近年來考古學研究應用地球化學的方法,分析放射性鍶(^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr)同位素比值來探討人群遷徙、社會組織的相關研究日益增加,並有許多成功的案例;而臺灣目前仍未見具體的研究案例。筆者於2009年曾以臺南市「石橋遺址」蔦松文化之出土人骨進行「齒冠測量值多變量分析」,獲得臺灣鐵器時代蔦松文化蔦松期(1500~1200年B.P.)表現出「偏向父系的双系社會」之研究結果。在這個結論之下,本研究同樣以石橋遺址的出土人骨為分析材料(12具),進一步檢驗是否能與鍶同位素分析的結果吻合以重覆驗證。本研究以牙齒琺瑯質進行^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr鍶同位素分析,實驗數據顯示男性間的比值較為趨近,未成年個體與男性比值趨近,女性間則差異較大,此分析結果與齒冠測值分析所建立的親屬關係模式一致。然而,地區環境的鍶同位素基礎資料仍不足,雖然已可見到性別上的趨勢,也推測應有來自不同區域以女性為主的人群。但這個研究成果在區域之鍶同位素比值範圍仍不明、實驗分析個體數稍嫌不足的情況下,仍期待進一步累積相關資料。
In 2009 morphological study of dental crown measurements were made on 162 individuals of the Shiqiao site in Tainan, Taiwan which dated to Niaosong phase of the Niaosung Culture (1200~1500B.P.). The evidence comparing the genetic homogeneity of males versus females suggests a post-marital residential pattern for Shiqiao site that might not be simply either matrilocal or patrilocal. Rather, the best explanation is a bilocal residential pattern with a patrilocal bias. Analysis of ^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr isotopic ratio is expected to approximate the same result. Sr isotopic analysis of twelve individuals revealed significant differences in sex and age cohort. Male individuals are more homogeneous than female. In the meanwhile, subadults are homogeneous and closer to male individuals. This result matched the bilocal residential pattern with a patrilocal bias model which built by dental crown measurements. But, this research is still controversial that may be due to the small sample size and local range of Sr isotopes has yet to be established. We are expecting to accumulate more strontium isotope data to concrete the inference in this study.