Skip to contentScholarGate
LibraryBookshelfDeskReview StudioAssistant
Sign in
Isotope Diet Reconstruction/Evidence
Method evidence record

Isotope Diet Reconstruction

Isotope diet reconstruction uses the stable isotope ratios of carbon (C13/C12) and nitrogen (N15/N14) in human bone collagen to infer the composition of past diets. Pioneered by Margaret Schoeninger and Michael DeNiro in the 1980s, this method reveals long-term dietary patterns by analyzing the chemical signature of food absorbed into skeletal tissues. Stable isotopes provide quantitative information about the relative contributions of terrestrial versus marine foods, and between plant and animal sources, making it a powerful tool for understanding past subsistence practices.

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Source record

Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.

Isotope Diet Reconstruction
Taxonomic method record · process-pipeline / archaeology
  • Schoeninger, M. J., & DeNiro, M. J. (1983). Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 47(4), 625-639. · DOI 10.1016/0016-7037(84)90091-7
  • Ambrose, S. H. (1990). Preparation and characterization of bone and tooth collagen for isotopic analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science, 17(4), 431-451. · DOI 10.1016/0305-4403(90)90007-R
  • Katzenberg, M. A. (2008). Stable isotope analysis: a tool for studying past diet, demography, and life history. In M. A. Katzenberg & S. R. Saunders (Eds.), Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton (pp. 413-441). Wiley-Liss. · URL
Open full method

Curated claims

Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.

No curated claims yet

This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.

Related methods

Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.

Same method familyDental Microwear Texture Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyMinimum Number of Individualsmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyStrontium Provenancemachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyUse-Wear Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.

Evidence status

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Bibliographic sources are present. Claim-level evidence review has not been performed.

Sources

3 recorded citations, copied from the method source record.

Actions

Open method page
ScholarGate

A content-first reference library for research methods — what each one is, how it works, and where it comes from.

Open data (CC-BY)

Explore

  • Library
  • Search the library…
  • Browse by field
  • Fields
  • Journey
  • Compare
  • Which method?

Reference

  • Subjects
  • Atlas
  • Glossary
  • Methodology
  • Philosophy

Your tools

  • Bookshelf
  • Desk
  • Chat

Company

  • About
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Suggest a method

Entries are compiled from published sources for reference. Verifying the accuracy and suitability of any information for your own use remains your responsibility.

© 2026 ScholarGate · A research-method reference library
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms
  • Delete account