Peter Ditchfield

Peter Ditchfield
University of Oxford | OX · School of Archaeology

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139
Publications
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Publications

Publications (139)
Article
Full-text available
Objectives Stable isotope analysis of sequential dentine samples is a potentially powerful method to reveal insights into early life‐histories of individuals in the past. Dentine incremental growth structures are complex, however, and current approaches that apply horizontal sectioning of demineralized tooth halves or quarters risk combining multip...
Article
Multi-isotope analyses on diverse body tissues can offer valuable information on individual life-histories at different temporal resolutions. Here, we reconstruct the diet and mobility of a Late Mesolithic (ca. 5500 cal. BC) young woman buried in Aizpea rockshelter (Navarre, north-central Iberia). To this end, we combine δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N isotope analy...
Article
Full-text available
A number of small Middle Neolithic (3300-2800 BC) settlements flourished in the Oldenburger Graben area of northern Germany. The excavations yielded large amounts of crop remains, suggesting that agrarian production was a cornerstone of subsistence economy. Until about 3000 BC, Oldenburger Graben was a fjord, which over time was separated from the...
Article
Full-text available
This paper investigates Oldowan hominin behavioral ecology through use-wear analysis of artifacts from Kanjera South, Western Kenya. It extends development of our experimental use-wear reference collection and analysis of use-wear on the well preserved and unweathered Oldowan tools from this site to include rhyolite, a non-local material of similar...
Article
Full-text available
Plant-derived secondary metabolites consumed in the diet, especially polyphenolic compounds, are known to have a range of positive health effects. They are present in circulation after ingestion and absorption and can be sequestered into cells within particular organs, but have rarely been investigated systematically in osteological tissues. Howeve...
Article
The hillforts of the Oxfordshire Ridgeway in south-central England have been interpreted as central places in the Early/Middle Iron Age, ca. 600-100 BCE, serving, among other functions, to integrate the management of animals , particularly sheep, between the upland Chalk downs and the adjacent low-lying Vale of the White Horse. Since these landform...
Poster
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Tucked amongst numerous small settlements and megalithic tombs of the Oldenburger Graben region in northern Germany, the site of Oldenburg LA77 was occupied towards the end of fourth/beginning of the third mill BC by a community that practiced crop and animal husbandry, plant and shell gathering and hunting, and made tools and pottery. The settleme...
Article
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Oldowan sites in primary geological context are rare in the archaeological record. Here we describe the depositional environment of Oldowan occurrences at Kanjera South, Kenya, based on field descriptions and granulometric analysis. Excavations have recovered a large Oldowan artefact sample as well as the oldest substantial sample of archaeological...
Article
This is the thirty‐sixth list of AMS radiocarbon determinations measured at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Amongst some of the sites included here are the latest series of determinations from the key sites of El Mirón (Spain) and Sutton Courtney (UK), as well as others dating to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and later periods. Submi...
Article
Full-text available
Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments in the Thar Desert (India), located at the eastern extent of the Saharo-Arabian desert belt, have fluctuated considerably as a result of the varying range and intensity of the Indian summer monsoon. Phases of widespread Pleistocene aridity are well documented in the Thar Desert, but research focusing on humid pro...
Article
In this study, we analyzed the carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic composition of human bone collagen in 33 individuals found at the Fantzuyuan site in Taiwan in order to investigate the dietary patterns of this Iron Age group. Forty-three faunal collagen samples were also analyzed to ascertain the variability of baseline isotopic signatures in the...
Chapter
Dating is basic for archaeological and paleontological investigations and results of different dating methods used in Azokh caves are described in this chapter. Fossils from Azokh were not dated by any method previously. Lithic technology and taxonomy suggested a middle Pleistocene age for Unit V (from where Acheulian industries and a human mandibl...
Article
Full-text available
ELife digest The pattern of chemical reactions that break down the molecules that make our bodies is still fairly mysterious. Archaeologists and geologists hope that dead organisms (or artefacts made from them) might not decay entirely, leaving behind clues to their lives. We know that some molecules are more resistant than others; for example, fat...
