Paleonutritional and paleodietary survey on prehistoric humans from Las Canadas del Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands) based on chemical and histological analysis of bone

The aim of the present study is to perform a paleodietary and paleonutritional survey on 17 individuals buried in accordance with the prehispanic ritual in the central plateau of the island Tenerife, called Las Canadas del Teide. We recorded hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon isotope compositions of human bone collagen, bone barium and strontium, and histomorphometrically assessed trabecular bone mass (TBM). Bone trace elements and IBM were compared with reference data derived from a modern sample consisting of 13 individuals. In addition, delta N-15 and delta C-13 values were determined in several modern indigenous plants, bone collagen of prehistoric domestic animals (goat and pig), and prehistoric wild animals (a giant lizard, Gallotia goliath and a giant rat. Canaryomis bravoi), which represent food sources potentially consumed by the prehistoric population of the Island. The carbon stable isotope composition of bone collagen ranged between -20.5 and -18.6 parts per thousand (VPDB), indicating a diet based on C-3 plants. Nitrogen isotope values ranged from 8.2 to 12.4 parts per thousand (AIR), suggesting a general meat-enriched diet, most likely domestic goats, of higher level consumers. Hydrogen isotope values ranged from -18 to +4%parts per thousand, whereas log Ba/Sr was greater than -0.40 in the vast majority of cases. IBM showed a tendency to osteoporosis in 30% of the individuals analyzed. C-14 dating showed that two burial sites, including 5 individuals, belonged to the post-conquest era (after the 15th century), despite a fully "prehispanic" burial ritual, which lends credenceto the oral tradition that some of the prehispanic population fled to the highlands at the time of the Spanish conquest, and lived there during decades or even centuries. These individuals showed lower delta D, delta C-13 and delta N-15, and higher log Ba/Sr values than those buried before the Spanish conquest, suggesting dietary differences between the two groups. Also, women showed a trend to a higher consumption of vegetables than men. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.