Exploiting molecular and isotopic signals at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard P. Evershed
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Organic Residues ◽  
Neolithic Transition ◽  
Biochemical Constituents ◽  
Lipid Components

The paucity of cultural finds at this key stage in human prehistory increases the need to fully and effectively exploit all the sources of evidence that exist. Organic residues, preserved in association with skeletal remains and pottery, have the potential to provide various levels of information relating to diet and subsistence, and thus the wider interactions of ancient humans with their environment. This chapter explores the potential to enhance the rigour and level of information retrievable from the biochemical constituents of skeletal remains and pottery by exploiting new sources of molecular and isotopic information. It addresses the following possibilities: (i) deriving palaeodietary information from human remains via the complementary use of amino acid and lipid components; and (ii) assessing terrestrial and marine contributions to organic residues preserved in skeletal remains and pottery.

scholarly journals The elusive parasite: comparing macroscopic, immunological, and genomic approaches to identifying malaria in human skeletal remains from Sayala, Egypt (third to sixth centuries AD)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvie Loufouma Mbouaka ◽  
Michelle Gamble ◽  
Christina Wurst ◽  
Heidi Yoko Jäger ◽  
Frank Maixner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Rapid Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Pathological Changes ◽  
Human Skeletal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
A Site ◽  
Capture Sequencing

AbstractAlthough malaria is one of the oldest and most widely distributed diseases affecting humans, identifying and characterizing its presence in ancient human remains continue to challenge researchers. We attempted to establish a reliable approach to detecting malaria in human skeletons using multiple avenues of analysis: macroscopic observations, rapid diagnostic tests, and shotgun-capture sequencing techniques, to identify pathological changes, Plasmodium antigens, and Plasmodium DNA, respectively. Bone and tooth samples from ten individuals who displayed skeletal lesions associated with anaemia, from a site in southern Egypt (third to sixth centuries AD), were selected. Plasmodium antigens were detected in five of the ten bone samples, and traces of Plasmodium aDNA were detected in six of the twenty bone and tooth samples. There was relatively good synchronicity between the biomolecular findings, despite not being able to authenticate the results. This study highlights the complexity and limitations in the conclusive identification of the Plasmodium parasite in ancient human skeletons. Limitations regarding antigen and aDNA preservation and the importance of sample selection are at the forefront of the search for malaria in the past. We confirm that, currently, palaeopathological changes such as cribra orbitalia are not enough to be certain of the presence of malaria. While biomolecular methods are likely the best chance for conclusive identification, we were unable to obtain results which correspond to the current authentication criteria of biomolecules. This study represents an important contribution in the refinement of biomolecular techniques used; also, it raises new insight regarding the consistency of combining several approaches in the identification of malaria in past populations.

Human remains at Caral, Peru: the earliest human sacrifice?

1970 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido P. Lombardi ◽  
Uriel García-Cáceres
Keyword(s):  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Human Sacrifice ◽  
Central Coast ◽  
Residential Units ◽  
The City

Caral (5000-3000 BP), South America’s largest pre-ceramic complex, is located in the central coast of Peru. Its many pyramids, squares, and specialized residential units are currently in study. Despite the fact that no cemetery has been found for the city yet, the skeletal remains of a young man were found buried on the top the largest pyramid of the «sacred city.» This unusual discovery poses many questions. This paper presents the results of the study of this body, as well as some ideas about its relevance for Andean archeology

The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in western Scotland: a review and new evidence from Tiree

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Mithen ◽  
Anne Pirie ◽  
Sam Smith ◽  
Karen Wicks
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Population Replacement ◽  
Dietary Analysis ◽  
Neolithic Transition ◽  
Contradictory Evidence ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Existing Data

Although both the Mesolithic and Neolithic of western Scotland have been studied since the early 20th century, our knowledge of both periods remains limited, as does our understanding of the transition between them – whether this is entirely cultural in nature or involves the arrival of new Neolithic populations and the demise of the indigenous Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. The existing data provide seemingly contradictory evidence, with that from dietary analysis of skeletal remains suggesting population replacement and that from settlement and technology indicating continuity. After reviewing this evidence, this chapter briefly describes ongoing fieldwork in the Inner Hebrides that aims to gain a more complete understanding of Mesolithic settlement patterns, without which there can only be limited progress on understanding the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition.

scholarly journals A Study in Frustration: Analysis of Human Remains Removed from the Coker Mound Site (41CS1)

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon McCormick Derrick
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Vertebrae ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Skeletal Remains ◽  
Founding Member

Human skeletal remains were removed from the Coker Mound site (41CS1) by unidentified excavators sometime immediately prior to the Texas Archeological Society (TAS) meetings of 1995. Mike Turner, a Steward in the Office of the State Archeologists' Texas Archeological Steward Network and a founding member of the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology, was able to retrieve a cranium, mandible; and six cervical vertebrae from this collection for a brief period, bringing them to the TAS meetings. It was his dedication that provided the opportunity for these remains to be studied.

