Diet Analysis Examples

One example of indirect evidence of diet would be skeletal indicators of dietary insufficiency. The lack of vitamin D commonly results in rickets, the lack of vitamin C results in scurvy, and the lack of iron results in iron deficiency anemia. One thing these pathologies all share in common is that they all affect the skeletal system in one way or another. Rickets can be seen in the skeletal record by observing the cranium and bones of the leg, because the lack of vitamin D causes malabsorption of calcium which thus causes inadequate mineralization of bone in subadults. For adults, skeletal evidence is in the flattening of the cranial vault. Scurvy is most commonly seen by observing porosity on the temporal bones of the cranium and the scapulae. …show more content…
A high frequency of dental caries are associated with high carbohydrate diets and are caused by the acidic byproduct of bacteria consuming sugar residue on teeth. The True Prevalence Rate can be analyzed by looking at the number of teeth affected with carious lesions divided by the number looked at in the population. Agriculturalists generally have the higher percentage in subsistence economies as compared to hunter gatherers. As for direct evidence of diet, stable isotope analysis is the best method of determining diet. Dry bone has an organic portion of 30% and of this percentage 85% to 90% of the organic portion is collagen. Both collagen and carbonate can be used to obtain the information for stable isotope analysis. There is a debate as to what is the better tissue for usage in stable isotope analysis, and it seems to be that carbonate is the better option of the two. Collagen degrades over time and is the carbon in collagen comes from the consumed carbohydrates and proteins. Carbonate, on the other hand, can be used for much older materials and the carbon in biological apatite reflects the diet in its entirety. It also occurs in the mineral parts of the