ABSTRACT
This chapters presents the isotope which are all focused upon the use of stable isotope analyses to characterize and quantifies the use of maize in human diet in the Americas. It exploits the fact that maize utilizes the Hatch-Slack, or C4 photosynthetic pathway, whereas the majority of wild plants utilized either as cultigens or consumed by herbivorous sources of protein utilize the Calvin-Benson, or C3 pathway. In general, there are good prospects for expanded and more detailed analyses of carbon isotopes in human tissues. But these must be set against the increasing sensitivity of native groups in North America and possibly in other regions to the scientific analysis of the remains of their ancestors. Through analysis of specific essential and non-essential amino acids, researchers can better test the extent to which an individual has depended on ingested proteins to supply the non-essential amino acids need in the synthesis of collagen.
