to be tested so that benefits and limitations in forensic contexts are fully
understood. Given the handful of skeletal biologists actively researching this topic in the
United States, it stands to reason that much more work remains to be done. Regardless of
one's specific interest in stable isotope analysis, it appears to me an ideal moment in our disci-
pline's history to be getting started!
