Biocultural adaptation as reflected in trace element distribution

Abstract

Residents of the protohistoric American Indian King site in the state of Georgia, United States, experienced several constraints in the period between a.d. 1400 and a.d. 1800, including increased population density, increased trade contacts, diversified social status and increased reliance upon a narrow base of cultivated foods. Resultant biocultural adaptations are reflected in health and trace element distributions within the skeletal population. Few differences in elemental levels between private and public sector burials suggest that inclusion in the private sector was determined by achieved status.