{"id":20795,"date":"2017-02-07T15:33:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T20:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencescosmaincms.cm.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=20795"},"modified":"2017-02-07T15:33:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T20:33:44","slug":"digging-up-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/digging-up-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Digging up the Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"J. Marla Toyne<\/a>, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Central Florida\u2019s Department of Anthropology<\/a>, uses ancient and modern human and animal tissues to study dietary and migration patterns of the past.<\/p>\n

In the Laboratory for Bioarchaeological Sciences<\/a>, located in the basement of the Math and Sciences Building, Toyne uses samples from archaeological sites from around the world to conduct her investigations.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom each site or cemetery we select samples that represent the population to look at variation and possible changes over time,\u201d said Toyne. \u201cI\u00a0currently have samples from Ecuador and the coast and highlands of Peru.\u201d<\/p>\n

The information gathered through the samples is used to better understand the evolution of agricultural practices, land use, environmental change and socio-economic status differences among individuals and communities. Toyne is also able to trace the movement of people and diversity within communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cGroups were more variable and diverse in the past than we thought,\u201d said Toyne. \u201cAnd people moved greatly across the landscape for various reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Toyne discovered that during times of great social change, such as the development of the Inca Empire, people responded to the shift by altering their diet or migrating to new places.<\/p>\n

Collaborative research projects are ongoing in the lab under the supervision of the Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Tosha Dupras, Ph.D., and Lecturer in the department, Lana Williams, Ph.D., along with their graduate and undergraduate students.<\/p>\n

Most recently, her research<\/a> on the dietary and mobility patterns of the Chachapoya people in Peru was published in the\u00a0American\u00a0Journal of Physical Anthropology<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Studying the diet of ancient societies is telling of how people lived. For instance, some societies valued animal protein, so only certain people were allowed to eat meat or it was saved for special feasting events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can see if everyone living at sites ate the same things or if some people had more privileged access to specific food than others,\u201d said Toyne.<\/p>\n

Analyzing a civilization\u2019s diet helps to understand more than just the meals that they ate, it also tells a story of the lifestyle they lived.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne important difference we\u2019ve seen in the Peruvian samples is between men and women,\u201d said Toyne. \u201cWomen were more likely to have moved to the site and often had different diets than the men. This suggests that women migrated to find partners in the past, often traveling great distances and potentially joining new or different ethnic groups to create multi-ethnic communities and new socio-political alliances among regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research\u00a0also explores the relationship between diet and health. By testing individuals with different types of skeletal diseases, Toyne can see how their health problems affected their diet and how societies responded.<\/p>\n

Toyne\u2019s work is funded in part by the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Magazine recently featured her work conducted in the highlands of Peru in a video on its Facebook. View video<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n