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Bronze Age childhood migration of individuals near Stonehenge, revealed by strontium and oxygen isotope tooth enamel analysis
Abstract
Contrasting lifestyles are recorded by the isotope composition of Bronze Age Beaker people ( c. 2500–2000 bc ) from three burial sites (Boscombe Down, Normanton Down and the ditch around Stonehenge) at or near to the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, southern England. Seven individuals (three adults, a sub‐adult, two juveniles and an infant) were recovered from a single grave at Boscombe Down. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from two teeth (a premolar and third molar) from each of three of the adults in this grave (referred to as Boscombe Bowmen) show that they had all shared a pattern of mobility and migration during their lives. The three adult males spent their early childhood (as represented by data from the premolar teeth) in an area with a radiogenic ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr isotope signature of around 0.7135. They each then moved, during early adolescence (as represented by the third molar results), to a less radiogenic area, where they acquired an ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr signature of around 0.7112. This implies that they must then have travelled to the Stonehenge area of Wiltshire at a later time in their lives. Wales provides the closest area with rocks that supply suitable ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratios and δ ¹⁸ O isotope compositions for these individuals, although other areas of Palaeozoic rock, such as Scotland and parts of Europe, cannot be ruled out.
Enamel from the two juveniles from the Boscombe Down burial yields ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratios of 0.7098 and 0.7099, and strontium concentrations for both of 55 ppm. The very close match of the data for the two juveniles supports the possibility that they were raised in the same environment. The difference in strontium isotope data between the juveniles and three adult males described above shows that the children did not come from the same homeland as the adults with whom they share a grave.
The two adult males from the single burials at Normanton Down, and from Stonehenge itself, had static lifestyles and show no evidence of migration, in contrast to the Boscombe Bowmen. Their oxygen and strontium data are consistent with a childhood in the Stonehenge area.
... The analysis of the strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotope ratios of tooth enamel is a robust and well-established method for examining an individual's geographic origins in archaeology and forensic science (Bartelink & Chesson, 2019;Bentley, 2006;Chenery et al., 2010;Eckardt et al., 2009;Evans et al., 2010;Evans et al., 2012;Evans, Chenery, & Fitzpatrick, 2006;Evans, Stoodley, & Chenery, 2006;Montgomery, 2010;Moore et al., 2020). Tooth enamel is an avascular acellular tissue that is highly resistant to isotopic alterations both after mineralization and in the postmortem burial environment, making it highly suitable for multi-isotope analysis Montgomery, 2010;Moore et al., 2020). ...
... By examining isotope ratios from younger individuals, the likelihood that their geographical origins during childhood overlap with the location where they were infected with leprosy increases, due to the longer incubation periods associated with the disease (Walker & Lockwood, 2006). Concurrently, the opportunity for movement during their lifetime is reduced, that is, being young, they had less time or ability to move before death (Evans, Chenery, & Fitzpatrick, 2006;Montgomery et al., 2000). Evans et al., 2012;Evans et al., 2018). ...
... For strontium isotope analyses, the sectioned core enamel was further prepared and measured according to Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick (2006); Evans, Stoodley, and Chenery (2006). In a clean laboratory, the enamel sample was first cleaned ultrasonically in high purity water to remove dust, rinsed twice, dried down in high purity acetone, and then weighed into pre-cleaned Teflon beakers. ...
Objectives
This study examines the biological sex and geographical origins of adolescents buried at the St Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, UK). The data are combined with archaeological and palaeopathological evidence to broaden the understanding of mobility and its relationship to leprosy and leprosaria in Medieval England.
Materials and Methods
Nineteen individuals (~10–25 at death) with skeletal lesions diagnostic of leprosy were analyzed using standard osteological methods. Amelogenin peptides were extracted from five individuals whose biological sex could not be assessed from macroscopic methods. Enamel samples were analyzed to produce ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr and δ ¹⁸ O values to explore mobility histories.
Results
Amelogenin peptides revealed three males and two females. Tooth enamel samples provided an ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratio range from 0.7084 to 0.7103 (mean 0.7090, ±0.0012, 2σ). δ ¹⁸ O P values show a wide range of 15.6‰–19.3‰ (mean 17.8 ± 1.6‰ 2σ), with corresponding δ ¹⁸ O DW values ranging from −9.7‰ to −4.1‰ (mean −6.3 ± 2.4‰ 2σ).
Discussion
Amelogenin peptide data reveal the presence of adolescent females with bone changes of leprosy, making them the youngest confirmed females with leprosy in the archaeological record. Results also show at least 12 adolescents were local, and seven were from further afield, including outside Britain. Since St. Mary Magdalen was a leprosarium, it is possible that these people traveled there specifically for care. Archaeological and palaeopathological data support the notion that care was provided at this facility and that leprosy stigma, as we understand it today, may not have existed in this time and place.
... From the 1990s, strontium isotope analysis of Beaker-associated human remains on the Continent (Price et al. 1994;Grupe et al. 1997; and, from the first decade of the 21st century, strontium and oxygen isotope analyses in Britain (Evans et al. 2006a) have revealed intriguing and, in some cases, long-distance patterns of movement. In central Europe, a study of 69 individuals buried in southern Bavaria found that 17.5%-25% had moved in their lifetimes, from which the researchers inferred movement in small groups, possibly as migrating women in an exogamous marriage system (Grupe et al. 1997). ...
... 58) and, in the Beaker People Project, he has been allocated the label SK301. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of enamel from his teeth, providing information on where he lived during mid-childhood and early adolescence, revealed that he did not grow up on the chalklands of Wessex (Evans et al. 2006a;Chenery & Evans 2011). Instead, the Amesbury Archer's unusually negative oxygen isotope value is consistent with his childhood having been spent in central Europe, perhaps in the foothills of the Alps -ironically echoing Abercromby's assertion of Switzerland as a 'homeland' for the 'Beaker people ' in Britain (1912, 66). ...
... 58) and is among the earliest Beaker-associated individuals in Britain. All three men were found to be non-local to the Wessex chalk, having spent their childhood in an area with high radiogenic strontium ratios (Evans et al. 2006a;Chenery & Evans 2011). While on geochemical grounds parts of Britain could be identified as candidate regions (namely Wales, south-west England and the Lake District), archaeologically the grave type and grave goods favoured a Continental origin, with a non-chalk region of France appearing to be the most plausible of the geochemical candidate areas (Fitzpatrick 2013;2015a). ...
... Toutefois, malgré une mobilité importante liée au Campaniforme, les individus venus de loin, au-delà de 200 km, restent exceptionnels (Chenery et Evans 2011 ;Evans, Chenery, et Fitzpatrick 2006 ;Grupe et al. 1997 ;Knipper et al. 2016 ;Pellegrini et al. 2016 ;Parker Pearson et al. 2016 (Evans, Chenery, et Fitzpatrick 2006). L'Europe Sud-centrale est une autre région où il est difficile de distinguer les individus s'étant déplacé d'un site à l'autre (Price et al. 2004). ...
... Toutefois, malgré une mobilité importante liée au Campaniforme, les individus venus de loin, au-delà de 200 km, restent exceptionnels (Chenery et Evans 2011 ;Evans, Chenery, et Fitzpatrick 2006 ;Grupe et al. 1997 ;Knipper et al. 2016 ;Pellegrini et al. 2016 ;Parker Pearson et al. 2016 (Evans, Chenery, et Fitzpatrick 2006). L'Europe Sud-centrale est une autre région où il est difficile de distinguer les individus s'étant déplacé d'un site à l'autre (Price et al. 2004). ...
... Les échantillons de certaines régions risquent d'être surreprésentés par rapport à d'autres si leurs données isotopiques sont plus faciles à interpréter et à contextualiser.qui présentent des signaux isotopiques pour le strontium et l'oxygène similaires à ceux des terres de l'autre côté de la Manche et de la mer du Nord(Evans, Chenery, et Fitzpatrick 2006).Les échantillons sont choisis en fonction des questions de recherche. Certains critères de conservation des échantillons doivent être respectés lors des analyses. ...
