A multi‐isotope, multi‐tissue study of colonial origins and diet in New Zealand

Abstract

Objectives: Colonial period New Zealand was lauded as a land of plenty, where colonists could improve their station in life and secure a future for their families. Our understanding of colonial experience, however, is often shaped by historical records which communicate a state-sponsored version of history. This study aims to reconstruct the lives of settlers using isotopic evidence from the colonial skeletons themselves. Materials and Methods:We use skeletal remains from recently excavated colonial sites in Otago (South Island, New Zealand) to illustrate the information that can be gleaned from the isotopic analysis of individuals. We use 87 Sr/ 86 Sr to identify European settlers, and δ 13 C and δ 15 N from collagen and hair keratin, as well as dental enamel carbonate δ 13 C to trace dietary change over their life-courses.Results: Strontium isotope analysis shows that all adults in our sample are non-local.Dietary isotopes show that while most individuals had relatively consistent childhood diet, one individual with more rural origins had seasonal use of resources during 2 childhood. While some members of the population seem to have increased their meat intake in the new colony most do not have clear evidence for this. Discussion:We show the diversity of human experience in first generation New Zealanders both prior to emigration and in the new colony. Despite colonial propaganda claiming that circumstances in New Zealand were improved for all settlers, we have little evidence for this, aside from among individuals of potentially high status.

Extracting the truth through chemical analyses: Early life histories of Victorian‐era dental patients in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Enamel carbonate (δ 13 C apatite ) values plotted against dentinal collagen (δ 13 C collagen ) values. MS1‐4 (red circles) are individuals from the Dee St assemblage and MS6 is the modern individual (yellow circle), dietary lines generated using data from King et al (2020). …”

“…Comparison of Dee St 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O values plotted in reference to isotope values from the early colonial cemeteries in the Otago region from King et al (2020) and King, Buckley et al (2021). …”

“…The δ 13 C carbonate values of enamel are commonly used as a proxy for the “whole diet” during childhood because they reflect all the macronutrients in an individual's diet (i.e., lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins) (Ambrose et al, 1997; Kusaka et al, 2015; Tieszen & Fagre, 1993). As δ 13 C dentin primarily provides insight into an individual's protein diet, the use of δ 13 C dentin and δ 13 C carbonate in tandem provides greater insight into “complete” childhood diet (King et al, 2020).…”

“…Over the Victorian period, farming, waterworks and gasworks industries began to boom in Invercargill, further promoting the city's development (Bailey, 1966). Recently, bioarcheological studies of colonial period cemeteries have shed light on the lives of Victorian New Zealanders in a small number of Otago farming and gold mining communities in Lawrence (Gabriel and Ardrossan Street Cemeteries) and Milton (St John's Cemetery) (Buckley et al, 2020; King et al, 2020; King et al, 2022; King, Buckley, et al, 2021; King, Petchey, et al, 2021; Snoddy et al, 2020). However, this is the first bioarcheological investigation of Victorian era people recovered from an urban center in Aotearoa.…”

Health effects of European colonization: An investigation of skeletal remains from 19th to early 20th century migrant settlers in South Australia

“…This percentage is comparable to a cohort of adults (86%) with enamel hypoplastic defects who were migrants to Milton, New Zealand, during the 19 th century [ 100 ]. Isotopic analysis of this New Zealand cohort indicated that none of them were born locally [ 107 ], thus the health insult that caused the enamel hypoplastic defects would have occurred in their home country [ 100 ]. This is also highly likely for the adults in the St Mary’s sample.…”