The Relationship of Stable Isotopes to Late Woodland and Fort Ancient Agriculture, Mobility, and Paleopathologies at the Turpin Site A thesis submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Advanced Research of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences 2013 by Ashley E. McCall B.A., The Ohio State University, 2009 Committee: Kenneth Barnett Tankersley (Chair) Brooke E. Crowley Heather L. Norton Abstract This thesis uses stable isotope analyses to examine the relationships between diet, migration, paleopathologies, and agriculture for Newtown Phase Late Woodland and Fort Ancient Turpin Phase populations from the type-site, Turpin (33Ha19), located in the lower Little Miami River Valley, Hamilton County, Ohio. Investigating the subsistence strategy and health of the people who inhabited the Turpin site is important because this is one of the earliest locations of maize agriculture in eastern North America. Therefore, the Turpin population is crucial for our understanding of the dietary and health implications of maize agriculture in the Ohio Valley. Human behavioral ecology states that as humans increase their economic reliance on maize agriculture, they decrease their mobility, increase social stratification, and increase their susceptibility to disease. Stable isotope values in human bone collagen and tooth enamel are used to determine dietary composition and mobility. Statistical analyses comparing į13C and G15N values among ages, sexes, and paleopathologies demonstrate that maize was a significant part of the diet (į13C values greater than -14.0‰) and that women were deficient in protein (low G15N values). Maize was likely consumed on a regular basis by the Fort Ancient population and made up more than 25% of the diet. With few exceptions, there is little variation in the 87Sr/86Sr isotope levels of enamel carbonate, which is indicative of a semi-sedentary community. There is evidence that a few individuals may have migrated into the area. These immigrations may have been the result of captivity or intertribal marriage. ii Acknowledgments I thank my advisor, Dr. Kenneth Tankersley for introducing stable isotope chemistry to me and helping me figure out a thesis topic. I also thank Dr. Heather Norton and Dr. Brooke Crowley for being on my committee and their support during the arduous task that is writing a thesis. I am eternally grateful to Mr. Bob Genheimer, who made the samples available and to the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, where the population that is the focus of my thesis is currently housed. I also am obliged to Prof. Tench for lending me her extensive notes, without them I would have been completely lost. Though I also appreciate all of my fellow graduate students who have helped me through this process, a special thanks goes out to Janine Sparks who did so much of the footwork regarding the paleobotany section and gathering the results of other isotopic studies. Also, I owe so much to Paula Grubb who provided her expertise to assist with the statistics of this project and made it possible for me to understand them. More thanks go to my grandparents who not only helped make this study possible, you have no idea how much it meant to me, but also had a genuine interest in my studies. I thank my family, especially my mom and dad, who have supported me in this venture and have laughed and cried with me during this process. However, the biggest thanks go out to my best friend, Denise Knisely. You not only have spent hours upon hours with me while we worked on our theses together, but you have surely kept me sane throughout all of our graduate work together and have satiated my need for all things orange and fuzzy. iv Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 Hypotheses ..................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2: Background on Stable Isotopes ............................................................................. 4 Reporting Isotopes ......................................................................................................... 4 Isotope Discrimination .................................................................................................. 5 į13C Values in Plants ...................................................................................................... 6 G15N Values in Plants...................................................................................................... 7 į13C and G15N Values and Consumers ............................................................................. 8 G15N Values and Paleopathologies ................................................................................ 10 Strontium Isotopes ........................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 3: Archaeological Background ................................................................................ 15 Geological and Geographical Background .................................................................... 15 Late Woodland ............................................................................................................. 16 Newtown Phase ..................................................................................................... 17 Subsistence ............................................................................................................ 18 Fort Ancient ................................................................................................................. 18 Turpin Phase ......................................................................................................... 20 v Subsistence ........................................................................................................... 20 The Turpin Site (33Ha19) ............................................................................................. 21 Published Radiocarbon Dates for Turpin ............................................................... 22 Previous Research and Excavations ...................................................................... 23 Subsistence ........................................................................................................... 26 Maize ................................................................................................................... 26 Late Woodland Newtown Phase Component......................................................... 27 Fort Ancient Turpin Phase Component ................................................................. 30 Previous Research of Tuberculosis........................................................................ 32 Previous Stable Carbon Isotope Investigations ...................................................... 34 Chapter 4: Theoretical Background ...................................................................................... 38 Human Behavioral Ecology .......................................................................................... 38 Chapter 5: Methods .............................................................................................................. 41 Anthropometric Data of Samples ................................................................................. 41 Relative Fluoride Dating .............................................................................................. 46 Human Bone Collagen Extraction for Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis ... 47 Human Tooth Enamel Extraction for Strontium Isotope Analysis ................................ 48 Statistical and Computational Analyses ....................................................................... 50 Chapter 6: Analytical Results of Stable Isotope Values ........................................................ 51 Statistical Analysis of į13C Values for Age, Sex, and Paleopathological Groups ........... 51 Statistical Analysis of G15N Values for Age, Sex, and Paleopathological Groups .......... 53 Relative Fluoride Analysis............................................................................................ 54 Statistical Analysis of Stable Isotope Values for Paleopathologies ................................ 58 vi Strontium Analysis of Human Tooth Enamel ................................................................ 61 Chapter 7: Discussion .......................................................................................................... 67 į13C Values as Diet Indicators ...................................................................................... 67 G15N Values as Diet