Isotopic evidence of human mobility and diet in a prehistoric/protohistoric F ijian coastal environment (c. 750–150 BP )
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Objectives: Bourewa, on the southwest coast of Viti Levu in Fiji, is a multi‐period site that contained burials dated to the later Vuda Phase (750–150 BP), a period of climatic fluctuations that potentially impacted the availability of food resources. We aim to investigate diet and movement at this site during a time of possible ecological pressure and political change. Materials and Methods: We analyzed δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of these Vuda Phase individuals ( n = 25) interred at the site. By analyzing dentin and bone, both childhood diet and the diet within the past few years of adults' lives were examined. Results: The paleodietary results suggested that adult diets consisted largely of low trophic level marine organisms. Dentin and bone isotopic values differed significantly: childhood diet involved consumption of more higher trophic level terrestrial foods. Most individuals displayed 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios expected of people living along a marine coastline. However, a few individuals displayed 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios and paleodietary values (δ 13 C dentin , δ 15 N dentin ) suggestive of living further inland or consuming a more terrestrial‐based childhood diet. Discussion: The results are compared with past studies of sites from Fiji and nearby archipelagoes, placing our interpretations into a wider regional context. The Bourewa community appears to have consumed more low trophic level marine foods than any nearby site, possibly because terrestrial foods were more difficult to acquire. Interpreting the childhood diet is challenging due to the paucity of ethnohistoric literature on Fijian childhood; small meals outside of communal mealtimes or feeding children terrestrial animal protein as a means of cultural buffering are potential explanations. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:478–495, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of human tissues provides insight into residential mobility and origin at the individual level and allows extrapolations to large-scale socio-political dynamics.
“Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of human tissues provides insight into residential mobility and origin on the individual level, allowing extrapolations into largescale socio-political dynamics [36–40].”
From Who were the Hyksos? Challenging traditional narratives using strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of human remains from ancient Egypt (2020) · cites this paper as [39]
The 'Isotopic Analysis of Mobility' section explains that tooth-enamel 87Sr/86Sr ratios can indicate where an individual lived during childhood. The 'Mobility in Bourewa' section considers a broader question about patrilocality but says the strontium results identified only one nonlocal, making it impossible to address that hypothesis. The paper therefore supports individual-level insight, not the claimed extrapolation to large-scale socio-political dynamics in this study. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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Stantis, C., Kharobi, A., Maaranen, N., Nowell, G. M., Bietak, M., Prell, S., & Schutkowski, H. (2020) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0235414 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Stantis, C., Buckley, H. R., Kinaston, R. L., Nunn, P. D., Jaouen, K., & Richards, M. P.
- Affiliations
- Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin 9012 New Zealand
- University of Otago (NZ)
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- Venue
- American Journal of Physical Anthropology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-10-21
- Volume
- 159
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 478-495
- ISSN
- 0002-9483 (ISSN-L)
- 1096-8644
- OpenAlex
- W2115996215
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 1.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- American Journal of Physical Anthropology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Bournemouth University Research Online (Bournemouth University) (acceptedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Max Planck Society
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Geography, Planning and Development › Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Keywords
- human mobility, paleodiet, stable carbon isotopes, stable nitrogen isotopes, strontium isotopes, childhood diet, marine diet, terrestrial diet, coastal subsistence, climate variability
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anthropology, Physical, Bone and Bones, Diet, Female, Fiji, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Strontium Radioisotopes, Tooth, History, Ancient, Radiometric Dating, Young Adult, Human Migration
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