Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-13T19:20:26.892Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maya Marine Subsistence: Isotopic Evidence from Marco Gonzalez and San Pedro, Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jocelyn S. Williams ,
Christine D. White  and
Fred J. Longstaffe
Jocelyn S. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8 ([email protected])
Christine D. White
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C2
Fred J. Longstaffe
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article presents stable nitrogen and carbon isotopie analyses of diet at the Maya sites of Marco Gonzalez and San Pedro, Belize. This study, which provides important insight into social organization, trade, and subsistence economy for the Postclassic and Historic periods (ca. A.D. 900–1650), also expands our understanding of the distribution of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes within coral reef food webs off coastal Belize. Marco Gonzalez and San Pedro represent the first documented ancient Maya populations whose diet consisted mostly of marine resources with a minimal reliance upon maize. Although these sites do not appear highly stratified, and there are no dietary differences between sexes or status, the inhabitants of Marco Gonzalez incorporated more mainland-terrestrial animals and maize into their diet than the people of San Pedro. This finding supports the postulated roles of these two settlements, where Marco Gonzalez had trade ties to the mainland site of Lamanai and San Pedro was a small fishing village.

Este artículo presenta análisis isotópicos de nitrógeno y carbono estables de la dieta en los emplazamientos mayas de Marco González y San Pedro, en Belice. Este estudio, que provee una importante comprensión de la organización social, comercio y economía de subsistencia en los períodos Posclásico e Histórico (alrededor de los años d. C. 900–1650), también expande nuestro entendimiento de la distribución de los isótopos estables de carbono y nitrógeno dentro de las cadenas alimenticias marinas y de arrecifes en la costa de Belice. Marco González y San Pedro representan las primeras poblaciones mayas antiguas documentadas cuya dieta consistía en su mayoría de recursos marinos, con una mínima dependencia del maíz. Aunque estas sitios no parecen ser altamente estratificadas, y no muestran diferencias dietéticas entre sexos o posición social, los habitantes de Marco González incorporaron más animales terrestres y/o maíz en sus dietas que la gente de San Pedro. Este hallazgo apoya los roles postulados para estos dos asentamientos, en que Marco González tenía vínculos con el sitio de tierra adentro de Lamanai y San Pedro era una pequeña villa de pescadores.

Type
Part 1: Themed Section on Tehnology Approaches
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 37 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by the Society for American Archaeology.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Aimers, James 2004 The Terminal Classic to Postclassic Transition in the Belize River Valley. In The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley: Half a Century of Archaeological Research, edited by James F. Garber, pp. 305–319. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H. 1990 Preparation and Characterization of Bone and Tooth Collagen for Isotopic Analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 17(4):431–451.Google Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H. 1993 Isotopic Analysis of Paleodiets: Methodological and Interpretive Considerations. In Investigations of Ancient Human Tissues, edited by Mary K. Sandford, pp. 59–130. Gordon Breach, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H., Butler, Brian M., Hanson, Douglas B., Hunter Anderson, Rosalind L., and Krueger, Harold W. 1997 Stable Isotopic Analysis of Human Diet in the Marianas Archipelago, Western Pacific. