Stable isotopic indicators of diet from two Late Prehistoric burial sites in Portugal: an investigation of dietary evidence of social differentiation

This paper details the results of a comparison of stable isotopic data from bone samples acquired from 31 individuals from two Late Neolithic-Copper Age (3500-2000 BC) burial sites in the Estremadura region of Portugal. The chosen sites of Feteira II and Paimogo I are geographically close and temporally overlapping but represent distinctive types of burial structures, one being a natural cave and the other a tholos. Because stable isotope analyses can quantify individual dietary intake, it can be useful in distinguishing patterns of food consumption within and between populations. The goal of this research was to ascertain if there are dietary differences that would indicate that socially-differentiated populations were interred in these burial spaces. The results of this study indicate diets based primarily on C3 plants and terrestrial animals for both sampled populations. Although several individuals do exhibit dietary signatures that suggest they were consuming some fish, marine resources do not appear to be major dietary staples in either group despite close proximity to the sea. Some variation in food and water consumption is apparent between individuals at the two burial sites with individuals at Feteira II exhibiting more variability in isotopic indicators of dietary carbohydrates and drinking water sources while individuals from Paimogo I exhibit more variability in protein source and intake. However, no statistically significance differences in isotopic values were found that would point to clear dietary distinctions between the compared burial populations.

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‘The Dead are Watching Us’: A Landscape Study of Prehistoric Rock-cut Tomb Cemeteries in Ossi, Sardinia, Italy

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society ◽

10.1017/ppr.2021.2 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

Guillaume Robin ◽

Florian Soula ◽

Pascal Tramoni ◽

Laura Manca ◽

Kirsty Lilley

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Landscape Context ◽

Copper Age ◽

Late Prehistoric ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Late Neolithic ◽

North West ◽

The Dead ◽

Prehistoric Settlements ◽

Recording Techniques

The island of Sardinia is well known for its Late Neolithic and Copper Age underground rock-cut tombs that were used over generations for collective burials. Many tombs were decorated to resemble house interiors and cemeteries are often referred to as villages of the dead. Research so far has focused on excavating stratigraphic contexts within some of these monuments, or on typological classifications of tomb plans and wall decorations, but the landscape context of the cemeteries and their relationship to settlements have been overlooked. The article presents the results of two seasons of survey in Ossi (north-west Sardinia), focusing on two major cemeteries (Mesu ‘e Montes and S’Adde ‘e Asile). Combining fieldwalking, mapping and 3D recording techniques, the survey provides a comprehensive documentation of the cemeteries (from the underground architecture of individual tombs to their landscape setting) and yields evidence of prehistoric settlements in their vicinity. The article discusses the topographic and visual relationships between the tombs and the residential areas and how they may reflect social interactions between the living and the dead in late prehistoric Sardinia.

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Dynamic Metasomatism: Stable Isotopes, Fluid Evolution, and Deformation of Albitite and Scapolite Metagabbro (Bamble Lithotectonic Domain, South Norway)

Geofluids ◽

10.1155/2018/9325809 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ane K. Engvik ◽

Heinrich Taubald ◽

Arne Solli ◽

Tor Grenne ◽

Håkon Austrheim

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Chemical Evolution ◽

Metal Transport ◽

Ductile Deformation ◽

Crustal Evolution ◽

Fluid Type ◽

Isotopic Data ◽

Magmatic Rocks ◽

Stable Isotopic ◽

Magmatic Fluids

New stable isotopic data from mineral separates of albite, scapolite, amphibole, quartz, and calcite of metasomatic rocks (Bamble lithotectonic domain) give increased knowledge on fluid type, source, and evolution during metamorphism. Albite from a variety of albitites givesδ18OSMOWvalues of 5.1–11.1‰, while quartz from clinopyroxene-bearing albitite gives 11.5–11.6‰.δ18OSMOWvalues for calcite samples varies between 3.4 and 12.4‰and shows more consistentδ13C values of −4.6 to-6.0‰. Amphibole from scapolite metagabbro yields aδ18OSMOWvalue of 4.3 to 6.7‰andδDSMOWvalue of −84 to −50‰, while the scapolite givesδ18OSMOWvalues in the range of 7.4 to10.6‰. These results support the interpretation that the original magmatic rocks were metasomatised by seawater solutions with a possible involvement from magmatic fluids. Scapolitisation and albitisation led to contrasting chemical evolution with respect to elements like P, Ti, V, Fe, and halogens. The halogens deposited as Cl-scapolite were dissolved by albitisation fluid and reused as a ligand for metal transport. Many of the metal deposits in the Bamble lithotectonic domain, including Fe-ores, rutile, and apatite deposits formed during metasomatism. Brittle to ductile deformation concurrent with metasomatic infiltration illustrates the dynamics and importance of metasomatic processes during crustal evolution.

