Identifying cohorts using isotope mass spectrometry: the potential of temporal resolution and dietary profiles

Abstract

Archaeological skeletal material from most sites represents a cross-sectional, opportunistic sample of the burials. These are influenced by the proportion and area of the site which is excavated, the taphonomic conditions and survival of tissues. This may not be representative of the population, and in an attritional cemetery may represent a long period of use, during which humans will have differing life-courses. Here we describe a commingled skeletal assemblage, the only human remains recovered from the historically significant medieval site of St Stephen’s Chapel, Palace of Westminster, London. Using carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios of bulk bone collagen and incremental dentine to investigate dietary life histories from 5 individuals, we combine the evidence with radiocarbon dating to assign them to two different temporal cohorts.