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 104(3):343–361.Google Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H., and DeNiro, Michael J. 1986 The Isotopic Ecology of East African Mammals. Oecologia 69:395–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ambrose, Stanley H., and DeNiro, Michael J. 1989 Climate and Habitat Reconstruction Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Collagen in Prehistoric Herbivore Teeth from Kenya. Quaternary Research 31:407–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H., and Norr, Lynette 1993 Experimental Evidence for the Relationship of the Carbon Isotope Ratios of Whole Diet and Dietary Proton to Those of Bone Collagen and Carbonate. In Prehistoric Human Bone Chemistry: Archaeology at the Molecular Level, edited by Joseph B. Lambert and Gisela Grupe, pp. 1–33. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Andrews, Anthony P. 1990 The Role of Trading Ports in Maya Civilization. In Vision and Revision in Maya Studies, edited by Flora S. Clancy and Peter D. Harrison, pp. 159–167. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Ball, Joseph W., and Eaton, Jack D. 1972 Marine Resources and the Prehistoric Lowland Maya: A Comment. American Anthropologist 74:772–776.Google Scholar
Barrett, Jason W., and Guderjan, Thomas H. 2006 An Ancient Maya Dock and Dam at Blue Creek, Rio Hondo, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 17(2):227–239.Google Scholar
Beaubien, Harriet F. 2004 Excavation and Recovery of a Funerary Offering of Marine Materials from Copán. In Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Method and Theory, edited by Kitty Emery, pp. 45–56. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Böhlke, James E., and Chaplin, Charles C. G. 1968 Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters. Livingston Publishing Co., Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Buikstra, Jane E., and Ubelaker, Douglas H. 1994 Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Arkansas Archaeological Survey, Fayetteville.Google Scholar
Carr, Christopher 1995 Mortuary Practices: Their Social, Philosophical-Religious, Circumstantial, and Physical Determinants. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 2(2):105–199.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F. 1992 Elites and the Changing Organization of Classic Maya Society. In Mesoamerican Elites: An Archaeological Assessment, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase, pp. 31–49. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma City.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., and Chase, Diane Z. 1992 Mesoamerican Elites: Assumptions, Definitions, and Models. In Mesoamerican Elites: An Archaeological Assessment, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase, pp. 3–17. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma City.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., and Chase, Diane Z. (editors) 1992 Mesoamerican Elites: An Archaeological Assessment. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma.Google Scholar
Chase, Diane Z. 1986 Social and Political Organization of the Land of Cacao and Honey: Spatial Frames for Correlating the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of the Postclassic Lowland Maya. In Late Lowland Maya Civilization: Classic to Postclassic, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff and Wyllys Andrews, pp. 347–377. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Chase, Diane Z. 1990 The Invisible Maya: Population History and Archaeology at Santa Rita Corozal. In Precolumbian Population History in the Maya Lowlands, edited by T. Patrick Culbert and Don C. Rice, pp. 199–213. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Chisholm, Brian S. 1982 Stable-Carbon Isotope Ratios as a Measure of Marine Versus Terrestrial Protein in Ancient Diet. Science 216:1131–1216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chisholm, Brian S., Nelson, D. Erie, Hobson, Keith A., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1983a Carbon Isotope Measurement Techniques for Bone Collagen: Notes for the Archaeologist. Journal of Archaeological Science 10(4):355–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chisholm, Brian S., Nelson, D. Erie, and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1983b Marine and Terrestrial Protein in Prehistoric Diets on the British Columbia Coast. Current Anthropology 24(3):396–398.Google Scholar
Coplen, Tyler B. 1994 Reporting of Stable Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Abundances. Pure and Applied Chemistry 66:273–276.Google Scholar