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Isotopic signatures of major methane sources in the coal seam gas fields and adjacent agricultural districts, Queensland, Australia

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-21-10527-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (13) ◽

pp. 10527-10555

Author(s):

Xinyi Lu ◽

Stephen J. Harris ◽

Rebecca E. Fisher ◽

James L. France ◽

Euan G. Nisbet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coal Seam ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Source Attribution ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Coal Seam Gas ◽

Isotopic Signatures ◽

Keeling Plot ◽

Stable Isotopic ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Gas Fields

Abstract. In regions where there are multiple sources of methane (CH4) in close proximity, it can be difficult to apportion the CH4 measured in the atmosphere to the appropriate sources. In the Surat Basin, Queensland, Australia, coal seam gas (CSG) developments are surrounded by cattle feedlots, grazing cattle, piggeries, coal mines, urban centres and natural sources of CH4. The characterization of carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δD) stable isotopic composition of CH4 can help distinguish between specific emitters of CH4. However, in Australia there is a paucity of data on the various isotopic signatures of the different source types. This research examines whether dual isotopic signatures of CH4 can be used to distinguish between sources of CH4 in the Surat Basin. We also highlight the benefits of sampling at nighttime. During two campaigns in 2018 and 2019, a mobile CH4 monitoring system was used to detect CH4 plumes. Sixteen plumes immediately downwind from known CH4 sources (or individual facilities) were sampled and analysed for their CH4 mole fraction and δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures. The isotopic signatures of the CH4 sources were determined using the Keeling plot method. These new source signatures were then compared to values documented in reports and peer-reviewed journal articles. In the Surat Basin, CSG sources have δ13CCH4 signatures between −55.6 ‰ and −50.9 ‰ and δDCH4 signatures between −207.1 ‰ and −193.8 ‰. Emissions from an open-cut coal mine have δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures of -60.0±0.6 ‰ and -209.7±1.8 ‰ respectively. Emissions from two ground seeps (abandoned coal exploration wells) have δ13CCH4 signatures of -59.9±0.3 ‰ and -60.5±0.2 ‰ and δDCH4 signatures of -185.0±3.1 ‰ and -190.2±1.4 ‰. A river seep had a δ13CCH4 signature of -61.2±1.4 ‰ and a δDCH4 signature of -225.1±2.9 ‰. Three dominant agricultural sources were analysed. The δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures of a cattle feedlot are -62.9±1.3 ‰ and -310.5±4.6 ‰ respectively, grazing (pasture) cattle have δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures of -59.7±1.0 ‰ and -290.5±3.1 ‰ respectively, and a piggery sampled had δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures of -47.6±0.2 ‰ and -300.1±2.6 ‰ respectively, which reflects emissions from animal waste. An export abattoir (meat works and processing) had δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures of -44.5±0.2 ‰ and -314.6±1.8 ‰ respectively. A plume from a wastewater treatment plant had δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 signatures of -47.6±0.2 ‰ and -177.3±2.3 ‰ respectively. In the Surat Basin, source attribution is possible when both δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 are measured for the key categories of CSG, cattle, waste from feedlots and piggeries, and water treatment plants. Under most field situations using δ13CCH4 alone will not enable clear source attribution. It is common in the Surat Basin for CSG and feedlot facilities to be co-located. Measurement of both δ13CCH4 and δDCH4 will assist in source apportionment where the plumes from two such sources are mixed.

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Neolithic diet at the Brochtorff Circle, Malta

European Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.1179/eja.2001.4.2.253 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 253-262 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

M.P. Richards ◽

R.E.M. Hedges ◽

I. Walton ◽

S. Stoddart ◽

C. Malone

Keyword(s):

Chemical Analysis ◽

Material Culture ◽

Marine Resources ◽

The Poor ◽

Resource Stress ◽

Accelerator Mass Spectrometer ◽

Agricultural Potential ◽

Population Sizes ◽

Isotope Analyses ◽

Marine Protein

From Neolithic Malta, there is evidence of increasing population size accompanied by increasingly elaborate material culture, including the famous megalithic architecture. Stoddart et al. (1993) argued that social tensions and controls increased as food resources diminished. One important requirement of this argument is that the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta depended entirely on domesticated plants and animals for subsistence and therefore, with increased population sizes, the poor agricultural potential of these islands was stretched. However, it is possible that the consumption of wild foods, particularly marine resources, in the Neolithic would make up any shortfall in the agricultural foods. A direct way of measuring the amounts of marine protein in human diets is through chemical analysis of human bone. Stable isotope analyses undertaken on seven Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon dated humans from the Neolithic at the Brochtorff Circle indicated that there is no evidence for the significant use of marine foods by these Neolithic individuals. These new data indicate that agricultural foods were the dietary staple for this sample of the Maltese Neolithic population and therefore support the argument that increasing population during the Neolithic could have resulted in increasing resource stress.

