Abstract
Dietary homogenization has progressed worldwide due to westernization and the globalization of food production systems. We investigated dietary heterogeneity in South Korea by examining the spatial distribution of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) isotope ratios using 264 human hair samples. Overall, variation in isotope values was small, indicating low dietary heterogeneity. We detected differences in δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values between administrative provinces and metropolitan cities; inter-regional differences were typically < 1 ‰. Values of δ34S were significantly lower in hair samples from inland regions relative to those from coastal locations, and a similar pattern was observed in δ15N values. Understanding geographic variation in δ34S and δ15N values in human hair is useful for provenancing humans in South Korea.
Highlights
Stable isotope analyses of bio-elements, including carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), and sulfur (S), are commonly used to investigate the dietary protein sources consumed by both contemporary and past human populations [1,2,3,4]
Building from the recently published H and O isoscapes created using human hair samples from South Korea [16, 17], we investigated spatial distributions of δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values in human hair samples to extend the applicability of isotopes for human provenancing using a multi-isotope approach
We collected 264 human scalp hair samples across South Korea to investigate dietary heterogeneity and spatial variation in C, N, and S isotopes at a national scale
Summary
Stable isotope analyses of bio-elements, including carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), and sulfur (S), are commonly used to investigate the dietary protein sources consumed by both contemporary and past human populations [1,2,3,4]. Valenzuela et al [2] demonstrated distinct geographic pattern in δ34S values in the USA using human hair samples, where inland values were much lower than those from coastal regions. These regional differences can be applied in forensic provenancing studies [2, 18, 19]. Building from the recently published H and O isoscapes created using human hair samples from South Korea [16, 17], we investigated spatial distributions of δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values in human hair samples to extend the applicability of isotopes for human provenancing using a multi-isotope approach. We compared isotope ratios from the Korean hair samples with those from other countries to characterize dietary protein sources in Korea in a global context
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