Over the past decade, available human genetic and isotopic data have increased as a result of technical advances in genetics, and an increased understanding of the isotopic environment, of the effects of diagenesis and of how different elements are absorbed. As a consequence, a synthesis of research on population mobility from these two types of data is necessary. This work focused on mobility and migration between the 6th and 3rd millennium BC. Paleogenetic studies show that the genetic structure of present day Europeans is primarily due to three source populations. The first population was on the continent before the 7th millennium: foragers. The second population came from Anatolia during the 7th millennium and spread agropastoralism through most of Europe. Genetics confirm that these migrants (men and women) followed two routes across Europe in the 6th millennium BC. They also spread agriculture to northern Europe during the second wave of neolithisation. Although archaeological remains provide evidence for contacts and exchanges between indigenous peoples and migrants, genetically, the admixture of these two populations only becomes evident from the 4th millennium BC. The third source population of Europeans came from the Eurasian steppes during the 3rd
millennium. The data point to a predominantly male migration over several generations. Isotopes indicate greater mobility for early farmers than for foragers, yet mobility is difficult to detect through the isotopic data during the Neolithic. During the 3rd millennium BC, mobility increased but long-distance travel remained exceptional. In the Neolithic, isotopes and genetics indicate female exogamy. Subsequent migrations and events have had little impact on the genetic structure of the European population. Although Neolithic migrations are now better understood, it is still necessary to research: (1) the reasons that pushed Neolithic farmers to colonise new lands, (2) and men from the far east of Europe to move westward during the 3rd millennium, and (3) what is the relation between this last migration and the development and spread of Corded Ware and Bell Beakers.
Keywords : Europe, Neolithic, 3rd millennium BC, mobility, migration, paleogenetics, stable isotopes
... Strontium and oxygen are incorporated into enamel during mineralisation, thus the isotope ratios reflect childhood residence [71]. Wherever possible enamel from second premolars (P2) or second molars (M2) was sampled, selecting teeth with at least one surface of the tooth unaffected by dental caries, and no extreme wear or damage. ...
... Enamel hypoplasia, often present in the adolescent dentitions in this sample, was an exception to these selection criteria. A small chip of enamel was mechanically cleaned by abrading all surfaces by a minimum depth of 100μm with a tungsten carbide dental burr and was then hand-ground with an agate mortar and pestle to produce two samples of core enamel between 10 and 20 milligrams in weight [71,72]. Measurements were undertaken at the Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University. ...
Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England is well documented. During this period, the removal of pauper children from workhouses in cities to work as apprentices in rural mills in the North of England was commonplace. Whilst the experiences of some of these children have been recorded historically, this study provides the first direct evidence of their lives through bioarchaeological analysis. The excavation of a rural churchyard cemetery in the village of Fewston, North Yorkshire, yielded the skeletal remains of 154 individuals, including an unusually large proportion of children aged between 8 to 20 years. A multi-method approach was undertaken, including osteological and palaeopathological examination, stable isotope and amelogenin peptide analysis. The bioarchaeological results were integrated with historical data regarding a local textile mill in operation during the 18th-19th centuries. The results for the children were compared to those obtained from contemporaneous individuals of known identity (from coffin plates) of comparable date. Most of the children exhibited distinctive 'non-local' isotope signatures and a diet low in animal protein when compared to the named local individuals. These children also showed severe growth delays and pathological lesions indicative of early life adversity, as well as respiratory disease, which is a known occupational hazard of mill work. This study has provided unique insights into the harrowing lives of these children; born into poverty and forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions. This analysis provides a stark testimony of the impacts of industrial labour on the health, growth and mortality risk of children, with implications for the present as well as our understanding of the past.
... Examples of biographical studies of individuals include the Amesbury Archer and some other material from around the Stonehenge region, an ongoing multi-disciplinary project on 'Gristhorpe Man' from Yorkshire (all of these from Britain) and the Alpine 'Iceman' ( Melton et al . 2010 ;Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick 2006 ;Fitzpatrick 2003 ;Müller et al. 2003 ). Other smaller-scale population studies include work on material from Switzerland, Germany, and Greece ( Vika 2009 ;Haak et al . ...
... As they point out in their studies, taking this further involves comparison with other groups in terms of variation in data-sets, possible rates of migration across diff erent time periods, and mapping base data from environmental samples. Examples of smallerscale studies include Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick ( 2006 ) and Chiaradia, Gallay, and Todt ( 2003 ). Th e former used strontium and oxygen to look at fi ve Beaker period adults and two juveniles from the general Stonehenge area (southern England), three of the adults and the children being from an unusual collective grave. ...
The Bronze Age in Europe has been the subject for some books over the years, including Coles and Harding’s The Bronze Age in Europe and Jacques Briard’s The Bronze Age in Barbarian Europe. This handbook aims to add relevant information about the Bronze Age, and covers Bronze Age Europe outside the Aegean area. It is split into two main parts, which provide a thematic approach (Part I) and geographical approach (Part II) to the study of the European Bronze Age. The first part presents various articles on themes and topics about the Bronze Age in Europe, such as warfare, animal husbandry, and burial practices. The second part describes some European countries during the Bronze Age, including Scandinavia, the western Balkans, and Iberia.
... This is because population-specific and period-specific dental development criteria for this geographic region, population, and archaeological period do not exist and were therefore not used (Hillson 2005, 211;Adams et al. 2018;Smith 2020). Moreover, the exact time and rate at which individual teeth undergo the mineralisation process has been shown to vary both between and within individuals, thereby reducing the effectiveness of tooth formation for estimating the age-at-death for samples originating from an unstudied archaeological population (Montgomery 2010 ;Hillson 2005;Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick 2006;Akkus et al. 2016;Adams et al. 2018;Esan, Mothupi, and Schepartz 2018). ...
... Yet the situation with strontium is less clear and questions remain about the residence time and turnover of strontium in the body, the proportion of strontium contributed to a growing foetus from dietary vs maternal body tissue sources, and how these things may vary across different species (Lugli et al. 2017;Lugli et al. 2019;Montgomery 2010). Many previous studies have measured and successfully interpreted strontium isotope data from deciduous human teeth (reviewed in Hrnčíř and Laffoon 2019; Knipper et al. 2018;Knudson et al. 2016;Lugli et al. 2017;Lugli et al. 2019) and earlier-forming permanent dentition that likely overlaps with the breastfeeding and weaning period (Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick 2006; reviewed in Hrnčíř and Laffoon 2019; Müller et al. 2003). More broadly, earlier-forming teeth such as 1st molars are routinely used for research into the mobility of past populations using other isotope systems such as δ 18 O (Prowse et al. 2007) despite similar concerns about fractionation effects caused by breastfeeding (Wright and Schwarcz 1998). ...
The ancient city of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia was occupied between the mid-6th and early 15th centuries AD and played a significant role as a trading centre with links internationally. Besides goods, these trade links also served in spreading cultural and religious ideas between continents, including Islamic traditions which became prevalent in Ethiopia during this time. Here, we present the first strontium isotope analysis of human remains from an Islamic site in Ethiopia. Results show that individuals buried following Islamic traditions include people born and raised both in Harlaa itself and also in rural communities from the surrounding hinterland, revealing a resident local Muslim community and potential coexistence of Muslim and non-Muslim individuals across economic sectors. The repeatability of results produced by laser ablation in human teeth sampled multiple times around the tooth cusp is also confirmed, although small differences between simultaneously-forming molar elements from a single individual were observed.