INSIDE THE CASTS OF THE POMPEIAN VICTIMS: RESULTS FROM THE FIRST SEASON OF THE POMPEII CAST PROJECT IN 2015

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Estelle Lazer ◽  
Kathryn Welch ◽  
Dzung Vu ◽  
Manh Vu ◽  
Alain Middleton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Ct Scanning ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Circumstantial Evidence ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The People ◽  
Restoration Practice ◽  
Ongoing Project ◽  
Organic Remains

The first casts of the forms of Pompeian victims of the AD 79 eruption of Mt Vesuvius were successfully achieved under the directorship of Giuseppe Fiorelli in 1863. To date, 104 individuals have been cast by restorers and archaeologists during the course of excavation. The methods used to obtain these casts were not well documented. It was always assumed that plaster or lime cement was merely poured into voids which preserved the impression of organic remains buried in the ash that covered the site during the catastrophe. It was also assumed that the undisturbed skeletal remains of victims were encased within the casts. The initial aim of the Pompeii Cast Project was to study these bones to build on and test the results of an earlier study of the large sample of Pompeian human remains that were disarticulated by post-excavation activities. Apart from providing information about the people who did not manage to escape the eruption, the project aimed to challenge previous interpretations of the lives and activities of these victims that were solely based on superficial inspection and circumstantial evidence. Twenty-six casts were subjected to CT scanning or X-ray analysis in 2015. The results were unexpected. It was clear that the casts had been considerably manipulated. Bones were often removed prior to casting, and other elements had been introduced. This ongoing project has now been expanded to establish how these casts were achieved, to better understand nineteenth- and twentieth-century archaeological and restoration practice.

Natural Preservation of Human Brain, Warm Mineral Springs, Florida

1960 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Royal ◽  
Eugenie Clark
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Date ◽  
Mineral Springs ◽  
Limestone Cave ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
Layer 2

AbstractArtifacts of Archaic types, human bones, and a partly burned log have been recovered from three layers of sediments on the floor of a shallow limestone cave now under water. The skeletal remains include a skull from Layer 2 with naturally preserved portions of brain inside. The charred log from Layer 3 produced a radiocarbon date of 8000 B.C. ± 200 years. The age of the preserved brain may not be as great as that of the log and human remains in Layer 3. The radiocarbon date is the earliest known date for man in Florida and suggests that during the early Southeastern Archaic, man lived in limestone caves in Florida when the sea level was considerably lower than at present.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Analysis of Modern Skeletal Remains to Determine Year of Birth and Death—A Case Study

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
G T Cook ◽  
L A N Ainscough ◽  
E Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Trabecular Bone ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Biological Profile ◽  
Age Range

To aid in the development of a biological profile for human remains found in Collyhurst (Manchester, England), we undertook radiocarbon analysis of tooth enamel, tooth collagen, and bone collagen on behalf of the Greater Manchester Police. On the basis of the analyses of the teeth, we concluded that the person was born between 1950 and 1954, while on the basis of our analyses of cortical and trabecular bone we estimated the year of death to be between 1969 and 1974. This would make the maximum age range around 15 to 24 yr. Analyses of the dentition and other skeletal parameters can eliminate the younger part of the range, so an age of around 18 to 24 yr at death would seem most likely. The δ13C and δ15N values for the bone collagen were higher than would be expected for someone subsisting on a purely terrestrial diet, implying some consumption of marine resources, which could lead to reduced 14C activities. Taking any potential marine effect into account could reduce this age range to around 18 to 21 yr.

scholarly journals The Kostënki 18 child burial and the cultural and funerary landscape of Mid Upper Palaeolithic European Russia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Reynolds ◽  
Rob Dinnis ◽  
Alexander Bessudnov ◽  
Thibaut Devièse ◽  
Thomas Higham
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
European Russia ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Don River

There are numerous burials known from Upper Palaeolithic contexts in European Russia. One of the lesser-known of these burials is that found at Kostënki 18, in the Kostënki-Borshchëvo region on the Don river near Voronezh. At this site, a lithic assemblage attributed to the Kostënki-Avdeevo Culture was also found, but no direct stratigraphic connection could be established between the burial and the lithic assemblage. In this paper we describe this burial and present a new direct date for the human remains obtained using the single amino acid (hydroxyproline) method. The new date provides support for the hypothesis that the burial and lithic assemblage found at Kostënki 18 are linked. We also briefly discuss the significance of the Russian Upper Palaeolithic burial record for the understanding of early burials across Europe.

scholarly journals A Short Cist Burial at Kilkeddan Farm, Campbeltown, Argyll & Bute

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn McLaren ◽  
Donald Wilson ◽  
Rob Engl ◽  
Alan Duffy ◽  
Kathleen MacSweeney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Human Skeletal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates

AOC Archaeology Group undertook the excavation of a previously unknown Bronze Age cist, located in a field close to Kilkeddan Farm, Argyll & Bute, during September 2005 under the Historic Scotland call-off contract for human remains. The cist was found to contain poorly surviving unburnt human skeletal remains along with a finely decorated tripartite Food Vessel and a flint knife. The incomplete and fragmentary condition of the skeleton suggests that the human remains were disarticulated at the time of deposition. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the human bone and associated charcoal confirms an early Bronze Age date for the burial.

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