Article
Proteins persist longer in the fossil record than DNA, but the longevity, survival mechanisms and substrates remain contested. Here, we demonstrate the role of mineral binding in preserving the protein sequence in ostrich (Struthionidae) eggshell, including from the palaeontological sites of Laetoli (3.8 Ma) and Olduvai Gorge (1.3 Ma) in Tanzania....
Article
Full-text available
Proteins persist longer in the fossil record than DNA, but the longevity, survival mechanisms and substrates remain contested. Here, we demonstrate the role of mineral binding in preserving the protein sequence in ostrich (Struthionidae) eggshell, including from the palaeontological sites of Laetoli (3.8 Ma) and Olduvai Gorge (1.3 Ma) in Tanzania....
Article
Full-text available
Archaeological sites in northern Africa provide a rich record of increasing importance for the origins of modern human behaviour and for understanding human dispersal out of Africa. However, the timing and nature of Palaeolithic human behaviour and dispersal across northwestern Africa (the Maghreb), and their relationship to local environmental con...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Archaeological sites in northern Africa provide a rich record that is of increasing importance for current debates relating to the origins of modern human behaviour and to Out of Africa human dispersal events. Particular interest is placed on the cultural transition between the North African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA), and the...
Article
Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were conducted on Neolithic Yuan-Shan faunal bone collagen to reconstruct a site-specific dietary isotope baseline, and to evaluate the contribution of potential food resources to the diet of Yuan-Shan people. The mean δ13C and δ15N values of terrestrial mammals were -17.7±3.6‰ and 5.4±1.3‰, respectively....
Article
Full-text available
Animal dung is evaluated here as a tool to reconstruct recent societal and environmental changes. Studies completed on the macro- and micro-contents from dung deposited in a mountain cave in Catalonia during the 1970–1980s, preceding the socio-economic changes in the area, was supplemented by the testimony of the last shepherd alive in the area. Th...
Article
Full-text available
Sites in North Africa hold key information for dating the presence of Homo sapiens and the distribution of Middle Stone Age (MSA), Middle Palaeolithic (MP) and Later Stone Age (LSA) cultural activity in the Late Pleistocene. Here we present new and review recently published tephrochronological evidence for five cave sites in North Africa with long...
Article
2014.Sites in North Africa hold key information for dating the presence of Homo sapiens and the distribution of Middle Stone Age (MSA), Middle Palaeolithic (MP) and Later Stone Age (LSA) cultural activity in the Late Pleistocene. Here we present new and review recently published tephrochronological evidence for five cave sites in North Africa with...
Article
Full-text available
The Jwalapuram Locality 9 rockshelter in southern India dates back to 35 000 years ago and it is emerging as one of the key sites for documenting human activity and behaviour in South Asia. The excavated assemblage includes a proliferation of lithic artefacts, beads, worked bone and fragments of a human cranium. The industry is microlithic in chara...
Article
Full-text available
The use of mesowear to infer diets of extinct species is fast becoming widespread in palaeoecological studies. Nevertheless, traditional mesowear analyses suffer from a specimen number limitation, in that a minimum number of specimens identified to the species level is necessary to make accurate dietary predictions. This is problematic in many foss...
Article
This is the 35th list of AMS radiocarbon determinations measured at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Amongst some of the sites included here are the latest series of determinations from the key sites of Abydos, El Mirón, Ban Chiang, Grotte de Pigeons (Taforalt), Alepotrypa and Oberkassel, as well as others dating to the Palaeolithic,...
Article
The Indian subcontinent contains a number of volcanic ash deposits representing the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) volcanic eruption of 75,000 years ago, though relatively few localities have been reported in detail. Here, we identify tephra deposits in the Sagileru Valley, south India, in association with Palaeolithic industries. The glass shard and bio...
Article
Full-text available
Significance Mammalian extinction during the past several hundred thousand years has been a major focus for evolutionary biologists, geologists, and archaeologists, often being linked to climate change and human overhunting. Until relatively recently, study has been largely restricted to the Americas, Europe, and Australasia. We present the oldest...
