The fatty acid composition of native food plants and animals of western Canada

In order to facilitate the identification of residues absorbed into the walls of Late Precontact vessels, a collection of more than 130 native food plants and animals from Western Canada was established. The fatty acid composition of uncooked plant and animal samples were determined using gas chromatography.Hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses show similarities in fatty acid composition of these foods which generally correspond to meaningful categories. Large mammal fat, large herbivore meat, fish, plant greens, roots and berries/seeds can be differentiated. The fatty acid composition of small mammals was more similar to plants than to large mammals.