Anat Cell Biol.  2014 Dec;47(4):244-252. 10.5115/acb.2014.47.4.244.

Stable isotope analysis of Joseon people skeletons from the cemeteries of Old Seoul City, the capital of Joseon Dynasty

• Yu JA
• Oh CS
• Hong JH
• Min SR
• Oh SW
• Kim YS
• Park JB
• Shin DH

• KMID: 1882603
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.2014.47.4.244

Abstract

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis reveals the diets of different human populations in history. In this study, we performed stable isotope analysis on human skeletons from Joseon-period cemeteries discovered around Old Seoul City (Hansung). Our data clearly showed that Joseon individuals consumed more C3-based than C4-based foods as the main staples, and that the proteins they ate were mainly of terrestrial, but not of marine origin. Stable isotope values exhibited unique patterns in each of our sample subgroups. Whereas the delta13C values did not show any statistical differences among the subgroups, significantly higher values of delta15N were found in males than in females, which might reflect dietary differences between the sexes. For a fuller understanding of the dietary patterns of pre-industrial (pre-20th century) Koreans, additional studies on Joseon samples from Korean archaeological sites will be necessary.

Keyword

Stable isotope analysis; Human bones; Nitrogen; Carbon; Joseon Dynasty

MeSH Terms

Carbon
Cemeteries*
Diet
Female
Humans
Male
Nitrogen
Seoul
Skeleton*
Carbon
Nitrogen

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Examples of skeletons used in this study. (A) SN 2-8. (B) EP C-8. SN, Sinnae; EP, Eunpyeong.

• 

  Fig. 2 (A) Box plot for δ13C (‰), exhibiting median, 1st and 3rd quartiles, the lowest datum still within the 1st quartile-1.5×IQR and the highest datum still within of the 3rd quartile+1.5×IQR. Mild outlier is seen beyond inner fence. (B) Box plot for δ13N (‰). No outliers were found.

• 

  Fig. 3 Distribution of δ13C and δ15N values. (A) Analysis by sex. Gray dots for males; black dots for females. Mean±standard deviations are marked for male mean, female mean and adult mean. (B) Analysis by cemeteries. Black dots for Eunpyeong (EP); gray dots for Sinnae (SN). Mean±standard deviation are marked for EP mean, SN mean and adult mean. (C) Analysis by age groups. Light gray dots for young-aged; black dots for middle-aged; gray dots for old-aged. Mean±standard deviation are marked for young-aged mean, middle-aged mean, old-aged mean and adult mean.

• 

  Fig. 4 Bar plot (mean and standard deviation) for δ13C (A) and δ15N (B) isotope ratios of female and male from different cemeteries (Eunpyeong [EP] and Sinnae [SN]). (A) No statistical differences in δ13C values between males and females of both cemeteries. (B) Significant difference detected between females between both cemeteries while males of both cemeteries did not show the difference. **P<0.01.

• 

  Fig. 5 Mean±standard deviation of the δ13C and δ15N values from Joseon cemetery samples of this study. Mean±standard deviation of isotope ratios reported for Japanese food groups are shown as dotted squares. C3, C3 plants; C4, C4 plants; TM, terrestrial mammals; AF, aquatic fishes; MS, marine shellfishes; MF, marine fishes; MM, marine mammals.

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