ABSTRACT
Environmental archaeology is a research field that investigates the relationship between humans and environments in past societies based on geological and archaeological records. Acquiring food for subsistence is a fundamental way in which humans utilize the environment. Dietary dependence on food sources can be estimated by comparing the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of humans and food resources. The Yoshigo shell mound site is located on Mikawa Bay in Aichi Prefecture. The site is dated as extending from the later part of the Late Jomon to the Final Jomon period. The marine reservoir effect needs to be corrected to properly estimate radiocarbon ages of human skeletal remains. Reconstruction of the dietary dependence on food sources using stable isotope ratios of bone collagen and tooth enamel was performed with a Bayesian isotope mixing model FRUITS. A Bayesian mixing model was able to calculate dietary dependence on four food sources in the whole diet and dietary contribution to carbon in bone collagen.
