Search for: All records

We examine how Late Holocene people living at the ancestral Ohlone site of Yakmuy ‘Ooyákma-tka (“Place of the East Ridge Site” [CA-SCL-215]) interacted with their environment based on the foods they consumed. We examine dietary variation among 32 individuals buried at the site, located within the current city of San Jose. Radiocarbon dates indicate that Yakmuy ‘Ooyákma-tka spans the M4 phase of the Middle Period through the first half of the Middle to Late Period Transition (870 and 1170 ACE). This study examines carbon and nitrogen isotopes to provide insight into dietary variation, focusing especially on differences by sex and age. We show that Yakmuy ‘Ooyákma-tka inhabitants consumed mainly low trophic level resources, consistent with an almost entirely vegetarian based diet. Dietary variation among males and females follows a distinct life history pattern wherein dietary proteins increased markedly in females during their reproductive years and declined in their older years.