Article
The aim of this study is to assess the potential of charred archaeobotanical cereal grain and pulse seed δ13C and δ15N values to provide evidence of crop growing conditions and as a potential component of palaeodietary studies. In order to reliably interpret archaeobotanical δ13C and δ15N values it is necessary to take into account the impact of ch...
Article
The stratigraphic utility of carbon-isotope values from terrestrial organic matter is explored for Miocene siliciclastic sediments of the shallow shelf, New Jersey margin, USA (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program [IODP] Expedition 313). These shallow marine strata, rich in terrestrial organic matter, provide a record of deposition equivalent to the M...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The long, stratified archaeological site of Rhafas, in northeastern Morocco, provides valuable information about the timing of cultural changes in the Palaeolithic of northwest Africa. The location of this region is highly significant with respect to human evolution and migrations out of Africa, yet the timing and nature of Palaeolithic behaviour a...
Article
Full-text available
Recent genetic studies based on the distribution of mtDNA of haplogroup U6 have led to subtly different theories regarding the arrival of modern human populations in North Africa. One proposes that groups of the proto-U6 lineage spread from the Near East to North Africa around 40-45 ka (thousands of years ago), followed by some degree of regional c...
Article
The Acheulean to Middle Palaeolithic transition is one of the most important technological changes that occurs over the course of human evolution. Here we examine stone artefact assemblages from Patpara and two other excavated sites in the Middle Son Valley, India, which show a mosaic of attributes associated with Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic...
Article
Full-text available
Mammalian carnivores are rarely incorporated in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, largely because of their rarity within the fossil record. However, multivariate statistical modeling can be successfully used to quantify specific anatomical features as environmental predictors. Here we explore morphological variability of the humerus in a closely...
Article
Full-text available
The emergence of lithic technology by ∼2.6 million years ago (Ma) is often interpreted as a correlate of increasingly recurrent hominin acquisition and consumption of animal remains. Associated faunal evidence, however, is poorly preserved prior to ∼1.8 Ma, limiting our understanding of early archaeological (Oldowan) hominin carnivory. Here, we det...
Data
East African Earlier Stone Age zooarchaeological assemblages. Surface modification data for bovid and taxonomically-indeterminate long bone specimens. (DOC)
Data
Skeletal element evenness. Evenness calculated using the Shannon evenness index. Bone frequencies modeled using a Bayesian multinomial model. (DOC)
Data
Bone surface modifications. Modifications detailed by long bone portion, bed, animal size group, and analyst. (DOC)
Data
Minimum number of elements (MNE) for small and medium-sized bovids. (DOC)
Data
Skeletal element abundances and bone mineral densities. (DOC)
Data
Skeletal element abundances and standardized food utility indices. (DOC)
Data
Skeletal element abundances and within-bone nutrients. (DOC)
Data
Skeletal element abundances and within-bone resource extraction rates. (DOC)
Article
. Mammalian carnivores are rarely incorporated in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, largely because of their rarity within the fossil record. However, multivariate statistical modeling can be successfully used to quantify specific anatomical features as environmental predictors. Here we explore morphological variability of the humerus in a closel...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
North Africa is a region of considerable importance particularly in the context of current debates about Out of Africa events. However, the timing and nature of Palaeolithic human behaviour and human dispersals across northwest Africa are presently still poorly understood. The Rhafas cave site is situated in northeastern Morocco near the city of Ou...
Article
Full-text available
We examine the relationship between mesowear variables and carbon and nitrogen isotopes in 16 species of African antelope (Mammalia: Bovidae). We show significant differences in carbon and nitrogen isotope values between individuals exhibiting sharp versus round cusps, and high versus low occlusal relief. We show significant correlations between me...
Article
We present stable isotopic analyses of collagen from 80 servicemen excavated from the late 18th/early 19th century naval hospitals at Plymouth (50) and Haslar, Gosport (30) in southern England. Historical records suggest that, the diets of these two populations should be essentially identical. While δ(15) N of the rib collagen confirmed that naval...
