ABSTRACT
The study of the human capacity for violence has been a major area of anthropological interest for more than a century. This chapter examines isotopic signatures preserved in human bone. Bone is a living tissue that continually remodels during life, and includes organic and inorganic components, each of which can be analyzed for their stable isotope composition. In California, ethnohistoric and ethnographic accounts are suggestive of intermittent warfare and at least a moderate level of interpersonal violence. Nitrogen isotopes reflect the general trophic level of consumed foods. In any case, stable isotope data provide a powerful tool for gaining information about the spatial location of native homelands of victims of violence. In all these respects, stable isotopes can offer a unique perspective on ancient violence that complements osteological and other studies. The presence of multiple burials showing evidence of violence from prehistoric sites is an important component of our understanding of ancient violence among hunter-gatherers.
