Isotopic analysis of tooth enamel can identify the geographic region where an individual spent their childhood, based on the isotopic composition of the water and food they consumed.

Studies of Lagoa Santa individuals have found evidence of both residential stability — individuals who spent their lives in the same region — and of some individuals who appear to have come from elsewhere, consistent with a population that had connections to communities beyond the immediate area.

The botanical evidence from Lagoa Santa sites continues to be analyzed, providing an increasingly detailed picture of the plant foods that were used by the ancient inhabitants and of how those uses changed over time.

The early Holocene botanical record shows a diverse plant diet that included both gathered wild plants and possibly some early stages of plant management — the kinds of practices that, in some regions, eventually led to formal agriculture.