scholarly journals Agricultural lime disturbs natural strontium isotope variations: Implications for provenance and migration studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. eaav8083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Thomsen ◽  
Rasmus Andreasen
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Strontium Isotope ◽  
Migration Studies ◽  
Provenance Studies ◽  
Mobility Studies ◽  
And Migration

The application of87Sr/86Sr in prehistoric mobility studies requires accurate strontium reference maps. These are often based from present-day surface waters. However, the use of agricultural lime in low to noncalcareous soils can substantially change the87Sr/86Sr compositions of surface waters. Water unaffected by agriculture in western Denmark has an average87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7124 as compared to an average of 0.7097 in water from nearby farmland. The87Sr/86Sr ratio obtained from samples over 1.5 km along a stream, which originates in a forest and flows through lime-treated farmland, decreased from 0.7131 to 0.7099. Thus,87Sr/86Sr-based mobility and provenance studies in regions with low to noncalcareous soils should be reassessed. For example, reinterpreting the iconic Bronze Age women at Egtved and Skrydstrup using values unaffected by agricultural lime indicates that it is most plausible that these individuals originated close to their burial sites and not far abroad as previously suggested.

scholarly journals The Ølby Woman:

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Samantha Scott Reiter ◽  
Karin Margarita Frei ◽  
Heide Wrobel Nørgaard ◽  
Flemming Kaul
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Lead Isotope ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Dental Enamel ◽  
Strontium Isotope ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Provenance Studies ◽  
Non Local ◽  
Isotope Analyses ◽  
Potential Mobility

The Early Nordic Bronze Age oak coffin burials include some of Europe’s best preserved human remains. Although traditional typological examinations thereof have not always found clear foreign references, recent provenance investigations from Egtved and Skrydstrup suggest that the two women were of non-local provenance. In order to investigate potential mobility patterns and how these might or might not be related to the archaeological evidence, we conducted comprehensive multi-analytical investigations on the Ølby Woman, another key female oak coffin burial. Her grave included large metal items, the remains of a corded skirt and a glass bead recently identified as of Egyptian origin. Strontium isotope analyses of the dental enamel of Ølby’s first, second and third molars investigate her provenance and potential mobility through childhood. Furthermore, we conducted lead isotope analyses and craft technical analyses of her belt plate and sword/dagger. Our results reveal that the Ølby female’s strontium isotope signatures fall within the local baseline, suggesting that she was of local origin. The metal provenance studies and craft technical studies of the belt plate and sword suggest that the objects were manufactured in Scandinavia, while the raw materials for each item were imported from different places in Europe.  

scholarly journals Mapping of bioavailable strontium isotope ratios in France for archaeological provenance studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Willmes ◽  
clement bataille ◽  
Hannah James ◽  
Ian Moffat ◽  
Linda McMorrow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Strontium Isotope ◽  
Spatial Uncertainty ◽  
Sampling Density ◽  
Provenance Studies ◽  
Geostatistical Methods ◽  
Sample Density ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Strontium Isotope Ratios

Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of archaeological samples (teeth and bones) can be used to track mobility and migration across geologically distinct landscapes. However, traditional interpolation algorithms and classification approaches used to generate Sr isoscapes are often limited in predicting multiscale 87Sr/86Sr patterning. Here we investigate the suitability of plant samples and soil leachates from the IRHUM database (www. irhumdatabase.com) to create a bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr map using a novel geostatistical framework. First, we generated an 87Sr/86Sr map by classifying 87Sr/86Sr values into five geologically representative isotope groups using cluster analysis. The isotope groups were then used as a covariate in kriging to integrate prior geological knowledge of Sr cycling with the information contained in the bioavailable dataset and enhance 87Sr/86Sr predictions. Our approach couples the strengths of classification and geostatistical methods to generate more accurate 87Sr/86Sr predictions (Root Mean Squared Error=0.0029) with an estimate of spatial uncertainty based on lithology and sample density. This bioavailable Sr isoscape is applicable for provenance studies in France, and the method is transferable to other areas with high sampling density. While our method is a step forward in generating accurate 87Sr/86Sr isoscapes, the remaining uncertainty also demonstrates that finemodelling of 87Sr/86Sr variability is challenging and requires more than geological maps for accurately predicting 87Sr/86Sr variations across the landscape. Future efforts should focus on increasing sampling density and developing predictive models to further quantify and predict the processes that lead to 87Sr/86Sr variability.

scholarly journals Initial Assessment of Bioavailable Strontium at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania: Potential for Early Mobility Studies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tucker ◽  
Julien Favreau ◽  
Makarius Itambu ◽  
Fergus Larter ◽  
Neduvoto Mollel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Strontium Isotope ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Early Mobility ◽  
Strontium Isotope Analysis ◽  
The North ◽  
Mobility Studies ◽  
And Migration

Strontium isotope analysis is a useful tool for tracing mobility and migration in past populations. For it to be employed, the 87Sr/86Sr values of the landscape must be well-understood. Bioavailable strontium is a combination of geological and atmospheric strontium available for use by plants and animals. In this study we begin mapping bioavailable strontium values around the Oldupai Gorge region so that this method may be utilized on archaeological hominins and animals in the future. We analyzed three plants from 33 localities across volcanic and metamorphic bedrock, including the regional drainage sump, Olbalbal. We found that bioavailable strontium in the region is homogeneous overall, with trends towards increasing values to the north and northeast and in Olbalbal. There was no difference between 87Sr/86Sr values of metamorphic and volcanic areas. Migrants from outside the study area with different isotopic values will be easily identifiable from the local residents.As a proof of concept, we analyzed 7 animal teeth (hippopotamus, crocodile, and equid) from Engaji Nanyori, a Bed III and IV site at Oldupai Gorge. We found that enamel and dentine which had been acetic acid treated to remove diagenetic strontium were significantly different from one another. All animals had higher 87Sr/86Sr values than the plant values, suggesting that modern and ancient bioavailable strontium values may have been different, likely due to environmental differences.

