Seeking their fortunes on the Otago goldfields, New Zealand – Constructing isotopic biographies of colonial goldminers

Abstract

The nineteenth century New Zealand goldfields were a place where people from across the world came together in search of their fortunes. Written accounts of life on the diggings do exist but are of varying veracity and we therefore have little knowledge of the life experiences of those who came seeking gold. Recent excavations in cemeteries associated with the Otago goldrushes, however, are allowing direct reconstruction of lives using biological evidence from the skeletons themselves. In this study we use dietary isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of tissues which form at different points in the life course of an individual to create ‘isotopic biographies’ of goldrush-era individuals. In addition to telling the individual stories of these people, we also highlight differences in life experience between members of the European and Chinese communities, evidence for seasonal availability of resources on the goldfields, as well as unusual weaning patterns which potentially link to rural poverty experienced during childhood.