... Stable oxygen isotope analyses were first applied in research on the paleoclimate (Cormie et al. 1994;Iacumin et al. 1996;Tütken et al. 2006) and are currently used in bioarchaeology to investigate multiple aspects of life in ancient populations (e.g., Evans et al. 2006;Lee-Thorp and Sponheimer 2006;Knudson and Torres-Rouff 2009;Price et al. 2010Price et al. , 2019Perry et al. 2020). Reconstruction of the place of origin and movement of populations may help retrace the dynamics of mobility, possible exchange of commodities, contacts, and cultural diffusion of human groups. ...
Research using stable isotopes for the reconstruction of breastfeeding strategies are based on assumptions that have not yet been verified by experimental studies. Interpreting the results of isotope analysis is associated with a certain degree of uncertainty, mainly due to the lack of information on how isotopes are distributed in mothers, breast-fed and weaned offspring. Culinary practices also can affect the interpretation of isotope results. Considering positive correlation between oxygen isotope composition of drinking water and bone phosphates, experimental studies were carried out using rats as an animal model. The experiment showed that apatites of breast-fed offspring were enriched 1.6‰ in comparison to the values observed in their mothers. In the boiled water model, the difference was 1.8‰. On the basis of the animal model, it was estimated that the difference in δ 18 O between mother and child in the human species may amount to approximately 2.7‰, and long-term intake of boiled liquid food and beverages will not compensate the difference. The experiment allowed observation of the effect of changes in isotope ratios to a change in trophic levels during breastfeeding and weaning, as well as the additional effect associated with the consumption of isotope enriched water during thermal treatment.
... Provenance studies using strontium and oxygen stable isotope analysis assume that 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O values are incorporated into the tooth enamel, and remain unaltered across the life course, thus representing place of residence throughout tissue formation (childhood). If the person displays different 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O values to the local "signature," it is assumed that they are likely from a region with different underlying geology and meteoric drinking water(Evans et al., 2006;Pellegrini et al., 2016;Sponheimer & Lee-Thorp, 1999).3 | RESULTS3.1 | Enamel peptide sex assessmentAmelogenin peptides were recovered from all individuals, with three archeological individuals (MS1, MS2, MS4) displaying both AMEL-X and AMEL-Y (i.e., chromosomal males) and one archeological individual only displaying AMEL-X peptides (i.e., chromosomal female) (Table 1). ...
Objectives
There are few bioarcheological analyses of life experiences in colonial period Aotearoa New Zealand, despite this being a time of major adaptation and social change. In our study, early life histories are constructed from multi‐isotope and enamel peptide analysis of permanent first molars associated with Victorian era dental practices operating between AD 1881 and 1905 in Invercargill. Chemical analyses of the teeth provide insight into the childhood feeding practices, diet, and mobility of the people who had their teeth extracted.
Materials and Methods
Four permanent left mandibular first molars were analyzed from a cache of teeth discovered at the Leviathan Gift Depot site during excavations in 2019. The methods used were: (1) enamel peptide analysis to assess chromosomal sex; (2) bulk (δ ¹³ C carbonate ) and incremental (δ ¹³ C collagen and δ ¹⁵ N) isotope analysis of dentin to assess childhood diet; and (3) strontium ( ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr) and oxygen (δ ¹⁸ O) isotope analysis of enamel to assess childhood residency. Two modern permanent first molars from known individuals were analyzed as controls.
Results
The archaeological teeth were from three chromosomal males and one female. The protein and whole diets were predominately based on C 3 ‐plants and domestic animal products (meat and milk). A breastfeeding signal was only identified in one historic male. All individuals likely had childhood residences in Aotearoa.
Discussion
Unlike most bioarcheological studies that rely on the remains of the dead, the teeth analysed in this study were extracted from living people. We suggest that the dental patients were likely second or third generation colonists to Aotearoa, with fairly similar childhood diets. They were potentially lower‐class individuals either living in, or passing through, the growing colonial center of Invercargill.
... Several studies exist of strontium isotope analysis on Bell Beaker individuals. The pioneering studies on Central European burials by Grupe et al. (1997Grupe et al. ( , 1999Grupe et al. ( , 2001 and Price et al. (1994Price et al. ( , 1998Price et al. ( , 2004, a study by Chiaradia et al. (2003) on burials from Switzerland, another Central European study by Winterholler (2004), studies on human remains found close to Stonehenge in Britain (Evans et al. 2006, Chenerey/Evans in Fitzpatrick 2013, and the large scale "Beaker People Project" (Parker Pearson et al. 2016) are the best known examples to which we will refer here. The last two studies are also the primary examples for the use of oxygen isotopes on Bell Beaker burials. ...
The book series ‘Scales of Transformation in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies’ (STPAS) is an international scientific series that covers major results deriving from or being associated with the research conducted in the Collaborative Research Centre ‘Scales of Transformation: Human-Environmental Interaction in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies’ (CRC 1266). Primarily located at Kiel University, Germany, the CRC 1266 is a large interdisciplinary project investigating multiple aspects of socio-environmental transformations in ancient societies between 15,000 and 1 BCE across Europe.
... Two Australian oxygen isoscapes that predict annual d 18 O in precipitation for the Gulf Country have been produced (Bowen et al. 2005;Hollins et al. 2018 (Bryant and Froelich 1995;Kohn 1996). Other biological processes, including disease and nursing, can also offset d 18 O values in teeth by up to 2& (SMOW), with incisors, canines, and the first molars being the most likely to be influenced (Ash et al. 2003:54;Evans et al. 2006;Smits et al. 2010;White et al. 2004). ...
Truth-Telling of Australia's colonial history through science
... These researchers do not subject samples to chemical analysis or high temperatures. Most manually remove the outer tooth surface (e.g., (Glassburn et al., 2018;Moore et al., 2020), cementum, or dentine (e.g., Budd et al., 2000;Hedman et al., 2009;Pokutta et al., 2019;Rogers et al., 2019), and sometimes clean samples with deionized water or acetone (e.g., (Evans et al., 2006;Esker et al., 2019;Janzen et al., 2020). These approaches minimize damage to a specimen. ...
Most researchers assume minimal impact of pretreatment on strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) for bones and teeth, and methods vary tremendously. We compared 14 pretreatment methods, including no prep other than powdering enamel, ashing, soaking in water, an oxidizing agent (bleach or hydrogen peroxide) or acetic acid (0.1 M, 1.0 M, and 1.0 M buffered with calcium acetate), and a combination of these steps. We prepared and analyzed aliquots of powdered molar enamel from three proboscideans (one modern captive Indian elephant, Elephas maximus indicus; one Pleistocene mastodon, Mammut americanum; and one Miocene gomphothere, Afrochoerodon kisumuensis). Each pretreatment was performed in triplicate and we measured 87Sr/86Sr, Sr concentration, and uranium (U) concentration, using the same lab space and instrumentation for all samples. Variability in 87Sr/86Sr and Sr and U concentrations was considerable across pretreatments. Mean 87Sr/86Sr across methods ranged from 0.70999 to 0.71029 for the modern tooth, 0.71458 to 0.71502 for the Pleistocene tooth, and 0.70804 to 0.70817 for the Miocene tooth. The modern tooth contained the least Sr and negligible U. The Pleistocene tooth contained slightly more Sr and measurable amounts of U, and the Miocene tooth had approximately 5x more Sr and U than the Pleistocene tooth. For all three teeth, variance in 87Sr/86Sr, Sr concentrations, and U concentrations among replicates was statistically indistinguishable across pretreatments, but there were apparent differences among pretreatments for the modern and Pleistocene teeth. Both contained relatively little Sr, and it is possible that small amounts of exogenous Sr from reagents, building materials or dust affected some replicates for some pretreatments. For the modern tooth, median 87Sr/86Sr varied considerably (but statistically insignificantly) across pretreatments. For the Pleistocene tooth, variability in median 87Sr/86Sr was also considerable; some pretreatments were statistically distinct but there were no obvious patterns among methods. For the Miocene tooth, variability in median 87Sr/86Sr was much smaller, but there were significant differences among pretreatments. Most pretreatments yielded 87Sr/86Sr and Sr concentrations comparable to, or lower than, untreated powder, suggesting selective removal of exogenous material with high 87Sr/86Sr. Further evaluation of the mechanisms driving isotopic variability both within and among pretreatment methods is warranted. Researchers should clearly report their methods and avoid combining data obtained using different methods. Small differences in 87Sr/86Sr could impact data interpretations, especially in areas where isotopic variability is low.
