TRACING PREHISTORIC MIGRATION: ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AND PRE-ROMAN IRON AGE COASTAL BURIALS IN ESTONIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Oras ◽  
V Lang ◽  
E Rannamäe ◽  
L Varul ◽  
M Konsa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Prehistoric Migration

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

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1611-1620 ◽  
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).

scholarly journals Provenance analysis of human cremations by 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios: migration into an Iron Age mining region in North-Rhine Westphalia

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney V. Sebald ◽  
Manuel Zeiler ◽  
Gisela Grupe
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotopic Ratio ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Isotopic Ratios ◽  
Burial Mound ◽  
Age At Death ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Non Local

The Siegerland (North-Rhine Westphalia, FRG) is famous for its early mining industry and ore exploitation. The archaeological context of cremated burials as well as grave goods indicate parallels to today's Wetterau (Hesse), suggesting migration into the Siegerland. After morphological examination of the cremations augmented by a histological age-at-death determination, provenance analysis by use of stable strontium isotope analysis was carried out. 60 individuals from the burial mound at Netphen-Deuz in the Siegerland were available for anthropological examination. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio was measured in 29 dentine and 15 bone samples. At least 19 individuals exhibited a non-local isotopic signal which was compatible with a provenance from the Wetterau region. Since 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios in the bioapatite are thermally stable, provenance analysis of cremated finds is thus possible, whereby a testable archaeological hypothesis is prerequisite. Histological examination of cremated bones proved indispensable for the age-at-death estimation.

Temporal changes in diet: a stable isotope analysis of late Iron Age and Roman Dorset, Britain

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1149-1160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca C. Redfern ◽  
Christine Hamlin ◽  
Nancy Beavan Athfield
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
Late Iron Age

scholarly journals Rural Life, Roman Ways? Examination of Late Iron Age to Late Romano-British Burial Practice and Mobility at Dog Hole Cave, Cumbria

Britannia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 83-116
Author(s):  
Hannah J. O'Regan ◽  
Keith Bland ◽  
Jane Evans ◽  
Matilda Holmes ◽  
Kirsty McLeod ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
North West ◽  
Human Osteology ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Burial Practice ◽  
Late Roman Period

ABSTRACTThe scarcity of Romano-British human remains from north-west England has hindered understanding of burial practice in this region. Here, we report on the excavation of human and non-human animal remains1 and material culture from Dog Hole Cave, Haverbrack. Foetal and neonatal infants had been interred alongside a horse burial and puppies, lambs, calves and piglets in the very latest Iron Age to early Romano-British period, while the mid- to late Roman period is characterised by burials of older individuals with copper-alloy jewellery and beads. This material culture is more characteristic of urban sites, while isotope analysis indicates that the later individuals were largely from the local area. We discuss these results in terms of burial ritual in Cumbria and rural acculturation. Supplementary material is available online (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X20000136), and contains further information about the site and excavations, small finds, zooarchaeology, human osteology, site taphonomy, the palaeoenvironment, isotope methods and analysis, and finds listed in Benson and Bland 1963.

scholarly journals British Iron Age Diet: Stable Isotopes and Other Evidence

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 169-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy Jay ◽  
Michael P. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Isotopic Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Middle Iron Age ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Research ◽  
High Level

This paper presents the results of new research into British Iron Age diet. Specifically, it summarises the existing evidence and compares this with new evidence obtained from stable isotope analysis. The isotope data come from both humans and animals from ten British middle Iron Age sites, from four locations in East Yorkshire, East Lothian, Hampshire, and Cornwall. These represent the only significant data-set of comparative humans (n = 138) and animals (n = 212) for this period currently available for the UK. They are discussed here alongside other evidence for diet during the middle Iron Age in Britain. In particular, the question of whether fish, or other aquatic foods, were a major dietary resource during this period is examined.The isotopic data suggest similar dietary protein consumption patterns across the groups, both within local populations and between them, although outliers do exist which may indicate mobile individuals moving into the sites. The diet generally includes a high level of animal protein, with little indication of the use of marine resources at any isotopically distinguishable level, even when the sites are situated directly on the coast. The nitrogen isotopic values also indicate absolute variation across these locations which is indicative of environmental background differences rather than differential consumption patterns and this is discussed in the context of the difficulty of interpreting isotopic data without a complete understanding of the ‘baseline’ values for any particular time and place. This reinforces the need for significant numbers of contemporaneous animals to be analysed from the same locations when interpreting human data-sets.

scholarly journals Isotopic and microbotanical insights into Iron Age agricultural reliance in the Central African rainforest

