Dating and Stable Isotope Analysis of Charred Residues from Neolithic Sites in the Primorye, Russian Far East

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 565-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dai Kunikita ◽  
Alexander N Popov ◽  
Boris V Lazin ◽  
Kazuki Morisaki ◽  
Hiroyuki Matsuzaki

AbstractThis study attempts to reconstruct food habits through carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotope analysis and C/N analysis of charred residues inside pottery from the Primorye in the Russian Far East (Luzanova Sopka 2, Sergeyevka 1, Boisman 2, and Vetka 2 sites). Dates were obtained that were from the later stages of the Rudnaya culture (6980–6485 BP, 7800–7400 cal BP), proto-Boisman type (6760–6330 BP, 7600–7300 cal BP), Boisman culture (6155–4720 BP, 7100–5400 cal BP), and Vetka culture (6030–5870 BP, 6900–6700 cal BP). There are major differences in the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios between inland sites (δ13C –26.9 to –30.0‰, δ15N 7.6 to 9.3‰) and coastal sites (δ13C –18.1 to –24.2‰, δ15N 9.5 to 14.9‰). The results show that the diet of inland cultures consisted primarily of freshwater fish and terrestrial animals and plants, whereas that of coastal cultures consisted mainly of marine organisms.

1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley H. Ambrose ◽  
Michael J. DeNiro

AbstractStable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios have been determined for tooth collagen of 27 prehistoric herbivores from a rock shelter in the central Rift Valley of Kenya. Collagen samples whose isotope ratios were not altered by diagenesis were identified using several analytical methods. During the later Holocene, when the climate was as dry or drier than at present, the isotopic compositions of individual animals are similar to those of modern individuals of the same species. During the earlier Holocene, when the climate was wetter than at present, the δ15N and δ13C values are lower than those for their modern counterparts. When diagenetic factors can be discounted and adequate modern comparative data are available, stable isotope analysis of herbivore teeth and bones can be used to evaluate prehistoric climate and habitat conditions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie J. Reitsema ◽  
Tomasz Kozłowski

Abstract The 1st-4th c. AD Wielbark culture of Eastern Europe is relatively understudied bioarchaeologically due to the fragmentary nature of its cemeteries. Here, we report the first stable isotope analysis of Wielbark diet using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures from both collagen and carbonate of 30 individuals from Rogowo, a 2nd c. Wielbark cemetery in North-Central Poland. Diet at Rogowo was primarily based on terrestrial foods and included millet, a C4 plant cultivated by many Slavic populations in Europe. Anadromous fish likely supplemented the diet, which is clarified when considering collagen and carbonate data in tandem. Stable isotope differences between the sexes indicate that men and women may have consumed different foods, although there is a possibility that women immigrated to Rogowo from an isotopically different region of Europe. No significant differences are noted in δ13C or δ15N of women with and without grave goods, suggesting little social differentiation within the Wielbark culture, at least in terms of daily food access. Reconstructing human diet in Europe through stable isotope analysis is problematic because of the relative isotopic homogeneity in this region of the world. This study further demonstrates the utility of using both carbonate and collagen stable isotope data in tandem to reconstruct past European diet.


Oecologia ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. W. Boutton ◽  
M. A. Arshad ◽  
L. L. Tieszen

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1611-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav V Kuzmin ◽  
Vsevolod S Panov ◽  
Viacheslav V Gasilin ◽  
Sergei V Batarshev

ABSTRACTNew paleodietary data were obtained after the discovery and excavation in 2015–2017 of the Cherepakha 13 site in the southern part of Primorye (Maritime) Province in far eastern Russia. The site is located near the coast of Ussuri Bay (Sea of Japan) and belongs to the Yankovsky cultural complex of the Early Iron Age 14C-dated to ca. 3000 BP (ca. 1200 cal BC). The stable isotope composition of the bone collagen for 11 humans and 30 animals was determined. For humans, the following values (with±1 sigma) were yielded: δ13C=–10.2±0.8‰; and δ15N=+12.4±0.3‰. The majority of terrestrial animals show the usual isotopic signals: δ13C=–19.4 ÷ –23.3‰; and δ15N=+4.6÷+6.6‰ (for wolves, up to +10.1‰); dogs, however, have an isotopic composition similar to humans: δ13C= –11.7±1.2‰; and δ15N=+12.4±0.4‰. Marine mammals have common values for pinnipeds: δ13C=–13.7 ÷ –14.6‰; and δ15N=+17.4 ÷ +18.0‰. The main food resources for the population of Cherepakha 13 site were (1) marine mollusks, fish, and mammals; and (2) terrestrial mammals; and possibly C4 plants (domesticated millets).


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Piscia ◽  
Michela Mazzoni ◽  
Roberta Bettinetti ◽  
Rossana Caroni ◽  
Davide Cicala ◽  
...  

Zooplankton is crucial for the transfer of matter, energy, and pollutants through aquatic food webs. Primary and secondary consumers contribute to the abundance and standing stock biomass, which both vary seasonally. By means of taxa- and size-specific carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis, the path of pollutants through zooplankton is traced and seasonal changes are addressed, in an effort to understand pollutant dynamics in the pelagic food web. We analyzed zooplankton plurennial changes in concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its relatives (DDTs) and in taxa-specific δ15N signatures in two size fractions, ≥450 µm and ≥850 µm, representative of the major part of zooplankton standing stock biomass and of the fraction to which fish predation is mainly directed, respectively. Our work is aimed at verifying: (1) A link between nitrogen isotopic signatures and pollutant concentrations; (2) the predominance of size versus seasonality for concentration of pollutants; and (3) the contribution of secondary versus primary consumers to carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures. We found a prevalence of seasonality versus size in pollutant concentrations and isotopic signatures. The taxa-specific δ15N results correlated to pollutant concentrations, by means of taxa contribution to standing stock biomass and δ15N isotopic signatures. This is a step forward to understanding the taxa-specific role in pollutant transfer to planktivores and of zooplankton enrichment in PCBs and DDTs.


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