ABSTRACT

We determined the stable nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) of amino acids in bone collagen from samples of three archaeological herbivores (cattle, sheep, and goats), collected from the Tell Ain el-Kerkh Neolithic site in Syria. Bulk collagen δ¹⁵N values exhibited significant differences between the three species (by up to 3.2‰), and were strongly correlated with those of glycine (R² = 0.87), the most abundant amino acid in bone collagen. On the other hand, the δ¹⁵N values of two other minor amino acids (glutamic acid and phenylalanine) in the different samples were within narrow ranges (0.9‰ and 0.5‰, respectively), and exhibited either weak or no correlation with those of bulk collagen. The trophic position estimated by the δ¹⁵N values of glutamic acid and phenylalanine (2.0 ± 0.1) is consistent with that of herbivores. These results suggest that the δ¹⁵N values of bulk bone collagen may vary among herbivores, partly on account of their differing amino acid compositions, whereas the trophic position of different herbivores is faithfully preserved in the δ¹⁵N values of glutamic acid and phenylalanine.