In 1971, a woman’s body was found floating through Lake Panasoffkee in central Florida. Local detectives were able to extract very little information from the scene: Jane Doe was roughly 17 to 24 years old, potentially white or Native American, and seemed to have previously given birth (Phipps 2018). After much investigation, the authorities found only a belt wrapped around the victim’s neck, but otherwise no other evidence of her identity or killer. Jane Doe—otherwise known as “Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee”—was subsequently buried in anonymity. However, just over a decade later, the young woman was exhumed and examined once more, this time with the power of archaeology on her side.

Figure 1 – University of South Florida’s approximate reconstruction of Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee (Gordon 2012).

To gather more information, Dr. Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist and bioarchaeologist at the University of South Florida, employed archaeological techniques: rather than simply studying food residue, which might not survive over time, she used isotopic analysis on Jane Doe’s teeth. Through this method, she was able to inspect the minerals and particles within the enamel of Jane Doe’s teeth and found traces of lead (Gordon 2012). Because teeth only absorb isotopes during the years in which they are still in development, it was imperative to consider this data within the context of Jane Doe’s childhood (estimated to be around 1950). Both the United States and Europe used leaded gasoline at this time, allowing traces of lead to infiltrate soil and food, eventually making its way into tooth enamel. However, each had a different source and thus a different signature. The signature of Jane Doe’s lead-infused enamel was compatible with Europe’s lead signature, insinuating the victim to have originally hailed from Europe (Phipps 2012). Further investigation of the teeth revealed a large presence of oxygen isotopes, suggesting she had lived in an area with a coastline like Greece (Gordon 2012).

Figure 2 – diagram of isotope consumption with strontium as an example (Machicek 2013).

Although Jane Doe has yet to be fully identified, this data brings the authorities one step closer to cracking her case: from the teeth alone, anthropologists were able to estimate her place of origin. The effects of isotopic analysis cannot be overstated: other disciplines—such as forensic anthropology in the case Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee—have even begun to adopt this type of archaeological method. Through isotopic analysis, it is possible to not only reconstruct an individual’s diet, but also their geographic origin. Thus, the significance of this technique lies in its ability to inform us on one’s environment. In essence, isotopic analysis of teeth does not only aid archaeologists in interpreting sites of the past, but can also help enforce justice in the present.

Reference List:

Gordon, James

2012 Isotope Analysis Provides Clues in a Florida Cold Case. Electronic document, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/science/isotope-analysis-provides-clues-in-a-florida-cold-case.html, accessed November 23, 2019. 

Phipps, Jordyn

2018 Who Is Little Miss Panasoffkee?. Electronic document, https://www.theodysseyonline.com/little-miss-panasoffkee, accessed November 23, 2019.

Images:

Figure 1:

Gordon, James

2012 Isotope Analysis Provides Clues in a Florida Cold Case. Electronic document, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/science/isotope-analysis-provides-clues-in-a-florida-cold-case.html, accessed November 23, 2019.

Figure 2:

Machicek, Michelle

2013 Isotope Analysis Time Team America. Electronic document, https://www.pbs.org/time-team/experience-archaeology/isotope-analysis/, accessed November 23, 2019.

Further Reading:

To read more on the science behind isotopic analysis of teeth and its applications:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4541412/

To read more on overlapping techniques of archaeology and forensics:

https://daily.jstor.org/forensic-archaeology/

In general, the Neolithic Period is universally known to mark the rise of crop farming and animal domestication, activities not many modern day people can relate to. However, what most do not know is that we share a vital part of our lives with these prehistoric people: the consumption of milk.

A study conducted by the University of York has revealed new evidence that proposes milk consumption to have dated back over 6,000 years ago (Garner 2014). The University’s team obtained the teeth of ten Neolithic Britons from three different areas of southern England and analyzed their calcified dental plaque (Ewbank 2019). Through mass spectrometry and proteomic analysis, archaeologists found traces of beta lactoglobulin, a protein found in animal milk, in seven of these British farmers’ enamel, making this the earliest known evidence of humanity’s milk consumption (Solly 2019).

Figure 1: University of York scientists preparing a plaque sample (David 2019).

Figure 2: plaque on teeth being analyzed for milk proteins (Gramling 2019).

The importance of this find lies in its support of earlier claims and in its help in depicting the conditions of the Neolithic Period in the area now known as England. For one, since the ten Neolithic farmers who produced the dental plaque came from three different sites as opposed to just one, York’s archaeologists could safely conclude that dairy consumption was more widespread than originally thought without “[making] assumptions based on [their] own experience” (Renfrew and Bahn 2018). In addition, pottery priorly found by archaeologists already suggested that humans had consumed milk products, but direct evidence linking human ingestion of this milk was lacking. However, because teeth normally survive in good condition, scientists have been able to directly trace dairy consumption to humans with this new evidence, proving a cultural pattern that had long been unsupported. Furthermore, these farmers seem to precede the era in which humans began to be able to digest lactose; most people in southern England during the Neolithic Period were lactose intolerant (Solly 2019). However, because of the beta lactoglobulin found along the teeth, it can be inferred that these Neolithic farmers either drank their milk in small increments or somehow manipulated it for easier consumption (i.e. processing it into cheese, yogurt, etc). Thus, the dental evidence shows the conditions of part of these Neolithic farmers’ diets and how they adapted to their environment.

In essence, the unique preservational characteristics of teeth have lead archaeologists to consider the past’s relationship with milk in a new way. Therefore, the dental remains of these farmers gives us more insight about Neolithic life; in relation to curating archaeological records, teeth function as a window to the past.

Reference List:

Ewbank, Anne

2019 Found: The Earliest Direct Evidence of Milk Consumption. Electronic document, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/when-did-humans-start-drinking-milk, accessed September 28, 2019. 

Garner, David

2014 Ancient Dental Plaque: A “Whey” Into Our Milk Drinking Past. Electronic document, https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2014/research/ancient-dental-plaque/, accessed September 28, 2019. 

Renfrew, Colin, and Bahn, Paul

2018 How Were Societies Organized?. In Archaeology Essentials(Theories/Methods/Practice), Thames & Hudson. Fourth ed. 

Solly, Meilan

2019 Prehistoric Farmers’ Teeth Show Humans Were Drinking Animal Milk 6,000 Years Ago. Electronic document, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/prehistoric-farmers-teeth-show-humans-were-drinking-animal-milk-6000-years-ago-180973101/, accessed September 28, 2019.

Images:

Figure 1:

Garner, David

2014 Ancient Dental Plaque: A “Whey” Into Our Milk Drinking Past. Electronic document, https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2014/research/ancient-dental-plaque/, accessed September 28, 2019. 

Figure 2:

Gramling, Carolyn
2019 Tooth Plaque Shows Drinking Milk Goes Back 3,000 Years in Mongolia. Electronic document, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tooth-plaque-shows-drinking-milk-goes-back-3000-years-mongolia, accessed September 29, 2019.

Further Reading:

To read more on material evidence of milk consumption:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/09/25/764243209/prehistoric-babies-drank-animal-milk-from-a-bottle

To read more on the science of beta lactoglobulin and how it is used in archaeology:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/beta-lactoglobulin