... 551 Craig 1961Dansgaard 1964;Gat and Dansgaard 1972;Gat 1996;Poage and Chamberlin 2001. 552 Ezzo et al. 1997;Evans et al. 2006. 553 Ericson 1985Faure 1986. ...
Christian funerary sites in the area of medieval Nubian kingdoms are characterised by enormous variability, both in terms of the layout of whole burial grounds, as well as the sole appearance of individual burial units. The goal of research conducted within the framework of this thesis was the investigation of this variability in order to uncover the social identities of the deceased buried at the cemeteries of Ghazali in northern Sudan. The core of the site is a medieval monastery dated from the 7th to the 13th centuries AD. The funerary sphere of Ghazali is composed of four burial grounds (Cemeteries 1-4), belonging to both monastic and local lay populations. The differences between populations were investigated using spatial distribution of architectural features, as well as isotopic analyses of diet and mobility. Resources accessibility draws an economic divide between entire groups of various adaptations and modes of living and thus becomes a correlate of status. Meanwhile, much more pronounced internal diversity of the monastic Cemetery 2 suggests that the status in medieval Nubia was proclaimed through economic means. Wealth entailed privilege, which was then expressed through the location of burial in tandem with its architectural elaborateness. In effect, vertical ranking was demonstrated in funerary realm through one’s relationship to religion.
... The strontium stable isotope analysis of enamel in teeth from the adult male 25004 and the two crania found at his feet suggests that they all undertook similar journeys in childhood (Evans et al., 2006). If the two individuals represented by the skulls were broadly contemporary with burial 25004, all three could have undertaken this journey together in life. ...
In this article, the authors examine radiocarbon, histo-taphonomic, and contextual evidence for the deliberate curation, manipulation, and redeposition of human bone in British Bronze Age mortuary contexts. New radiocarbon dates and histological analyses are combined with existing data to explore the processes and practices that resulted in the incorporation of ‘relic’ fragments of bone in later graves, including evidence for the deliberate re-opening of previous burials and for funerary treatments such as excarnation and mummification. In some cases, fragments of human bone were curated outside the mortuary context. The authors consider what the treatment of human remains reveals about mortuary complexity in the Bronze Age, about relations between the living and the dead, and about attitudes to the body and concepts of the self.
... The use of strontium and stable oxygen isotopes analysis of tooth enamel of second and third molars may expose patterns of migration and mobility during adolescence (e.g. Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick 2006;Filipek et al. 2021). Depending on the temporal or social context, adolescence may have also been the period in which young people transitioned to different jobs or joined the workforce. ...
Adolescence is a key phase of the life course in modern western society, yet the study of adolescence in past populations has only recently developed. In this paper, we explore patterns of biological and social changes during adolescence, some of the challenges associated with this type of research, and how bioarchaeologists can explore this transitional period of life using macroscopic and biochemical approaches. We also examine why investigations of adolescence have been limited thus far, and how we may move forward to integrate studies of adolescence with the study of childhood, and life, in the past.
... Such analyses are frequently used as a tool to assess human provenance, mobility, and migration (e.g. Ambrose and Krigbaum 2003;Bendrey et al. 2009;Bentley et al. 2002;Buzon and Simonetti 2013;Cox and Sealy 1997;Eckardt et al. 2009;Evans et al. 2006;Ezzo et al. 1997;Giblin et al. 2013;Gregoricka 2013;Grupe et al. 1997;Harvig et al. 2014;Kenoyer et al. 2013;Knudson and Buikstra 2007;Knudson and Price 2007;Knudson et al. 2004;Montgomery 2010;Montgomery et al. 2000Montgomery et al. , 2005Müldner et al. 2009;Perry et al. 2008;Pollard et al. 2012;Price et al. 1994Price et al. , 2002Sealy et al. 1991Sealy et al. , 1995Sillen et al.1998;Slater et al. 2014;Viner et al. 2010), animal food source locations and migrations (e.g. Bendrey et al. 2009;Britton et al. 2011;Moffat et al. 2012), paleodiet (e.g. ...
How do the environments and social structures that we create and modify to suit our needs affect the individuals that live and work within those environments? Bioarchaeology and political ecology provide novel means by which to understand how the environments we create, both social environments and our modifications of the natural environment, can affect the body and individuals’ health disproportionately. This dissertation uses osteological analyses, historic records, trace element analysis (arsenic, barium, and lead), and isotopic analyses (various lead isotopes as well as strontium 87/86) to evaluate how different types of anthropogenic environments can be retained within and have an effect upon the body. Key in this dissertation is how anthropogenic environments and industrial practices transformed environments during the Industrial Revolution in England, and how individuals’ interaction with their environments depended upon elements of their biosocial identity and the inequality present within society, both of which ultimately dictate what environments individuals can access. Accordingly, the anthropogenic processes that transformed environments in England and which were prevalent during the industrial period were a systemic threat that had far reaching consequences throughout the country, and possibly the world.
This dissertation studies two archaeological collections of individuals from England during the Industrial Revolution. Neither collection is extreme in being either completely industrial and urban, or completely rural and agrarian. Instead, these collections fall within the mid-range of industrialization, though one is larger and more industrialized than the other. The more industrial population was buried at St. Hilda’s parish in South Shields, a large industrial town with a variety of industries that include nearby coal mines and the construction of ships and steam engines. The more agrarian population was buried at St. Peter’s church in Barton-upon-Humber, a small market town focused on agriculture. These collections were chosen, as was this time period, because they represent populations of individuals who lived during dramatic environmental change, but before environmental and occupational legislation was passed to prevent pollution and job-related hazards. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on the extent to which individuals were exposed to the pollutants present in their environments, and how this exposure occurred disproportionately based on aspects of their identity and the regions in which they lived.
Prior to osteological and sample analyses, it was predicted that the population from St. Hilda’s would have experienced greater pollutant exposure and adverse health outcomes than the population from St. Peter’s, and that this could be seen in the concentration of key trace elements in their bones. It was also predicted that men from St. Hilda’s should have greater concentrations of trace elements in their bones compared to women due to the more hazardous nature of men’s work during this time period. Furthermore, it was predicted that as a consequence of the concentrations of trace element pollutants in individual’s bones, the population from St. Hilda’s would have experienced a greater variety of negative health outcomes associated with exposure.
The findings of this dissertation do not support all of these predictions, however. There were no differences in stature between the two populations, indicating that either there was some buffer in South Shields that protected the individuals from St. Hilda’s from the causative factors of decreased stature, or that there were similar hazards in both South Shields and Barton-upon-Humber. There were also a significantly greater number of older women among the population from St. Hilda’s compared to St. Peter’s, further reinforcing this finding. In regard to the pollutants present in both environments, there were harmful concentrations of different trace element pollutants in the skeletal samples from both populations (lead among those from St. Peter’s, and barium and arsenic among those from St. Hilda’s), and women from St. Hilda’s show significantly higher levels of arsenic and barium in their bodies compared to men. Furthermore, the men from St. Peter’s had significantly greater skeletal concentrations of lead compared to the men from Sr. Hilda’s.
