Hair grows at a roughly consistent rate — approximately one centimeter per month — and preserves the dietary isotope signature of the period during which each segment grew.

Analyzing hair segment by segment can reveal dietary changes over the months preceding death.

The analysis of Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi’s hair suggested dietary shifts in the period before his death — changes consistent with a person who had recently moved from a coastal or coast-connected environment toward a more interior diet, or who was transitioning between different food sources as he traveled.

The stomach contents confirmed that his most recent meals had included salmon.