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pg 10 There is little archaeological information on the subsistence practices of populations occupying... during the period from ..., such as those in the vicinity of .... pg 13 Certain categories of foods including plants with C\-3\-, C\-4\-, or CAM photosynthetic pathways {Smith and Epstein 1971
Smith 1972}, animals feeding on a single category of those plants {Vogel 1978
DeNiro and Epstein 1978
van der Merwe 1982
Ambrose and DeNiro 1986}, and animals in the terrestrial versus marine ecosystems {Chisholm et al 1982
Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984
Keegan and DeNiro 1988
Norr 1991} typically differ predictably in their stable carbon isotope (<sup>13<\sup>C/\-12\-C) compositions. Plants with a C\-3\- photsynthetic pathway include most temperate grasses, trees, fruits, and tubers, and C\-4\- plants are usually tropical grasses like corn, marine fish and invertebrates {Norr 1991}, some amaranths, chenopods, and setarias. CAM plants include many succulents and epiphytes. Seagrasses are isotopically similar to C\-4\- plants {Benedict et al 1980}, and algae and plantkon have C<sup>13<\sup>/C<sup>12<\sup> ratios like C\-3\- plants {Deines 1980}. Legumes versus other terrestrial plants {DeNiro and Epstein 1981
Norr 1991} and marine versus terrestrial fauna {Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984
Norr 1991} usually differ in their stable nitrogen isotope (<sup>15<\sup>N/<sup>14<\sup>N) composition, but reef fish may be an exception {Keegan and DeNiro 1988}. The isotope composition of the diet is incorporated into various body tissues such bone collagen {DeNiro and Epstein 1978, 1981
van der Merwe 1982
Ambrose and Norr ?1996?}, and diet-related isotopic signatures may preserved for hundreds or thousands of years in the organic fraction of bone {van der Merwe and Vogel 1978
DeNiro 1985
Ambrose 1990, 1993}. Ratios of stable carbon ( C<sup>13<\sup>/C<sup>12<\sup>) and nitrogen (<sup>15<\sup>N/<sup>14<\sup>N) isotopes are reported as a delta (delta) value in parts per mil () relative to reference standards, the Peedee belemite (PDB) for carbon and atmospheric nitrogen (AIR) for nitrogen. pg 14 Studies have shown that neotropical coastal environments offer human populations a wide range of subsistence opportunities {Stark and Vorhees 1978}. pg 15 High delta<sup>15<\sup>N values result from the consumption of lake fish, and high (less negative delta<sup>13<\sup>C values after AD 1000 reflect maize consumption. subtropical and marine environments are isotopically complex.
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