Article
The Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) eruption ∼74 ka is the largest volcanic event to occur during the last two million years. This paper presents a high resolution landscape reconstruction for the Jurreru Valley, south India, immediately prior to this eruption. Primary ash fall deposits have sealed the pre-Toba surface of the Jurreru Valley, and subsequen...
Article
Full-text available
This paper reports further evidence from an archaeological occupation surface in southern India that was buried by tephra from the Toba volcanic super-eruption ca. 74,000 years ago. The open-air site, designated Jwalapuram Locality 22 and located in the Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh, preserves more than 1600 stone artefacts assigned to the Ind...
Article
Full-text available
This paper presents the first report on Dhaba, a newly discovered locality in the Middle Son Valley, north-central India. The locality preserves Acheulean, Middle Palaeolithic and microlithic artefacts within a Late Quaternary stratified alluvial sequence. Initial information is provided on the sedimentary sequence, archaeological survey and excava...
Article
The Toba super-eruption in northern Sumatra ∼74 ka was the largest eruption of the Quaternary period. Terrestrial deposits of distal Toba tephra have been found across the Indian subcontinent, although few localities have been adequately described with respect to stratigraphy and sedimentary history. This study provides the first detailed descripti...
Article
The recent discovery in St John's College of a mass burial of mostly young adult males with severe perimortem blade trauma has prompted the suggestion that these may be related to the St Brice's Day Massacre in Oxford on 13th November AD 1002. Three radiocarbon determinations suggest that a date in the tenth century is more likely. We have neverthe...
Article
Time series stable isotope analysis in dental tissues has become a useful tool for investigating diet histories in a variety of modern and fossil animals, but has only recently been applied to humans in archaeological contexts. The permanent human dentition preserves chronological dietary information for approximately the first two decades of life,...
Article
Full-text available
A recent study into prescreening techniques to identify bones suitable for radiocarbon dating from sites known for poor or variable preservation (Brock et al. 2007, 2010a) found that the percent nitrogen (%N) content of whole bone powder was the most reliable indicator of collagen preservation. Measurement of %N is rapid, requires little preparatio...
Article
As part of the road widening scheme between London and Dover, Oxford Archaeology South uncovered a large boundary ditch of Iron Age origin that contained Iron Age and Roman inhumations, adjacent to which was a small mid-late Roman cemetery, interpreted as a rural cemetery for Romano-British farmers. Grave goods in the cemetery were restricted to a...
Article
This is the thirty‐fourth list of AMS radiocarbon determinations measured at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Amongst the dates obtained for archaeological sites included here are the latest series of determinations from the key sites of Proskynas (Greece), Kovačevo (Bulgaria) and Khirbet Qeiyafa (Israel), as well as others dating to...
Article
Analysis of dental mesowear is a useful tool to examine dietary strategies in ungulates, and provides a palaeoenvironmental proxy at archaeological and palaeontological sites. We examine the distribution of traditional qualitative mesowear variables amongst 33 species of extant African antelope. We also examine the relationship of our dataset with...
Article
Single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating was applied to Late Quaternary sediments at two sites in the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India. Designated Bamburi 1 and Patpara, these sites contain Late Acheulean stone tool assemblages, which we associate with non-modern hominins. Age determinations of 140–120 ka place the formation of...
Article
Aim To quantify how mammal community structure relates to heterogeneity of vegetation for palaeoecological reconstructions, and to test whether historical or environmental factors are more important in structuring communities. Location Sixty-three natural protected areas in Asia, Africa and South and Central America. Methods We defined faunal commu...
Chapter
A review of the stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental context of the main sedimentary units that outcrop at Laetoli is presented here, with a primary focus on the Upper Laetolil Beds. The lithological sequences at many of the numbered paleontological localities, as designated by Leakey (1987a), are described and sedimentary logs for many of these loc...
Article
Full-text available
A prolonged, interdisciplinary fieldwork program was initiated in India to investigate the impact of the Toba super-eruption on terrestrial ecosystems and hominins. Fieldwork was centered on the Jurreru River Valley and the Middle Son River Valley, in southern and northern India. Archaeological sites span from 140,000 years ago through to the Holoc...