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Bleasdale ◽  
Hans-Peter Wotzka ◽  
Barbara Eichhorn ◽  
Julio Mercader ◽  
Amy Styring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Dental Calculus ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Environmental Requirements

Abstract The emergence of agriculture in Central Africa has previously been associated with the migration of Bantu-speaking populations during an anthropogenic or climate-driven ‘opening’ of the rainforest. However, such models are based on assumptions of environmental requirements of key crops (e.g. Pennisetum glaucum) and direct insights into human dietary reliance remain absent. Here, we utilise stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) of human and animal remains and charred food remains, as well as plant microparticles from dental calculus, to assess the importance of incoming crops in the Congo Basin. Our data, spanning the early Iron Age to recent history, reveals variation in the adoption of cereals, with a persistent focus on forest and freshwater resources in some areas. These data provide new dietary evidence and document the longevity of mosaic subsistence strategies in the region.

scholarly journals Feasting and Mobility in Iron Age Ireland: Multi-isotope analysis reveals the vast catchment of Navan Fort, Ulster

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Madgwick ◽  
Vaughan Grimes ◽  
Angela L. Lamb ◽  
Alexandra J. Nederbragt ◽  
Jane A. Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Barbary Macaque ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Irish Data ◽  
Non Local ◽  
Site Catchment

AbstractNavan Fort is an iconic prehistoric Irish ceremonial centre and the legendary capital of Ulster. The fort has produced an exceptional pig-dominated faunal assemblage that also contained a barbary macaque skull. Dating from the 4th to 1st century BC, it is likely to be a ceremonial feasting centre that may have drawn people and their animals from across Ulster and beyond. This study uses a multi-isotope (87Sr/86Sr, δ34S, δ13C, δ15N) approach to identify non-local animals and reconstruct site catchment. New biosphere mapping means that isotope data can be more confidently interpreted and the combination of strontium and sulphur analysis has the potential to estimate origins. In the absence of human remains, fauna provide the best proxy for human movement. Results for the 35 analysed animals are wide-ranging, especially in terms of strontium (0.707–0.715), which has the largest range for an Irish site. Sulphur values are more restricted (13.1‰−17.1‰) but are high in the context of British and Irish data. Results provide clear evidence for animals (and thus people) coming from across Ulster and beyond, demonstrating the site’s wide catchment. Navan Fort was clearly a major ceremonial centre with far-reaching influence and hosted feasts that drew people and animals from afar.

Economic change after the agricultural revolution in Southeast Asia?

Antiquity ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (339) ◽  
pp. 112-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte L. King ◽  
R. Alexander Bentley ◽  
Charles Higham ◽  
Nancy Tayles ◽  
Una Strand Viðarsdóttir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Early States ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
North Eastern

Three prehistoric sites in the Upper Mun River Valley of north-eastern Thailand have provided a detailed chronological succession comprising 12 occupation phases. These represent occupation spanning 2300 years, from initial settlement in the Neolithic (seventeenth century BC) through to the Iron Age, ending in the seventh century AD with the foundation of early states. The precise chronology in place in the Upper Mun River Valley makes it possible to examine changes in social organisation, technology, agriculture and demography against a background of climatic change. In this area the evidence for subsistence has been traditionally drawn from the biological remains recovered from occupation and mortuary contexts. This paper presents the results of carbon isotope analysis to identify and explain changes in subsistence over time and between sites, before comparing the results with two sites of the Sakon Nakhon Basin, located 230km to the north-east, to explore the possibility of regional differences.

scholarly journals Pigs and Cattle in Gaul: The Role of Gallic Societies in the Evolution of Husbandry Practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Frémondeau ◽  
Pauline Nuviala ◽  
Colin Duval
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Second Century ◽  
New Production ◽  
Evolutionary Pattern ◽  
Specialized Production ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
Husbandry Practices ◽  
Production And Distribution

In this article we present a comparative study of pig and cattle morphologies, and stable isotope analysis relating to pig demographic management at Levroux Les Arènes (Indre, France), to evaluate changes in husbandry practices between the Iron Age and the Roman period in Gallic societies. Results indicate the establishment of new production and distribution structures, probably before the second centurybc, along with the implementation of a specific size/weight selection for the specialized production of pork. Pig and cattle size evolves progressively from the end of the third centurybc. These changes are likely to be the result of an internal evolution within Gallic societies, based on local herds, but possibly they are a response to a broader changing economic climate. Within the Western Roman Empire, each province, and Italy, follows its own evolutionary pattern, which also differs between pig and cattle, suggesting that each region adapted its husbandry strategies according to its agro-pastoral characteristics, capacities, or ambitions.

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