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Paleoceanographic modeling of temperature-salinity profiles from stable isotopic data

Paleoceanography ◽

10.1029/pa004i005p00585 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 585-591 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

L. Bruce Railsback ◽

Thomas F. Anderson ◽

Spafford C. Ackerly ◽

John L. Cisne

Keyword(s):

Isotopic Data ◽

Stable Isotopic

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Late Prehistoric Stelae, Persistent Places and Connected Worlds: A Multi-disciplinary Review of the Evidence at Almargen (Lands of Antequera, Spain)

Cambridge Archaeological Journal ◽

10.1017/s0959774319000490 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 69-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marta Díaz-Guardamino ◽

Leonardo García-Sanjuán ◽

David Wheatley ◽

José Antonio Lozano-Rodríguez ◽

Miguel Ángel Rogerio-Candelera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

The Other ◽

Global Dynamics ◽

Late Prehistoric ◽

Late Neolithic ◽

Place Making ◽

Local Character ◽

Local Identities ◽

Unique Site ◽

The One

This paper examines how monuments with ‘local’ idiosyncrasies are key in processes of place-making and how, through persistence, such places can engage in supra-local and even ‘global’ dynamics. Departing from a detailed revision of its context, materiality and iconography, we show how a remarkable Iberian ‘warrior’ stela brings together the geo-strategic potential of a unique site, located literally between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic worlds, the century-long dialogue between shared and local identities and the power of connectivity of inexorable global processes. Previous approaches to Iberian late prehistoric stelae have had problems in developing bottom-up, theoretically informed and empirically sound approaches to their simultaneously local and supra-local character. The remarkable site of Almargen provides the opportunity to explore this issue. Located in Lands of Antequera (Málaga), a region with a strong tradition of landscape-making through monuments going back to the Late Neolithic, the Almargen ‘warrior’ stela serves us to explore the notion of ‘glocalization’, which embodies persistent local engagements with material culture, sites and landscapes on the one hand, and their connections with wider regional and even ‘global’ worlds on the other.

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Statistics matters in interpretations of non-traditional stable isotopic data

Acta Geochimica ◽

10.1007/s11631-020-00401-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 271-279

Author(s):

Chun-Hui Li

Keyword(s):

Isotopic Data ◽

Stable Isotopic

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Fine-scale dietary changes between the breeding and non-breeding diet of a resident seabird

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.140291 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 140291 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Nicole D. Kowalczyk ◽

André Chiaradia ◽

Tiana J. Preston ◽

Richard D. Reina

Keyword(s):

Prey Availability ◽

Juvenile Fish ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Small Range ◽

Isotopic Niche ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Isotope Analyses ◽

Little Penguin ◽

Foraging Ranges

Unlike migratory seabirds with wide foraging ranges, resident seabirds forage in a relatively small range year-round and are thus particularly vulnerable to local shifts in prey availability. In order to manage their populations effectively, it is necessary to identify their key prey across and within years. Here, stomach content and stable isotope analyses were used to reconstruct the diet and isotopic niche of the little penguin ( Eudyptula minor ). Across years, the diet of penguins was dominated by anchovy ( Engraulis australis ). Within years, during winter, penguins were consistently enriched in δ 15 N and δ 13 C levels relative to pre-moult penguins. This was probably due to their increased reliance on juvenile anchovies, which dominate prey biomass in winter months. Following winter and during breeding, the δ 13 C values of penguins declined. We suggest this subtle shift was in response to the increased consumption of prey that enter the bay from offshore regions to spawn. Our findings highlight that penguins have access to both juvenile fish communities and spawning migrants across the year, enabling these seabirds to remain in close proximity to their colony. However, annual fluctuations in penguin isotopic niche suggest that the recruitment success and abundance of fish communities fluctuate dramatically between years. As such, the continued monitoring of penguin diet will be central to their ongoing management.

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