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Abstract Stable nitrogen isotopes have been used to reconstruct infant feeding practices as nursing infants have elevated δ 15 N ratios compared with their mothers. However, infancy is also a time of rapid growth, which may alter nitrogen isotope diet‐to‐tissue spacing. Several studies have documented a decrease in δ 15 N during growth in tissues with relatively fast accretion rates. This study investigates the effect that the growth of long bones, via collagen accretion, has on δ 15 N ratios. Long bones from individuals aged seven to nineteen years were obtained from a protohistoric ossuary in Ontario, Canada. Analysis of juveniles and adolescents permitted the examination of growth in a group who were not also nursing. It is concluded that a nitrogen isotope growth effect is not detectable in bone collagen from juveniles and adolescents, because: (1) δ 15 N ratios are not significantly different among the epiphyses, metaphyses and diaphysis of a growing long bone; (2) δ 15 N ratios are not significantly different between faster‐growing versus slower‐growing metaphyses; and (3) δ 15 N ratios are not significantly different between bones (or areas of a bone) that are still undergoing growth, versus bones that have ceased growing. The relatively slow speed of collagen accretion may explain why a growth effect is not manifested. Ultimately this research lends support to the use of nitrogen isotopes from bone collagen for infant feeding reconstructions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Waters‐Rist et al. (Fri,) studied this question.