From cradle to grave: multi-isotopic investigations on the life history of a higher-status female from Edo-period Japan

The life history of a female individual skeleton (ST61) from the Edo period (AD 1603–1868) was investigated by using multi-tissue and multi-isotope analyses. Her gravestone and historical documents revealed that ST61 was a grandmother of a chief retainer of the Akashi clan who died in 1732 aged 77 years. Radiocarbon and sulfur stable isotope analyses indicated that the contribution of marine foods to the ST61 diet was relatively low (17.2%...