The findings of this dissertation contradict the assumptions that the countryside and more rural environments provided safe and clean escapes from industrial cities and towns, and that women experienced fewer hazards in terms of pollutant exposure compared to men. Instead, there was continuity in environments throughout England during the Industrial Revolution such that the major changes and processes that occurred in industrial cities affected the entire country. A more agrarian town like Barton-upon-Humber was not immune to the pollutants and harmful effects of industry. However, living in a larger and more industrial town like South Shields was not entirely harmful to its population, either. Potential routes of exposure to pollutants and toxic compounds include not only occupational exposure, but also exposure as a result of burning coal in the home and workplace for heat, energy, and to cook food, as well as the use of goods made with toxic compounds – “silent killers” that could be found in homes throughout the country.
... For a great proportion of their history, humans have been immediately dependent on their environment in terms of plants, animals and water supply. Changes in diet can be reconstructed using skeletal remains as a dietary archive and analyzing radiogenic and stable isotopes, trace elements, and ancient DNA (Evans et al., 2006;Haak et al., 2008;Mannino et al., 2011). Radiogenic isotope systems are important in ascertaining the age, migration, geological substrate and diagenesis of bones and thus the relative importance of dietary and environmental factors. ...
As efforts to recognise the Anthropocene as a new epoch of geological time are mounting, the controversial debate about the time of its beginning continues. Here, we suggest the term Palaeoanthropocene for the period between the first, barely recognizable, anthropogenic environmental changes and the industrial revolution when anthropogenically induced changes of climate, land use and biodiversity began to increase very rapidly. The concept of the Palaeoanthropocene recognises that humans are an integral part of the Earth system rather than merely an external forcing factor. The delineation of the beginning of the Palaeoanthropocene will require an increase in the understanding and precision of palaeoclimate indicators, the recognition of archaeological sites as environmental archives, and interlinking palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironmental changes and human development with changes in the distribution of Quaternary plant and animal species and socio-economic models of population subsistence and demise.
... To account for this, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values are multiplied by 1000 for the analyses (i.e., a value of 0.70925 would be understood by rKIN as 709.25). This is no different from scaling 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values for comparison to δ 13 C or δ 18 O values (see Bentley & Knipper, 2005;Evans et al., 2006;Wright, 2012), but does call into question the terminology of isotopic niche space, which I address further in the "Results and Discussion" section. While the package developers have built in a smallSamp() argument to allow for analyses to be run with as few as five samples, all analyses are conducted with at least 10 samples as this is the level found to provide reliable and realistic estimates of isotopic niche space and overlap (Eckrich et al., 2020). ...
Archaeological applications of stable isotope data have become increasingly prevalent, and the use of these data continues to expand rapidly. Researchers are starting to find that recovering data for multiple elements provides additional insight and quantitative data for answering questions about past human activities and behaviors. Many stable isotope studies in archaeology, however, rarely move beyond comparisons of descriptive statistics such as mean, median, and standard deviation. Over the last decade, ecologists have formalized the concept of isotopic niche space, and corresponding isotopic niche overlap, to incorporate data from two or more isotopic systems into a single analysis. Additionally, several methods for quantifying isotopic niche space and overlap are now available. Here, I describe the evolution of the isotopic niche space concept and demonstrate the usefulness of it for archaeological research through three case studies using the recently developed rKIN package that allows for a comparison of different methods of isotopic niche space and overlap estimations. Two case studies apply these new measures to previously published studies, while a third case study illustrates its applicability to exploring new hypotheses and research directions. The benefits and limitations of quantifying isotopic niche space and overlap are discussed, as well as suggestions for data reporting and transparency when using these methods. Isotopic niche space and overlap metrics will allow archaeologists to extract more nuanced information from stable isotope datasets in their drive to understand more fully the histories of the human conditions.
... With these histological methods of dental age estimation, isotopic analysis can also be used to identify migration events throughout life (e.g. Schweissing and Grupe 2003;Evans et al. 2006;Prowse et al. 2007 Of course, the analysis of dental incremental structures is not limited in function to the study of biomolecular changes. These methods have proven to be useful in the determination of age-at-death in forensic cases, primate studies and bioarchaeological studies. ...
This dissertation can be found along with Appendix 7 (bottom of page) at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6472/
This dissertation investigates the use of dental anthropological methods for estimating chronological age-at-death in ancient Egypt, and determines whether these methods can be improved. Tooth calcification, emergence and eruption standards are time honoured in their ability to accurately age subadults though they are compromised by the fact that populations and the sexes vary in their developmental timing. Determining sex in subadults, particularly in the infant and child cohorts, in all populations is not possible, though advances in ancient DNA methods hold promise. This dissertation provides a feasible and ethical model for developing a sex-and region-specific standard for age estimation of subadults for use on ancient Egyptian samples.This method rectifies methodological errors affecting the accuracy of pre-existing standards; and thus, demonstrates that macroscopic subadult dental age estimation methods can be improved.
Moreover, using a photographic sample of occlusal dentition from the Kellis 2 cemetery population in Roman Period Egypt, a new method for adult dental age estimation is designed and tested. To this end, the percentages of exposed occlusal dentine in first and second molars were calculated through photogrammetry, in a technique shown to have little intra- and inter-observer error. These data showed a strong linear correlation with skeletal age estimates, and varied significantly from the popular Brothwell (1963a) standard for age estimation based on dental wear. Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss were similarly tested for correlation with skeletal age, with only antemortem tooth loss showing a strong correlation. As a result, linear regression models were designed and tested for quantified first and second molar wear as well as antemortem tooth loss. Multiple regression models for all combinations of these dental indicators of age were also designed and tested. Although it is also recommended that these models are revised with expanded reference samples, these standards improve the ability to estimate age in individuals from the Kellis 2 cemetery population. It is recommended that these standards are tested and modified for use on geographically- and temporally-diverse populations to determine the boundaries of its application beyond a single population sample.
In summary, this study rejects the null hypothesis (Ho): ‘Current dental age estimation standards cannot be improved’. Consequently, this dissertation serves to encourage the creation of more accurate and precise subadult and adult macroscopic dental age estimation standards.
... • Oxygen isotope data have long been used in conjunction with strontium for exploring origins (e.g. Evans, Chenery, and Fitzpatrick 2006). These principally vary according to climate, with a well-defined southwest to northeast gradient of decreasing values in British groundwaters (Darling, Bath, and Talbot 2003). ...
The expansion of isotope analyses has transformed the study of past migration and mobility, sometimes providing unexpected and intriguing results. This has, in turn, led to media attention (and concomitant misrepresentation) and scepticism from some archaeologists. Such scepticism is healthy and not always without foundation. Isotope analysis is yet to reach full maturity and challenging issues remain, concerning diagenesis, biosphere mapping resolution and knowledge of the drivers of variation. Bold and over-simplistic interpretations have been presented, especially when relying on single isotope proxies, and researchers have at times been accused of following specific agendas. It is therefore vital to integrate archaeological and environmental evidence to support interpretation. Most importantly, the use of multiple isotope proxies is key: isotope analysis is an exclusive approach and therefore single analyses provide only limited resolution. The growth in isotope research has led to a growth in rebuttals and counter-narratives. Such rebuttals warrant the same critical appraisal that is applied to original research, both of evidence for their assertions and the potential for underlying agendas. This paper takes a case study-based approach focusing on pig movements to Neolithic henge complexes to explore the dangers encountered in secondary use of isotope data.
... Re-evaluating Scythian lifeways: Isotopic analysis of diet and mobility in Iron Age Ukraine insights into mobility and subsistence at the level of the individual. Strontium isotope analysis provides direct evidence for human mobility, as 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in food and drink varies broadly in accordance with geology (Fig 2), with distinctions being passed on to consumers [54,[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64]. Stable oxygen isotope measurements of human enamel offer further insight into human mobility and landscape use [65][66][67] as they primarily reflect imbibed water [68][69][70][71] with some caveats (see methods). ...
