Évolution des pratiques alimentaires en cours de vie : une étude isotopique multi-matérielle de la population du cimetière Saint-Matthew (Québec, 1771-1860)

The author evaluates if the stable isotope geochemistry of several materials of the human skeleton (bone collagen, bone apatite, dentinal collagen and enamel carbonate) can help us understand how dietary behaviours evolved in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of some forty individuals buried in Saint Matthew's Anglican Church cemetery in Quebec City. As diet is closely related to socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions, he argues that it can inform us about individual adaptation and identity through a person's lifespan. The author argues that these forty individuals maintained a European-style diet, and originated mainly from the British Isles. They also show a significant increase in C4 plant (maize, sugarcane, etc.) consumption through adulthood amongst thirty-six of the forty individuals that were analyzed, as well as a decrease of protein intake. His results also indicate a generalized tendency to keep the same dietary profile in the population through life, even if practices became less variable during adulthood. Finally, dietary behaviors show similarities with Irish and poor British populations of the same period for childhood, whereas they look more like populations from the St. Lawrence Valley later in life, particularly for protein intake. Therefore, the author concludes that the results suggest important dietary shifts for the individuals studied, possibly strongly related to their migration process and adaptive response to a new environment.

Master's Thesis

Université de Montréal

Montréal

2015

xv-118-xxx p.

fr