Determination of paleo diet by trace element analysis in Van Castle Mound society

The subject of the thesis is to determine the nutritional status of the population in 30 adult females, 10 animal bones and 18 soil samples from the skeletons obtained from the Van Castle Mound. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the nutritional habits of Van Castle Mound society, whether there is a gender difference in nutritional habits and to contribute to paleopathological studies related to nutrition on the society. The data obtained in this study were evaluated in terms of age and gender. Necessary statistical analyzes were performed on the findings. As a result of the data obtained from the study, it can be said that female individuals are fed more vegetable origin than male individuals and that there is a tendency towards meat-weighted nutrition with increasing age. High values of some elements in soil and animal samples taken from the investigated area suggest that diagenesis may be present. In this thesis, it is a preliminary study, although the number of samples is low and the target data cannot be reached clearly considering that a diagenesis occurs in the elements observed in human bones. Key Words: Trace Element Analysis, Paleodiet, Van Castle Mound