The Scythians are frequently presented, in popular and academic thought alike, as highly mobile warrior nomads who posed a great economic risk to growing Mediterranean empires from the Iron Age into the Classical period. Archaeological studies provide evidence of first millennium BCE urbanism in the steppe while historical texts reference steppe agriculture, challenging traditional characterizations of Scythians as nomads. However, there have been few direct studies of the diet and mobility of populations living in the Pontic steppe and forest-steppe during the Scythian era. Here, we analyse strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data from human tooth enamel samples, as well as nitrogen and carbon isotope data of bone collagen, at several Iron Age sites across Ukraine commonly associated with ‘Scythian’ era communities. Our multi-isotopic approach demonstrates generally low levels of human mobility in the vicinity of urban locales, where populations engaged in agro-pastoralism focused primarily on millet agriculture. Some individuals show evidence for long-distance mobility, likely associated with significant inter-regional connections. We argue that this pattern supports economic diversity of urban locales and complex trading networks, rather than a homogeneous nomadic population.
... During the last few decades, strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) have proven to be a powerful tracer of provenance not only for geological applications but also in a wide variety of studies including archaeology (e.g., Bentley et al., 2003;Evans et al., 2006;Montgomery, 2010;Rich et al., 2015;Szczepanek et al., 2018), hydrology (e.g., Christian et al., 2011;Hogan et al., 2000;Négrel et al., 2004;Zieliński et al., 2018), forensics (Beard and Johnson, 2000;West et al., 2009), ecology (e.g., Chamberlain et al., 1996;Hegg et al., 2013;Hoppe and Koch, 2007;Sillen et al., 1998), water supply (Chesson et al., 2012;Leung and Jiao, 2006), and food authenticity (e.g., Crittenden et al., 2007;Rodrigues et al., 2011;Rossmann et al., 2000;Voerkelius et al., 2010). Regardless of the purpose of research, the usage of Sr isotopes as a provenance tracer requires knowledge of spatial variations in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values within the environment at a local and regional scale, preferably in the form of accurate reference maps. ...
This study presents first isoscape maps of strontium isotope signatures and their spatial variation in Poland, based on ~900 samples of rocks, sediments, surface water, and flora. This dataset is supplemented by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios predicted for several carbonate rock units. High, radiogenic Sr isotope ratios (>0.72), related to the Pleistocene glacial deposits, are omnipresent throughout the country and are also found in the Sudetes and the Holy Cross Mountains, where igneous and clastic Palaeozoic rocks are widely exposed. The lowest Sr signatures (<0.71) occur predominantly in the Silesian-Małopolska and Lublin uplands and are related to exposures of Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Neogene carbonate rocks. The large variation of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in the environment across the country is chiefly driven by the diversity in the geological substrate, and locally, it is also influenced by anthropogenic contamination. Strontium isoscapes for the geological substrate and surface waters differ from each other, in terms of the range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values and their distributional pattern. The differences result primarily from mixing processes in the geosphere (weathering), hydrosphere, and biosphere that control Sr inputs from various natural sources present in the environment. On the other side, they are also created by anthropogenic contamination of surface water and presumably of soils. This situation has important implications for future archaeological provenance and migration studies, as isoscapes for surface water and vegetation cannot be directly used to estimate the local ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr baselines for past human populations. Therefore, caution is required when modern Sr data of surface water and plants are used in archaeological research. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of the geological substrate, which may be affected by anthropogenic contamination to a lesser extent than water, soil, and vegetation, are favoured for the baseline estimation for historical times.
... Several isotopic markers are used in palaeo-mobility research 27,28 . The most applied are oxygen and strontium isotopes from tooth enamel [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] , while the isotopes of other elements are seldom applied for this topic 32,35-38 . Mobility research via oxygen isotopes relies on site-specific isotopic signatures to gauge where people might have lived during the period of skeletal mineralization. ...
As a means for investigating human mobility during late the Neolithic to the Copper Age in central and southern Italy, this study presents a novel dataset of enamel oxygen and carbon isotope values (δ18Oca and δ13Cca) from the carbonate fraction of biogenic apatite for one hundred and twenty-six individual teeth coming from two Neolithic and eight Copper Age communities. The measured δ18Oca values suggest a significant role of local sources in the water inputs to the body water, whereas δ13Cca values indicate food resources, principally based on C3 plants. Both δ13Cca and δ18Oca ranges vary substantially when samples are broken down into local populations. Statistically defined thresholds, accounting for intra-site variability, allow the identification of only a few outliers in the eight Copper Age communities, suggesting that sedentary lifestyle rather than extensive mobility characterized the investigated populations. This seems to be also typical of the two studied Neolithic communities. Overall, this research shows that the investigated periods in peninsular Italy differed in mobility pattern from the following Bronze Age communities from more northern areas.
... Stable isotope analyses were-among others-carried out to gain information about the place where the individuals grew up. Strontium (Sr) isotope analyses can be used as provenance tracer and allow insights into the mobility of individuals (e.g., Chenery et al. 2010;Eckardt et al. 2009;Evans et al. 2006;Tütken et al. 2008aTütken et al. , 2008bTütken 2010). Strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) of teeth are related to those of the bioavailable Sr, which reflects the geological age and/or lithology of the bedrock substrate on which food is grown and ingested by animals and humans during childhood (i.e., time of enamel mineralization) (e.g., Beard and Johnson 2000;Bentley 2006;Maurer et al. 2012;Price et al. 2002), enabling us to assess the provenance and migration histories of individuals. ...
Despite great variability, most burials of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe exhibit a high degree of standardization. Richly furnished graves consist of wooden chambers furnished with grave goods like chariots, vessels, and other objects, while less “rich” burials—clustered in “regular” cemeteries—show the same orientation to the south as well as regularly reappearing objects like weapons or ornaments. Because of these strict rules, scholars have accepted such burials as “the norm,” and any other form of deposition of the dead as “abnormal,” hinting at macabre customs like cannibalism or sacrifice. This chapter analyzes one kind of Iron Age deviant burial, those in settlement pits, discussing bioarchaeological and isotopic analyses, a reassessment of archaeological evidence, and a comparison with normative burial practices. The dead in settlements belonged to at least three social categories, each probably considered incomplete in some way and unfit to be buried in regular cemeteries: very small children, adolescents, and other individuals that had suffered an untimely or “bad” death, and individuals of low social standing.
... Due to this small magnitude of dietbody offset of strontium isotopes, the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in animal tissues reflect the geological signature of underlying bedrock, which is incorporated into the mixed sources of food, water, and atmospheric elements in the food chain that are consumed and imbibed throughout the course of tissue development (Graustein, 1989;Bentley, 2006;Grimstead et al., 2017;Bataille et al., 2020). Strontium isotope analysis is typically employed by archeologists to examine questions of past migration and mobility: identifying first-generation migrants in a skeletal sample, constraining areas of possible provenience for those non-locals, and assessing the proportion of geologically local to non-local individuals in skeletal assemblages (e.g., Ericson, 1985;Price et al., 1994Price et al., , 2002Price et al., , 2015Evans et al., 2006;Knudson and Price, 2007;Slovak et al., 2009;Montgomery, 2010;Tung and Knudson, 2011;Frei and Price, 2012;Knudson et al., 2012b). Assuming mostly local foods were consumed, individuals with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr that differs from most other individuals in a sample, or from the measured 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the local environmental baseline, were likely non-local during the period when the sampled tissue was developing. ...