Coyston, Shannon, White, Christine D., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1999 Dietary Carbonate Analysis of Bone and Enamel for Two Sites in Belize. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by Christine D. White, pp. 221–244. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Patrick, Culbert, T. 1988 The Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization. In The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations, edited by Norman Yoffee and George L. Cowgill, pp. 69–101. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Gilbert, T. Patrick (editor) 1973 The Classic Maya Collapse. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Deines, Peter 1980 The Isotopic Composition of Reduced Organic Carbon. In Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, edited by P. Fritz and J. Ch. Fontes, pp. 329–406. Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur A., Rice, Prudence, and Rice, Don C. (editors) 2004 The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J. 1985 Postmortem Preservation and Alteration of In Vivo Bone Collagen Isotope Ratios in Relation to Palaeodietary Reconstruction. Nature 317:806–809.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Epstein, Samuel 1978 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42:495–506.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Epstein, Samuel 1981 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 45:341–351.Google Scholar
Emery, Kitty 1999 Continuity and Variability in Postclassic Animal Use at Lamanai and Tipu, Belize. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by Christine D. White, pp. 61–82. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Emery, Kitty 2002 The Noble Beast: Status and Differential Access to Animals in the Maya World. World Archaeology 34(3):498–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emery, Kitty 2004 Environments of the Maya Collapse: A Zooarchaeological Perspective from the Petexbatún. In Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Method and Theory, edited by Kitty Emery, pp. 81–96. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 1994 Changing Perspectives on Maya Civilization. Annual Review of Anthropology 23:181–208.Google Scholar
Glassman, David M., and Garber, James F. 1999 Land Use, Diet, and Their Effects on the Biology of the Prehistoric Maya of Northern Ambergris Cay, Belize. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by Christine D. White, pp. 119–132. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Graham, Elizabeth 1989 Brief Synthesis of Coastal Site Data from Colson Point, Placencia, and Marco Gonzalez, Belize. In Coastal Maya Trade, edited by Heather McKillop and Paul F. Healy, pp. 135–154. University Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 8. Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario.Google Scholar
Graham, Elizabeth, and Pendergast, David M. 1987 Cays to the Kingdom. Royal Ontario Archaeological Newsletter, Series 2, 18:1–4.Google Scholar
Graham, Elizabeth, and Pendergast, David M. 1989 Excavations at the Marco Gonzalez Site, Ambergris Cay, Belize, 1986. Journal of Field Archaeology 16:1–16.Google Scholar
Graham, Elizabeth, and Pendergast, David M. 1994 The Sands of Time: San Pedro, Ambergris Cay, 1993. Royal Ontario Archaeological Newsletter, Series 2, 52:1–4.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H. 1995a The Setting and Maya Maritime Trade. In Maya Maritime Trade, Settlement, and Populations on Ambergris Caye, Belize, edited by Thomas H. Guderjan and James F. Garber, pp. 1–8. Maya Research Program and Labyrinthos, Lancaster, California.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H. 1995b Maya Settlement and Trade on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 6:147–159.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H. 1995c Settlement Patterns and Survey Data. In Maya Maritime Trade, Settlement, and Populations on Ambergris Caye, Belize, edited by Thomas H. Guderjan and James F. Garber, pp. 9–30. Maya Research Program and Labyrinthos, Lancaster, California.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H., and Garber, James F. 1995a Maya Maritime Trade, Settlement, and Populations on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Maya Research Program and Labyrinthos, Lancaster, California.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H., and Garber, James F. 1995b Maya Trade, Settlement, and Populations on Ambergris Caye. In Maya Maritime Trade, Settlement, and Populations on Ambergris Caye, Belize, edited by Thomas H. Guderjan and James F. Garber, pp. 183–190. Maya Research Program and Labyrinthos, Lancaster, California.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H., Garber, James F., and Smith, Herman A. 1989 Maritime Trade on Ambergris Cay, Belize. In Coastal Maya Trade, edited by Heather HcKillop and Paul F. Healy, pp. 123–133. Trent University Occasional Papers in Anthropology, No. 8. Peterborough, Ontario.Google Scholar
