A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF δ18Ocarb AND δ13Ccarb IN ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS TOOTH ENAMEL: PALEOCLIMATE AND DIET RECONSTRUCTION IN THE LOWER CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER VALLEY AT THE ONSET OF THE LITTLE ICE AGE

Enamel δ18Ocarb and δ13Ccarb from white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) remain under- utilized in paleoenvironmental reconstructions despite their ubiquity in North American archaeological contexts. Paired M2 and M3 molars excavated from two midden contexts at Singer-Moye, a Mississippian Period site in the Lower Chattahoochee River Valley (LCRV) of Georgia, chronicle sub-annual variation of climate and deer diet at the onset of the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1300 – 1400 CE). Serially sampled enamel δ18Ocarb from Georgia deer reflect seasonality. Enamel δ13Ccarb elucidate maize abundance, a primary crop throughout the Mississippian Period. Results of nine modern and three archaeological serially sampled M2, M3 pairs reveal a positive mean δ18O excursion (+ 3.9 ‰) between 1300 – 1400 C.E., suggesting an anomalously warm Atlantic Coastal Plain at the onset of the LIA. Mean δ13C (~ -15 ‰) across both groups indicate C3 diets, though outliers suggest interaction with anthropogenic food sources in the modern deer.