The analysis of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr has become a robust tool for identifying non-local individuals at archeological sites. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in human bioapatite reflects the geological signature of food and water consumed during tissue development. Modeling relationships between 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in human environments, food webs, and archeological human tissues is critical for moving from identifying non-locals to determining their likely provenience. In the Andes, obstacles to sample geolocation include overlapping 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of distant geographies and a poor understanding of mixed strontium sources in food and drink. Here, water is investigated as a proxy for bioavailable strontium in archeological human skeletal and dental tissues. This study develops a water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape from 262 samples (220 new and 42 published samples), testing the model with published archeological human skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr trimmed of probable non-locals. Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and prediction error between the predicted and measured 87 Sr/ 86 Sr for the archeological test set are compared by elevation, underlying geology, and watershed size. Across the Peruvian Andes, water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges from 0.7049 to 0.7227 (M = 0.7081, SD = 0.0027). Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr is higher in the highlands, in areas overlying older bedrock, and in larger watersheds, characteristics which are geographically correlated. Spatial outliers identified are from canals, wells, and one stream, suggesting those sources could show non-representative 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The best-fit water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape achieves prediction errors for archeological samples ranging from 0.0017-0.0031 (M = 0.0012, n = 493). The water isoscape explains only 7.0% of the variation in archeological skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (R 2 = 0.07), but 90.0% of archeological skeleton 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fall within the site isoscape prediction ± site prediction standard error. Due to lower sampling density and higher geological variability in the highlands, the water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape is more useful for ruling out geographic origins for lowland Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | www.frontiersin.org 1 September 2020 | Volume 8 | Article 281 Scaffidi et al. A Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr Isoscape for the Peruvian Andes dwellers than for highlanders. Baseline studies are especially needed in the highlands and poorly sampled regions. Because the results demonstrate that a geostatistical water model is insufficient for fully predicting human 87 Sr/ 86 Sr variation, future work will incorporate additional substrates like plants, fauna, soils, and dust, aiming to eventually generate a regression and process-based mixing model for the probabilistic geolocation of Andean samples.
... Other facts point in the same direction. "The boy with the amber necklace," buried at Boscombe Down, 5 km SE of Stonehenge, and dated at 1550 BC bear witness of travel and cultural interchange [14][15][16]. The isotopic composition of his milk teeth is indicative a childhood in the Mediterranean. ...
We report a novel finding that Stonehenge in England and Ales Stones in Sweden were built with the same basic geometry and using the megalithic yard as standard of measure. This opens quite new perspectives into cultural influence, travel and trading in the Bronze Age.
... In case of unknown and highly fragmented remains, the suitability of a preserved bone tissue at histological scale allows one to perform several diagnoses, including species determination (human versus non-human) (Cattaneo et al. 2009), age of death (Kerley and Ubelaker 1978;Han et al. 2009), and disease (Assis et al. 2015). Chemical compositions of bones (and teeth) are a key for information about climate, environmental exposure, genetics, diets, health, dating, and migration (Evans et al. 2006;Brady et al. 2008;Castro et al. 2010 and the literature herein cited; Müller et al. 2011). All these data, synergically pieced together, allow assessment of the demographic trend, ethnic evolution, and health of past populations as well as of the funerary activities or other cultural practices (Ambrose and Krigbaum 2003;Szostek et al. 2011;Booth 2016). ...
The major difficulty to study bone preservation is to define which diagenetic parameters need to be taken into account when any information on environmental conditions is missing. Through this research, we contribute towards understanding the complex interplay of factors that affects human bones during diagenetic process. The work focuses on how organic and mineral components influence each other and how they influence the resulting micro-structural assessment of human bone. The mineral and organic properties of 24 adult human long bones from archaeological to contemporary burials in Milan (Italy) were characterized through different analytical techniques, in relation to the preservation of their microstructure and porosity. The 3D microstructure of the bone tissue was carried out through the use of phase contrast synchrotron radiation computed micro-tomography (SR-μCT). The results show that when diagenesis proceeds, (i) the bone tissue is progressively attacked by microbes; (ii) the diagenetic porosity increases at the expense of vascular ones; (iii) the volumes, diameters, and interconnections of vascular canals are markedly reduced; (iii) the amount of organic and carbonate fraction decreases whereas bone crystallinity and mean crystal length increase; (iv) the Ca/P mole ratio in CHA crystals increases; (v) the anisotropy along c-axis in CHA crystals is lost, resulting in an increase of their domain size. Since the conservation of organic and mineral fractions is variable in relation to bone microstructure within the same period and site, the research points out the needs to perform a multi-analytical approach to characterize the bone diagenesis at different scales of observation.
... As with battleaxes, axe-hammers from known petrological sources circulated widely (Clough 1988, 9;Williams-Thorpe et al. 2003;, including Groups XV, XIV, and XVIII. Mobility, gift, and exchange networks have all been suggested to explain such long distance movements and the movement of people during the British Chalcolithic and EBA has been well demonstrated by isotopic analysis (eg, Evans et al. 2006;Parker Pearson et al. 2016;Pellegrini et al. 2016;Brace et al. 2019). The Beaker People Project revealed that northern Scotland, Yorkshire, and the Peak District were areas with highest mobility rates out of the studied regions and there was also movement over smaller distances in Scotland (Parker Pearson et al. 2016, 630;2019). ...
The perforated stone battle-axes and axe-hammers of Early Bronze Age Britain have been used either to interpret the status of individuals they were buried with or have been overlooked; this is especially the case with axe-hammers. Previous understandings have assumed battle-axes were purely ceremonial, while the rougher axe-hammers were neither functional nor prestigious, being too large and too crude to be prestige items. Studies of the 20th century were focused on creating a typology and understanding the manufacture and petrological sources of the stone, concluding that haphazard exploitation of stone was used to create a variety of different shapes of both implements. This paper revisits the question of how these artefacts were used. It presents the results of the first large-scale application of use-wear analysis to British Early Bronze Age battle-axes and axe-hammers, from northern Britain and the Isle of Man. Combining the results of the wear analysis with experimental archaeology and contextual analysis, it is argued that these objects were functional tools, some of which saw prolonged use that might have spanned multiple users. The evidence shows that the few implements found in burial contexts were both functional and symbolic; their inclusion in burial contexts drawing upon relational links which developed through the itineraries of these objects. It is also apparent that use and treatment were similar across all types of battle-axe and axe-hammer, with some regional variation in the deposition of axe-hammers in south-west Scotland. It is concluded that battle-axes and axe-hammers had varied and multiple roles and significances and that it is possible to discover what each artefact was used for by deploying a use-wear analysis methodology.
... Additionally, the European Bronze Age is one of the current foci of archaeological isotope studies, fuelled by the belief and assumption that this period was characterised by high levels of mobility and more elaborated social hierarchies that accompanied metal production, distribution and use (Tafuri et al., 2003;Kristiansen, 1994;Kristiansen and Larsson, 2005;Vandkilde, 2007). For example, Evans et al. (2006) determined that the high-status Boscombe Bowmen were mobile during their lives, eventually migrating to the Stonehenge region where they were buried, whereas Oelze et al. (2012) were able to show that the cemetery of Singen contained only locals. More recently, Mittnik et al. (2019) were able to confirm a pattern of female exogamy, patrilocal residence and complex households containing people of various social statuses in the Lech Valley, Germany during the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, using a combination of aDNA and stable isotope analyses. ...
Strontium isotope research to answer questions regarding mobility and provenance of individuals from archaeological cemeteries has, until very recently, been focused almost entirely on bone and tooth samples from inhumation burials. This study investigates whether cremated tooth enamel, when present, can provide reliable strontium isotope ratios despite heat-related alteration and millennia in the soil. We obtained ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios for 34 enamel and 2 dentine samples from 28 individuals, as well as for 18 soil leachates, from the Urnfield cremation cemetery of Vollmarshausen (State of Hesse, Germany). Our results show that cremated enamel from this site was not subject to contamination from the burial environment. Using our results and comparison with relevant published bioavailable strontium isotope baselines, we also show that the individuals from Vollmarshausen were predominantly local to the area around their burial site. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence regarding the applicability of strontium isotope analysis to cremated human remains, which given the wide global and temporal spread of this form of burial treatment opens up new possibilities for cremation archaeology.