Gunn, Joel D., Matheny, Ray T., and Folan, William J. 2002 Climate-Change Studies in the Maya Area: A Diachronic Analysis. Ancient Mesoamerica 13:79–84.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1976 Ancient Maya Civilization. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, N.J. Google Scholar
Hedges, Robert E. M. 2003 On Bone Collagen-Apatite-Carbonate Isotopic Relationships. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 13:66–79.Google Scholar
Hedges, Robert E. M., and Reynard, Linda M. 2007 Nitrogen Isotopes and the Trophic Level of Humans in Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science 34:1240–1251.Google Scholar
Hedges, Robert E. M., and Van Klinken, G. J. 2000 “Consider a Spherical Cow …”—On Modeling and Diet. In Biogeochemical Approaches to Paleodietary Analysis, edited by Stanley H. Ambrose and M. Anne Katzenberg, pp. 211–241. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Iannone, Gyles 2005 The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Maya Petty Royal Court. Latin American Antiquity 16(1):26–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jim, Susan, Ambrose, Stanley H., and Evershed, Richard P. 2004 Stable Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Differences in the Dietary Origin of Bone Cholesterol, Collagen and Apatite: Implications for Their Use in Palaeodietary Reconstruction. Geochimica et Cosmochimca Acta 68(1):61-72.Google Scholar
Keegan, William F., and DeNiro, Michael J. 1988 Stable Carbon- and Nitrogen-Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen Used to Study Coral-Reef and Terrestrial Components of Prehistoric Bahamian Diet. American Antiquity 53(2):320–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeley, Jon E., and Sandquist, D. R. 1992 Carbon: Freshwater Plants. Plant, Cell and Environment 15:1021–1035.Google Scholar
Kellner, Corina M., and Schoeninger, Margaret J. 2007 A Simple Carbon Isotope Model for Reconstructing Prehistoric Human Diet. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 133:1112–1127.Google Scholar
Kennedy, Brenda V. 1988 Variation in 13 C Values of Post-Medieval Europeans. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary.Google Scholar
Krueger, Harold W., and Sullivan, C. H. 1984 Models for Carbon Isotope Fractionation Between Diet and Bone. In Stable Isotopes in Nutrition, edited by Judith Turnland and Phyllis E. Johnston, pp. 205–220. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Landa, Diego De 1941 Landa’s Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, a Translation. Edited with notes by Alfred Tozzer. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 18.Google Scholar
Lecount, Lisa J. 2001 Like Water for Chocolate: Feasting and Political Ritual Among the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize. American Anthropologist 103(4):935–953.Google Scholar
Lee-Thorp, Julia A., and van der Merwe, Nikolaas 1991 Aspects of Chemistry of Modern and Fossil Biological Apatites. Journal of Archaeological Science 18:343–354.Google Scholar
Lee-Thorp, Julia A., van der Merwe, Nikolaas J., and Sealy, Judith C. 1989 Stable Carbon Isotope Ratio Differences Between Bone Collagen and Bone Apatite, and Their Relationship to Diet. Journal of Archaeological Science 16(6):585–599.Google Scholar
Longin, R. 1971 New Method of Collagen Extraction for Radiocarbon Dating. Nature 230:241–242.Google Scholar
Mansell, Eugenia B., Tykot, Robert H., Freidel, David A., Dahlin, Bruce H., and Ardren, Traci 2006 The Importance of Maize to the Yucatan Maya. In Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize, edited by J. E. Staller, T. R. H., and B. F. Benz, pp. 173–185. Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Marino, Bruno D., and McElroy, Michael B. 1991 Isotopic Composition of Atmospheric CO2 Inferred from Carbon in C4 Plant Cellulose. Nature 349:127–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masson, Marilyn A. 1999 Postclassic Maya Communities at Progresso Lagoon and Lagun Seca, Northern Belize. Journal of Field Archaeology 26:285–306.Google Scholar
