Isotopic evidence of inland-water fishing by a Jomon population excavated from the Boji site, Nagano, Japan

Abstract

This study presents the results of isotopic analyses on prehistoric human bones excavated from the Boji site, Nagano, Japan, which dates to the Late/Latest Jomon period. The results of δ 13C and δ 15N values of the Boji Jomon people are significantly higher than those of other inland Jomon populations, indicating a diet consisting of both terrestrial C 3foods with lower isotopic values and anadromous or aquatic fish which had higher isotopic values. This is the first empirical evidence for the importance of fishing in the Jomon subsistence in interior Japan. The estimation of protein sources using the linear programming method showed that some amount of protein should originate from fish. In order to reconstruct the subsistence of inland Jomon people, anadromous and/or freshwater fish fishing should be considered as one of staple food collecting activities in the Late Jomon period.