Multi-isotopic analysis of first Polynesian diet (Talasiu, Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga)

Abstract

A B S T R A C TBoth archaeological and isotopic data document dietary changes over the first five centuries of Western Pacific island settlement, a time period beginning with the Lapita expansion about 3000 years ago. This change is marked by a decrease in marine food intake and an increase in vegetal food intake occurring in the Late Lapita/ immediately post-Lapita populations. The recent discovery of human burials at Talasiu (~2700-2600 cal. BP) in the Kingdom of Tonga opens new opportunities to assess this matter. We characterize the nature of the food items consumed by the Talasiu humans (n = 21) using collagen and apatite carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. We conducted an intra-Pacific comparison to examine the use of marine resources and the contribution of horticultural products and to look at the homogeneity of dietary practices within the Tongan group. Isotope results indicate a mixed diet of terrestrial and marine resources including a differential contribution of more specific marine foods (e.g., non-reef fish/inshore fish and shellfish). The Talasiu dietary pattern appears closer to that of the early Lapita population of Teouma than to other Late Lapita populations suggesting a different pattern of dietary change at the eastern end of the Lapita distribution. The slower rate of change may be due to the small size of both the island and the population, and also the additional potential role of social or cultural factors.

Mortuary practices of the first Polynesians: formative ethnogenesis in the Kingdom of Tonga

“…Ancient DNA analyses of the petrous bones from three individuals indicate an Asian ancestry that no longer exists in an unmixed form (Skoglund et al 2016; Posth et al 2018). Isotope analyses suggest that inshore and coastal marine foods formed the predominant dietary staple, which is consistent with the lagoon-edge location of the burials (Herrscher et al 2018).…”

Exploring diet in an isolated medieval rural community of Northern Iberia: The case study of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Soria, Spain)

“…Nitrogen isotope values determine the position in the trophic chain of herbivores and carnivores and may provide clues about the intake of animal protein (DeNiro and Epstein, 1981;Hedges and Reynard, 2007;O'Connell et al, 2012;Schoeninger, 1985). The combined study of these isotopes yields information on the consumption of terrestrial or marine resources (Herrscher et al, 2018;Schoeninger et al, 1983;Schoeninger and DeNiro, 1984;Larsen, 2015).…”

Bone loss markers in the earliest Pacific Islanders

“…Further, poorly mineralised 21 archaeological deciduous teeth obtained from infant skeletons excavated at ‘Atele in Tonga also indicated developmental disturbances in dental enamel linked to physiological stress arising from possible infections and nutritional deficiencies 92 . Stable isotope data extracted from archaeological human Tongan bone suggested diets to be predominantly based on starchy and marine food sources 83 , 93 . Selection of a wider variety of food sources would have been limited by the island size in addition to norms arising from social organisation 83 .…”

“…Stable isotope data extracted from archaeological human Tongan bone suggested diets to be predominantly based on starchy and marine food sources 83 , 93 . Selection of a wider variety of food sources would have been limited by the island size in addition to norms arising from social organisation 83 . Another site in Tonga, ca.…”

“…The 2,650 BP archaeological site of Talasiu in the Kingdom of Tonga is one of the most significant sites ever uncovered in the Pacific 81 , 82 . This site has previously produced the first evidence for Early Polynesian mortuary behaviour 81 , 82 , archaeological Polynesian diet relying on marine resources 83 , and insights into the abandonment of ceramics by early Polynesian people 84 . We set out to test whether archaeological Tongan human bone would show evidence of abnormal bone loss marked by sex-specific differences.…”