McCutchan, James H. Jr., Lewis, William M. Jr., Kendall, Carol, and McGrath, Claire C. 2003 Variation in Trophic Shifts for Stable Isotope Ratios of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Sulfur. Oikos 102(2):378–390.Google Scholar
McHugh, Feldore 1999 Theoretical and Quantitative Approaches to the Study of Mortuary Practices. BAR International Series 785. Oxford.Google Scholar
McKillop, Heather 1995 Underwater Archaeology, Salt Production, and Coastal Maya Trade at Stingray Lagoon, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 6(3):214–228.Google Scholar
Minagawa, Masao, and Wada, Eitaro 1984 Stepwise Enrichment of 15N Along Food Chains: Further Evidence and the Relation Between δ’ 5N and Animal Age. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48:1135–1140.Google Scholar
Moholy-Nagy, Hattula 2004 Vertebrates in Tikal Burials and Caches. In Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Method and Theory, edited by Kitty Emery, pp. 193–208. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Los Angeles.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norr, Lynette 1991 Nutritional Consequences of Prehistoric Subsistence Strategies in Lower Central America. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Google Scholar
O’Leary, Marion H. 1981 Carbon Isotope Fractionation in Plants. Phytochemistry 20:553–567.Google Scholar
Parkington, John 1991 Approaches to Dietary Reconstruction in the Western Cape: Are You What You Have Eaten? Journal of Archaeological Science 18:331–342.Google Scholar
Pendergast, David M. 1986 Stability Through Change: Lamanai, Belize, from the 9th to the 17th Century. In Late Lowland Maya Civilization, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff and Wylly s Andrews, pp. 223–249. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Pendergast, David M. 1990 Up from the Dust: The Central Lowlands Postclassic as Seen from Lamanai and Marco Gonzalez, Belize. In Vision and Revision in Maya Studies, edited by Flora Clancy and Peter Harrison, pp. 169–177. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Pendergast, David M. 1992 Nobless Oblige: The Elites of Altun Ha and Lamanai, Belize. In Mesoamerican Elites: An Archaeological Assessment, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase, pp. 61–79. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma City.Google Scholar
Pendergast, David M., and Graham, Elizabeth 1987 No Site Too Small: The ROM’s Marco Gonzalez Excavations in Belize. Rotunda:34-40.Google Scholar
Pendergast, David M., and Graham, Elizabeth 1990 An Island Paradise(??): Marco Gonzalez 1990. Royal Ontario Archaeological Newsletter 41:1–4.Google Scholar
Pendergast, David M., and Graham, Elizabeth 1991 The Town Beneath the Town: 1991 Excavations at San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize. Royal Ontario Archaeological Newsletter 45:1–4.Google Scholar
Pohl, Mary 1985 The Privileges of Maya Elites: Prehistoric Vertebrate Fauna from Seibal. In Prehistoric Lowland Maya Environmental and Subsistence Economy, edited by Mary Pohl, pp. 133–145. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass achusetts.Google Scholar
Post, David M. 2002 Using Stable Isotope Methods to Estimate Trophic Position: Models, Methods and Assumptions. Ecology 83:703–718.Google Scholar
Powis, Terry G., Stanchly, Norbert, White, Christine D., Healy, Paul F., Awe, Jaime J., and Longstaffe, Fred J. 1999 A Reconstruction of Middle Preclassic Maya Subsistence Economy at Cahal Pech, Belize. Antiquity 73(280):364–376.Google Scholar
Randall, John E. 1968 Caribbean Reef Fishes. T. F. H. Publications, Jersey City.Google Scholar
Reed, David M. 1999 Cuisine from Hun-Nal-Ye. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by Christine D. White, pp. 183–196. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Rice, Don C., Rice, Prudence, and Pugh, Timothy 1998 Settlement Continuity and Change in the Central Petén Lakes Region: The Case for Zacpetén. In Anatomia de una Civilzacion, Aproximaciones Interdisciplinarias a la Cultura Maya, edited by Andrés Ciudad Ruiz, Y. Fernandez Marquinez, J. M. Garcia Campillo, M. J. Iglesias Ponce de Leon, A. Lacadena Garcia-Gallo, and L. T. Sanz Castro, pp. 207–252. Sociedad Espanola de Estudios Mayas, Madrid.Google Scholar
