Isotopic and Genetic Evidence for Migration in Medieval England

Two sources of evidence, ratios of stable isotopes and sequences of DNA molecules, can illuminate histories of human migration. Studies of skeletal remains from medieval cemeteries in England, using oxygen and strontium isotope analyses to investigate places of childhood residence, reveal more mobility than anticipated and sometimes migration from unexpected directions. Whole-genome sequencing of a few individuals provides new insights into Anglo-Saxon migration and the diversity of origins of individuals buried in Roman York. Analysis of DNA variation in modern samples provides only indirect evidence about the medieval period, and considerable uncertainty about the timing of any deduced past migration events. This chapter argues that an explicit modelling framework should be developed permitting combined interpretation of DNA data (modern and ancient) and isotope data which, when applied to the same samples, will provide new insights about migration and mobility, and about the reliability and interpretation of these two sources of evidence.

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A Shattered Tomb of Scattered People: The Alvastra Dolmen in Light of Stable Isotopes

Current Swedish Archaeology ◽

10.37718/csa.2011.09 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 113-141

Author(s):

Elin Fornander

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Sacred Space ◽

Focal Point ◽

Skeletal Remains ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Burial Practices ◽

Geographic Origins ◽

Isotope Analyses

Skeletal remains from the dolmen in Alvastra are ap- proached from the perspective of isotope analyses, providing insights into dietary and residential pat- terns. Radiocarbon dates from the interred individu- als provide evidence of long-lasting burial practices which were still active when the Alvastra Pile Dwell- ing was built. The isotopic record indicates dispersed geographic origins among the buried individuals. It is suggested that Alvastra, with the dolmen as a focal point, was established as a meeting place and sacred space already several centuries before the time of the Pile Dwelling.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Whole-genome patterns of common DNA variation in three human populations.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1023522.323175 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Magnus Nordborg

Keyword(s):

Human Populations ◽

Whole Genome ◽

Dna Variation

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Whole-genome patterns of common DNA variation in three human populations.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1023522.287753 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Karin Schmitt

Keyword(s):

Human Populations ◽

Whole Genome ◽

Dna Variation

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Preliminary investigation of a late Wisconsinan fauna from K1 cave, Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), Canada

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2004.05.003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 105-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Carolyn L. Ramsey ◽

Paul A. Griffiths ◽

Daryl W. Fedje ◽

Rebecca J. Wigen ◽

Quentin Mackie

Keyword(s):

Late Pleistocene ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Preliminary Investigation ◽

Skeletal Remains ◽

Human Migration ◽

Early Holocene ◽

Haida Gwaii ◽

Queen Charlotte Islands ◽

Late Wisconsinan ◽

Early Human

Recent investigations of a limestone solution cave on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) have yielded skeletal remains of fauna including late Pleistocene and early Holocene bears, one specimen of which dates to ca. 14,400 14C yr B.P. This new fossil evidence sheds light on early postglacial environmental conditions in this archipelago, with implications for the timing of early human migration into the Americas.

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Evolutionary history and palaeoecology of brown bear in North-East Siberia re-examined using ancient DNA and stable isotopes from skeletal remains

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-40168-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alba Rey-Iglesia ◽

Ana García-Vázquez ◽

Eve C. Treadaway ◽

Johannes van der Plicht ◽

Gennady F. Baryshnikov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Ancient Dna ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Brown Bear ◽

Skeletal Remains ◽

East Siberia ◽

North East

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New light on the Anglo-Saxon succession: two cemeteries and their dates

Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00099385 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 83 (322) ◽

pp. 1096-1108 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

C.M. Hills ◽

T.C. O'Connell

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Fifth Century ◽

Interesting Problem ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

Rigorous Approach ◽

High Level ◽

Very High

The origin of the English is an interesting problem – and not only for them. In one short century, the evidence from texts, burial, artefacts, stable isotopes and now DNA provides several different answers to the question of whether England was invaded by Germans in the fifth century and if so in what manner. The rigorous approach by our authors tips the balance back in favour of a population changing its cultural allegiance – rather than being physically overwhelmed – but, as they emphasise, any new reading must depend on a very high level of archaeological precision – perhaps only now coming within reach.

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Isotopic evidence of connectivity between an inshore vegetated lagoon (nursery habitat) and coastal artificial reefs (adult habitats) for the reef fish Lethrinus lentjan on the Terengganu coast, Malaysia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf18302 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (12) ◽

pp. 1675 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dung Quang Le ◽

Siau Yin Fui ◽

Rumeaida Mat Piah ◽

Toyoho Ishimura ◽

Yuji Sano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Nursery Habitat ◽

Artificial Reefs ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Adult Fish ◽

Spatial Change ◽

Opaque Zone ◽

Coastal Conservation ◽

Nursery Habitats ◽

Isotope Analyses

Stable isotope analyses of muscle tissue (δ13Cmuscle and δ15Nmuscle) and otoliths (δ13Cotolith and δ18Ootolith) were used to retrospectively track habitat uses of Lethrinus lentjan, and to determine any association between Setiu Lagoon (nursery habitat) and coastal artificial reefs (CARs; adult habitats) on the Terengganu coast, Malaysia. Muscle stable isotopes exhibited a spatial change from inshore to offshore habitats associated with growth, possibly related to the reef-ward movement of the fish. Otolith stable isotopes of adult fish from CARs were measured in juvenile (from outside the core to the first opaque zone of otolith) and adult (the edge of otolith) portions and were compared with those of juveniles from Setiu Lagoon, suggesting that the adult fish may not primarily use the lagoon as a nursery before ontogenetically migrating to CARs. The effects of coastal currents between monsoonal seasons could reorientate offshore juvenile migration; hence, adult cohorts in CARs may be replenished from various nursery habitats along the coast. Additionally, similarities in the δ18Ootolith values of juvenile and adult sections suggested that some individuals may not spend their juvenile phases in shallow estuarine habitats. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend that coastal conservation strategies take into account multiple nursery habitats rather than a single one.

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