scholarly journals Strontium Is Released Rapidly From Agricultural Lime–Implications for Provenance and Migration Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus Andreasen ◽  
Erik Thomsen
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Sandy Soils ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Soil Improvement ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Adjacent Area ◽  
Hydrated Ions ◽  
Mobility Studies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Very High

The use of strontium isotopes in pre-historic mobility studies requires accurate isoscapes for evaluating whether pre-historic individuals are local to the areas in which they were buried or not. Isoscapes are often based on modern-day samples, commonly surface waters. There is, however, growing evidence that modern-day farming has a significant impact on the strontium isotopic composition of surface waters and farmed soils, mainly due to the use of agricultural lime for soil improvement. In this paper, we investigate the fate of strontium from agricultural lime in an experimentally-manipulated field in central Jutland, Denmark. Agricultural limestone was added to this field at very high rates in 2012 and 2013 to investigate CO2 storage in soils. Strontium was first measured from the site in 2014. In 2019 we reevaluated strontium concentrations and found that 80–100% of the strontium from the agricultural lime had leached out of the organic-rich topsoil, and likely seeped into the underlying groundwater and nearby surface waters. In both the sandy soils of the liming test site and farmed soils and heathland in the adjacent area, Sr exhibits a degree of mobility similar to that of calcium, which is in agreement with data for other soil types and what is predicted by the size of its hydrated ions. Strontium isotopic compositions of unfarmed heathland samples show much higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and so are not influenced by carbonates, suggesting that the limestone 87Sr/86Sr signature seen in the farmland and in streams and rivers in contact with this comes from agricultural lime, and not from natural carbonate relicts occasionally found in the area. This suggests that the 87Sr/86Sr signatures of the area were higher in pre-historic times, and that an isoscape map based on samples from modern-day farmland is inappropriate for application to provenance and mobility studies of pre-historic people. Thus, it is critical that the possible impact of farming is evaluated when conducting provenance and mobility studies, especially in areas with Sr-poor soils and where agricultural lime is used for soil improvement. Overlooking this can result in significant overestimation of the degree of pre-historic mobility.

scholarly journals “I Have Been Born, Raised and Lived My Whole Life Here” – Perpetually on the Move While Remaining Still

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Clifford Pedersen ◽  
Tania Zittoun
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Migration Studies ◽  
Geographical Mobility ◽  
Literal Sense ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Sociocultural Psychology ◽  
Mobility Studies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThis article explores the story of Einar, a Faroese man who always lived within a 500-meters radius on the island of Suðuroy, who never felt “stuck” or “immobile” in the literal sense of the word. Studies have shown that staying is a process, as much as mobility; yet while mobility studies mainly show that imagination is an incentive to move, we argue that imagination may also actively support staying. Combining sociocultural psychology with mobility studies, we propose to explore the entanglement of symbolic mobility (a form of imagination) and various forms of geographical (im)mobility. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and hours of conversation, we present the case study of Einar’s life on his island. We follow the sociogenetic development of the island, and the expansion and contraction of the imaginative horizon over time. On this background, we then retrace the life of Einar and show how, within this transforming context, his imagination developed thanks to resources he could use from the mobility of technologies, ideas, and other people. Interestingly, at different bifurcation points, his symbolic mobility almost led him to move away but, at another point, helped him to refuse geographical mobility. Hence, he was always symbolically mobile while staying. We finally propose directions for generalising from this case study, and implications for cultural psychology and for mobility and migration studies.

scholarly journals Intersectional Discrimination: Definition, Scope, and Migration Research from the perspective of Intersectionality

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (22) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Migration Studies ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Migration Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Migration

Along with the widespread rise in immigration and the increase in the number of immigrants, academic interest in migration research has also grown. Although there are many studies conducted in various fields, the number of studies who approached migration from an intersectional perspective is rather small. The number of studies approaching migration and the social psychological processes of migrants from the perspective of intersectionality is even smaller in Turkey. Considering the large number of immigrants in Turkey, it is obviously essential to understand and study intersectionality in these particular contexts. Therefore, this article is written to explicate the concept of intersectionality and review migration studies adopting an intersectional approach. The basis of the concept of intersectionality, historical background that led to the birth of it, its subtypes as well as the importance of race, class and gender in intersectionality are among the issues discussed in this article. Moreover, with respect to migration studies from the perspective of intersectionality, studies conducted in various culturally diverse countries are outlined. The last but not the least, the prominence of conducting research on intersectionality in the Turkish context is also emphasized. In this review, we aim to present the literature to students and academics in the field as well as to provide direction for future research. Keywords: Migration, intersectionality, intersectional discrimination

North European Rock Art

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joakim Goldhahn
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Bronze Age

This chapter offers a long-term perspective on rock art in northern Europe. It first provides an overview of research on the rock art traditions of northern Europe before discussing the societies and cultures that created such traditions. It then considers examples of rock art made by hunter-gatherer societies in northern Europe, focusing on the first rock art boom related to Neolithization. It also examines the second rock art boom, which was associated with social and religious changes within farming communities that took place around 1600–1400 bc. The chapter concludes by analysing the breakdown of long-distance networks in the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age and its consequences for the making of rock art within the southern traditions, as well as the use of rock art sites during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, Roman Iron Age, and Migration Period.

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