Roys, Ralph L. 1943 The Indian Background of Colonial Yucatan. Publication 548. Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Ruz, Alberto L. 1965 Tombs and Funerary Practices in the Maya Lowlands. In Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Pt. I, edited by Robert Wauchope. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 2. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sabloff, Jeremy A. 1992 Interpreting the Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization. In Metaarchaeology: Reflections by Archaeologists and Philosophers, edited by L. Embree, pp. 99–119. Kluwer Academic, New York.Google Scholar
Santley, Robert S., Killion, Thomas W., and Lycett, Mark T. 1986 On the Maya Collapse. Journal of Anthropological Research 42:123–159.Google Scholar
Scherer, Andrew K., Wright, Lori E., and Yoder, Cassady J. 2007 Bioarchaeological Evidence for Social and Temporal Differences in Diet at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 18(1):85–104.Google Scholar
Schimmelmann, Arndt 1985 Stable Isotopic Studies on Chitin. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, Margaret J., and Moore, Katherine 1992 Bone Stable Isotope Studies in Archaeology. Journal of World Prehistory 6(2):247–296.Google Scholar
Scholes, France V., and Roys, Ralph L. 1948 The Maya Chontal Indians of Acalan-Tixchel. Carnegie Institution Publication 560. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Schwarcz, Henry P. 1991 Some Theoretical Aspects of Isotope Paleodiet Studies. Journal of Archaeological Science 18(3):261–275.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, Henry P. 2000 Some Biochemical Aspects of Carbon Isotopic Paleodiet Studies. In Biogeochemical Approaches to Paleodietary Analysis, edited by Stanley H. Ambrose and M. Anne Katzenberg, pp. 189–209. Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science, M. J. Aitken, E. V. Sayre, and R. E. Taylor, general editors, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Shaw, Lesley C. 1999 Social and Ecological Aspects of Preclassic Maya Meat Consumption at Colha, Belize. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by Christine D. White, pp. 83–99. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Smith, Bruce N., and Epstein, Samuel 1971 Two Categories of 13C/12C Ratios of Higher Plants. Plant Physiology 47:380–384.Google Scholar
Smith, F. A., and Walker, N. A. 1980 Photosynthesis by Aquatic Plants: Effects of Unstirred Layers in Relation to Assimilation of CO2 and HCO2 − and to Carbon Isotopic Discrimination. New Phytologist 86(3):245–259.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E., and Berdan, Frances F. 2000 The Postclassic Mesoamerican World System. Current Anthropology 41:283–286.Google Scholar
Teeter, Wendy G. 2004 Animal Utilization in a Growing City: Vertebrate Exploitation at Caracol, Belize. In Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Method and Theory, edited by Kitty Emery, pp. 177–192. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Tieszen, Larry L., Boutton, Thomas W., Tesdahl, K., and Slade, N. 1983 Fractionation and Turnover of Stable Isotopes in Animal Tissues: Implications for δ13C Analysis of Diet. Oecologia 57:32–37.Google Scholar
Tieszen, Larry L., and Fagre, Tim 1993 Effect of Diet Quality and Composition on the Isotopic Composition of Respiratory CO2, Bone Collagen, Bioapatite and Soft Tissues. In Prehistoric Human Bone: Archaeology at the Molecular Level, edited by Joseph B. Lambert and Gisela Grupe, pp. 121–155. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Tykot, Robert H. 2002 Contributions of Stable Isotope Analysis to Understanding Dietary Variation Among the Maya. In Archaeological Chemistry, edited by Kathryn Jakes, pp. 214–230. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Tykot, Robert H., van der Merwe, Nikolaas J., and Hammond, Nancy 1996 Stable Isotope Analysis of Bone Collagen, Bone Apatite, and Tooth Enamel in the Reconstruction of Human Diet: A Case Study from Cuello, Belize. In Archaeological Chemistry, edited by Mark Pollard and Carl Heron, pp. 355–365. American Chemical Society Symposium Series No. 625. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
