Isotopic evidence for diet in the Middle Chulmun period: a case study from the Tongsamdong shell midden, Korea

Abstract

This article presents the first isotopic investigation of human and animal bone remains from the Middle Chulmun (3500–2000 BC) period in southeastern Korea. We have obtained a single human and associated faunal stable carbon and nitrogen isotope results from the Tongsamdong site, a coastal shell midden. Despite the discovery of domesticated plants and the existence of large amounts of terrestrial mammal bones from the shell midden, the human and dogs we measured were heavily dependent on marine protein resources for their lives. Although our stable isotope results are based on a small number of individuals due to the lack of human remains at this period, isotopic evidence suggests the possibility that Tongsamdong people in the Middle Chulmun period depended largely on marine protein resources. This isotopic evidence is consistent with the archaeological evidence from the site.