We report a novel method for the chromatographic separation and measurement of 
stable carbon isotope ratios (delta(13)C) of individual amino acids in hair 
proteins and bone collagen using the LC-IsoLink system, which interfaces liquid 
chromatography (LC) with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). This paper 
provides baseline separation of 15 and 13 of the 18 amino acids in bone collagen 
and hair proteins, respectively. We also describe an approach to analysing small 
hair samples for compound-specific analysis of segmental hair sections. The 
LC/IRMS method is applied in a historical context by the delta(13)C analysis of 
hair proteins and bone collagen recovered from six individuals from Uummannaq in 
Greenland. The analysis of hair and bone amino acids from the same individual, 
compared for the first time in this study, is of importance in palaeodietary 
reconstruction. If hair proteins can be used as a proxy for bone collagen at the 
amino acid level, this validates compound-specific isotope studies using hair as 
a model for palaeodietary reconstruction. Our results suggest that a small 
offset observed in the bulk delta(13)C values of the hair and bone samples may 
be attributed to two factors: (i) amino acid compositional differences between 
hair and bone proteins, and (ii) differential turnover rates of the tissues and 
the amino acid pools contributing to their synthesis. This application proposes 
that hair may be a useful complementary or alternative source of 
compound-specific paleodietary information.