van der Merwe, Nikolaas J. 1982 Carbon Isotopes, Photosynthesis, and Archaeology. American Scientist 70:596–606.Google Scholar
van der Merwe, Nikolaas J., and Vogel, John C. 1978 13C Content of Human Collagen as a Measure of Pre-historic Diet in Woodland North America. Nature 246:815–816.Google Scholar
Van Klinken, G. J. 1999 Bone Collagen Quality Indicators for Palaeodietary and Radiocarbon Measurements. Journal of Archaeological Science 26(6):687–695.Google Scholar
Vogel, John C. 1978 Isotopic Assessment of the Dietary Habits of Ungulates. South African Journal of Science 74:298–301.Google Scholar
Vogel, John C. 1980 Fractionation of Carbon Isotopes During Photosynthesis. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Wada, Eitaro 1980 Nitrogen Isotope Fractionation and Its Significance in Biogeochemical Processes Occurring in Marine Environments. In Isotope Marine Chemistry, edited by E. D. Goldsberg, Y. Horibe, and K. Saruhaski, pp. 375–398. Uchida Rokakuhjo Pul. Co. Ltd., Tokyo.Google Scholar
Wada, Eitaro, Kadonaga, T., and Matsuo, S. 1975 l5N Abundance in Nitrogen of Naturally Occurring Substances and Global Assessment of Dentrification from Isotopic Viewpoint. Geochemistry Journal 9:139–148.Google Scholar
Walker, Phillip L., and DeNiro, Michael J. 1986 Stable Nitrogen and Carbon Isotope Ratios in Bone Collagen as Indices of Prehistoric Dietary Dependence on Marine and Terrestrial Resources in Southern California. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 71(1):51-61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, David 2002 The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Webster, David, Sanders, William T., and van Rossum, Peter 1992 A Simulation of Copán Population History and Its Implications. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:185–197.Google Scholar
White, Christine D. 2005 Gendered Food Behaviour Among the Maya. Journal of Social Archaeology 5(3):356–382.Google Scholar
White, Christine D. (editor) 1999 Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Healey, Paul F., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1993 Intensive Agriculture, Social Status, and Maya Diet at Pacbitun, Belize. Journal of Anthropological Research 49(14):347–375.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Pendergast, David M., Longstaffe, Fred J., and Law, Kimberley R. 2001 Social Complexity and Food Systems at Altun Ha, Belize: The Isotopic Evidence. Latin American Antiquity 12(4):371–393.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1989 Ancient Maya Diet: As Inferred from Isotopic and Elemental Analysis of Human Bone. Journal of Archaeological Science 16(5):451–474.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Wright, Lori E., and Pendergast, David M. 1994 Biological Disruption in the Early Colonial Period at Lamanai. In In the Wake of Contact: Biological Responses to Conquest, edited by Clark S. Larsen and George R. Milner, pp. 135–145. Wiley Liss, New York.Google Scholar
Whittington, Stephen L., and Reed, David M. 1999 Commoner Diet at Copán: Insights from Stable Isotopes and Porotic Hyperostosis. In Bones of the Maya, edited by Stephen L. Whittington and David M. Reed, pp. 157–170. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Williams, Jocelyn S. 2000 The People Who Ate the Sea: A Stable Isotopic Analysis of Diet at Marco Gonzalez and San Pedro, Belize. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Western Ontario.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E. 1997 Biological Perspectives on the Collapse of the Pasion Maya. Ancient Mesoamerica 8(2):267–273.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E. 2006 Diet, Health, and Status Among the Pasión Maya: A Reappraisal of the Collapse. Vanderbilt Institute of Mesoamerican Archaeology Series, Vol. 2. Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1996 Infrared and Isotopic Evidence for Diagenesis of Bone Apatite at Dos Pilas, Guatemala: Palaeodietary Implications. Journal of Archaeological Science 23(6):933–944.Google Scholar
Yesner, David R., Figuerero Torres, Maria Jose, Guichon, Ricardo A., and Borrero, Luis A. 2003 Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Bone and Ethno-historic Subsistence Patterns in Tierra del Fuego. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 22:279–291.Google Scholar