Diet and Radiocarbon Dating of Tollund Man: New Analyses of an Iron Age Bog Body from Denmark

ABSTRACTTollund Man is one of the most famous Iron Age bog bodies due to his well-preserved head. Since he was unearthed in 1950 in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, he has been subjected to several scientific investigations, but until now no attempts to reconstruct his general diet through isotope analyses have been conducted. Furthermore, previous radiocarbon (14C) analyses have only been able to date him broadly to the 3rd–4th century BC. In this study, stable isotope measurements (δ13C, δ15N) on bone collagen from Tollund Man’s femur and rib showed that the diet of Tollund Man was terrestrial-based and that the crops he ate probably were grown on manured fields. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates were obtained on both the <30kDa and >30kDa fractions of ultrafiltered collagen. Results showed that the ultrafiltration removed contamination from older substances from the burial environment. The femur was dated to 2330±23 BP, the rib to 2322±30 BP. These dates statistically agree with a previously published AMS 14C age on skin. By combining the new dates with the previous date of his skin it was possible to narrow down the age of Tollund Man to the period 405–380 cal BC (95.4% confidence interval).

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Aquatic Radiocarbon Reservoir Offsets in the Southeastern Baltic

Radiocarbon ◽

10.2458/azu_rc.57.18447 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 539-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Gytis Piličiauskas ◽

Carl Heron

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Curonian Lagoon ◽

Human Bones ◽

Ceramic Vessel ◽

Pike Perch ◽

Ceramic Vessels ◽

Ams Dates

The aim of this article is to discuss radiocarbon dating offsets due to freshwater and marine reservoir effects (FRE and MRE, respectively) in the southeastern Baltic. Thirty-six 14C dates from Lithuanian coastal and inland Subneolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age sites as well as two Mesolithic-Neolithic cemeteries are presented here. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates, sometimes paired or tripled, have been obtained on samples of various origin, foodcrusts, or visible charred deposits adhering to the surfaces of ceramic vessel walls were also dated and investigated for stable isotope signals. The results argue for a significant freshwater component in the food processed in ceramic vessels during the Subneolithic and Neolithic. Paired dating of ungulate and human bones at the Spiginas and Donkalnis cemeteries (6300–1900 cal BC) does not suggest an FRE, although stable isotope data on human bone collagen strongly suggest a large input of freshwater food in the diet. An FRE in the order of 320–510 yr was estimated for the Šventoji paleolagoon around 3000 cal BC. At the same time, the FRE of the Curonian Lagoon could be larger as implied by large apparent 14C ages of modern pike-perch (981 ± 30 BP) and bream (738 ± 30 BP) bones as well as “foodcrust” offsets (650–530 yr) at Nida (3500–2500 cal BC). An MRE of 190 ± 43 yr was estimated for the southeastern coast of the Littorina Sea according to offsets between dates of seal bones and terrestrial samples at Nida and Šventoji. Any FRE at Lake Kretuonas remains uncertain due to the limited work to date.

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Radiocarbon and Stable Isotope Analyses of Archaeological Bone Consolidated with Hide Glue

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200064675 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 59-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

C M Takahashi ◽

D E Nelson ◽

J S Southon

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Simple Method ◽

Stable Isotope Analyses ◽

Isotope Analyses ◽

Isotope Measurements

We tested a simple method for removing a collagen-based glue preservative from bone destined for radiocarbon and stable isotope analyses. The method is sufficient for bone samples from which only stable isotope measurements are required. For 14C dating, such samples of age less than about 10 ka can be adequately dated, but for older samples, the circumstances must be carefully evaluated.

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Paleodietary Patterns of the Cherepakha 13 Site Population (Early Iron Age) in Primorye (Maritime) Province, Russian Far East, based on Stable Isotope Analysis

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/rdc.2018.84 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 60 (5) ◽

pp. 1611-1620 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yaroslav V Kuzmin ◽

Vsevolod S Panov ◽

Viacheslav V Gasilin ◽

Sergei V Batarshev

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Iron Age ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Russian Far East ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Far East ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Early Iron Age ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Maritime Province

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).

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Ruthenium stable isotope measurements by double spike MC-ICPMS

Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry ◽

10.1039/c6ja00041j ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 31 (7) ◽

pp. 1515-1526 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Timo Hopp ◽

Mario Fischer-Gödde ◽

Thorsten Kleine

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Stable Isotope ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

New Technique ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

Plasma Mass Spectrometry ◽

A New Technique ◽

Isotope Measurements

We developed a new technique for precise measurements of ruthenium (Ru) stable isotope compositions by multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS).

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Early herding at Măgura-Boldul lui Moş Ivănuş (early sixth millennium BC, Romania): environments and seasonality from stable isotope analysis

European Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.1179/1461957112y.0000000028 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 221-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Marie Balasse ◽

Adrian Bălăşescu ◽

Anneke Janzen ◽

Joël Ughetto-Monfrin ◽

Pavel Mirea ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Sequential Analysis ◽

Tooth Enamel ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Bone Collagen ◽

Late Winter ◽

Faunal Remains ◽

Agricultural Communities ◽

Isotope Analyses

Stable isotope analyses were conducted on faunal remains from the site of Măgura-Boldul lui Moş Ivănuş with the objective of characterizing the environments and seasonality of husbandry in the earliest Neolithic (Gura Baciului-Cârcea/Starčevo-Criş I) of southern Romania. Results from bone collagen analysis indicate extensive herding strategies for cattle and pigs. However, sequential analysis in tooth enamel also provides evidence for winter leaf foddering in one bovine, potentially kept by the settlement over winter. In some instances, sheep were fed a13C-enriched resource in late winter, which may have also coincided with lactation. It could not be determined whether this contribution was from C3or C4plants. Although isolated, these findings may be important in evaluating how early agricultural communities dealt with environmental constraints. These results are also interpreted with reference to the models of intensive mixed farming systems recently proposed by Bogaard (2004) and Halstead (2006).

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