... The combination of these two isotopic system data can restrict possible areas and provide information about the area of origin and thus mobility patterns of individuals (e.g. Bentley & Knipper, 2005;Evans et al., 2006a;Evans et al., 2006b). The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio of a closed system is controlled by the initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio, the Rb/Sr ratio and time elapsed (Faure & Powell, 1972). ...
A total of 93 individuals, of which 34 were infants, from San Juan de Momoitio graveyard (9th to 12th centuries) were analyzed to explore social changes in a peasant community in the northern Iberian Peninsula within the historical evolution of the Middle Ages. The study consisted of human palaeodiet characterization and mobility patterns based on δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen values showed a staple diet derived from husbandry based on the consumption of animal protein (pig, poultry and sheep/goat) and cereals (millet and wheat). The increase in the consumption of millet rather than wheat during the High Middle Ages is noteworthy. The change in dietary pattern coincided with the transformation of the landscape from dispersed farmsteads to the foundation of a village, leading to landscape reorganization. This new situation resulted in the gradual abandonment of San Juan de Momoitio church and the graveyard. Oxygen and strontium isotopes show that most individuals were of local origin except for only two individuals. Strontium isotopes also recorded the population distribution after the village foundation and the subsequent landscape arrangement, reflecting the relative movement of individuals towards higher hillsides. Additionally, the oxygen isotopes of teeth recorded climate changes throughout the time of the settlement, suggesting variation from warmer climate conditions during the first occupation period towards colder climate conditions in the last period. Nitrogen and oxygen isotope composition also contributed to a better understanding of breastfeeding and weaning practices affecting infant peasants in the Middle Ages.
... Increasingly, researchers are documenting 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in enamel apatite from sequentially-forming teeth and bone to understand mobility within the life course of individuals Eriksson et al., 2018;Evans et al., 2006;Hrn� cí� r and Laffoon, 2019;Knudson et al., 2016). Tooth enamel is formed during sequential phases during infancy and childhood (Table 1), after which it is metabolically inert (Hillson, 1996). ...
Biogeographical studies of migration and mobility in archaeology and bioarchaeology rely on accurately characterizing local 87Sr/86Sr ranges, either through baseline studies or by statistically parsing archaeological results at a given site. However, when baseline materials are difficult to obtain or suspected to deviate from prehistoric isotopic catchments, archaeological data may provide an accurate characterization of local ranges. Through a spatial meta-analysis of 87Sr/86Sr values from archaeological human, faunal, and artifact samples (n = 1658) from 45 publications, this study aims to quantify and compare variation in bioavailable strontium and create the first predictive isotope model (or isoscape) for 87Sr/86Sr values in the prehistoric Andes. Descriptive statistics, including the coefficient of variation, are compared between sites from different temporal categories, and between coastal, yungas, and highland sites. Regional differences in the 87Sr/86Sr values of male and female biological sex categories are compared for human enamel and bone samples, and between sequentially-forming enamel and bone samples. The study finds that the archaeological dataset trimmed of outliers provides a reliable model of local ranges. However, we caution that when migration and trade networks being investigated are within homogeneous isoscape regions, or between contiguous neighbors, multiple isotopic signatures should be incorporated into provenience estimations.
... Stable isotope analyses were-among others-carried out to gain information about the place where the individuals grew up. Strontium (Sr) isotope analyses can be used as provenance tracer and allow insights into the mobility of individuals (e.g., Chenery et al. 2010;Eckardt et al. 2009;Evans et al. 2006;Tütken et al. 2008aTütken et al. , 2008bTütken 2010). Strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) of teeth are related to those of the bioavailable Sr, which reflects the geological age and/or lithology of the bedrock substrate on which food is grown and ingested by animals and humans during childhood (i.e., time of enamel mineralization) (e.g., Beard and Johnson 2000;Bentley 2006;Maurer et al. 2012;Price et al. 2002), enabling us to assess the provenance and migration histories of individuals. ...
... Therefore, combined Sr and O isotope analyses can be used to trace the provenance and mobility of individuals (e.g. Chenery et al. 2010;Eckardt et al. 2009;Evans et al. 2006;Tütken et al. 2008a, b;Tütken 2010). ...
The provenance and depositional setting of the human remains in the Dietersberg Cave, located in the Franconian Alb in Southern Germany, are evaluated based on 14C-dates and stable isotope analyses (C, N, O, Sr). Four basic scenarios are discussed: (1) human sacrifice, (2) ‘regular’ burial place for a small social unit, (3) special social group (e.g. slaves) and (4) special circumstances of death (e.g. fatal illness). Scenarios 1 and 2 are unlikely as the age distribution includes all ages and both sexes and the 14C-dates of the human remains span most of the Iron Age which would result in an implausible small burial community. Stable isotope analyses also render the deposition of slaves (scenario 3) implausible because a high proportion of the individuals were probably of local origin and their diet was not fundamentally different from that of contemporary populations. The archaeological evidence points to a social bias (i.e. low social standing) as reason for deposition. However, the high numbers of apotropaic objects and of perinatals also suggest that scenario 4 might be plausible for at least some of the individuals. The cave was probably a place of deposition not only for one category of individuals but also for those whose burial in the ‘regular’ cemetery was not considered appropriate.
... Lack of a land bridge was evidently not an impediment to migration across the English Channel, with evidence of seafaring practices prior to the Bronze age, and the discovery of the oldest intact boat in the world -the Dover Bronze age boat -dated at~3600 BP (Bayliss et al., 2003), along with Bronze age artefacts sourced from outside of Britain (Samson, 2006). The use of isotopic tracing of teeth in Chalcolithic and Bronze-aged people indicate significant population mobility and migration of peoples within Britain and from mainland Europe (Evans et al., 2006;Chenery & Evans, 2011;Parker-Pearson et al., 2016;Pellegrini et al., 2016). For example, the Amesbury Archer (~4400-4300 BP; Barclay et al., 2011) has isotopic signatures within their teeth consistent with migration from mainland Europe (Chenery & Evans, 2011), while Sr and O isotope studies also point to significant population mobility in Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age human burials in Britain and Ireland (~4500-3500 BP; Barclay et al., 2011), with a third of population being buried in a geographically different region from where they grew up . ...
Materials used in the construction of man-made structures can reveal information about societies, their environment , culture and mobility. Cultures throughout human history have used natural stone to construct fu-nerary monuments and tool technologies. Stone materials from igneous rocks can be provenanced by petro-graphic examination and geochemical methods that provide a direct link between the artefact and their source. For sedimentary sarsen stones, provenance is often complicated by diagenetic processes acting on source rocks. Here I use an example of stones used to build 6000-year-old earth and sarsen megalith structures from the River Medway valley (Kent, UK). These megalith structures lie on the strategic and pre-Neolithic North Downs migration route into Britain, but the provenance of the sarsens used in their construction has not been established. The highly competent sarsens are diagenetic groundwater silcretes, resulting from acid leaching of glauconitic clay components, and addition of a quartz cement. Heavy rare earth and high field strength element abundances and ratios are resistant to diagenetic effects and show a geochemical association with Paleogene sandstones from the Upnor Formation of the Lambeth Group at the 95% confidence limit. Detrital zircon and titanite grain compositions confirm this relationship. Preferential erosion and removal of the less competent sandstone around silcretes left large (> 2 m), durable and isolated sarsen blocks on top of the chalk downs that were subsequently exploited by Neolithic peoples. Use of local stone to construct the Medway megaliths is consistent with their distinct morphological characteristics that have been used to imply independence from continental European cultures at that time. Combined with careful field collection of possible source rocks and sarsen materials, provenance of stones of sedimentary origin that have been affected by diagenesis can be accurately assessed through a combination of petrography, bulk-rock heavy rare earth element and high field strength element abundances, and detrital mineral compositions.
... Estrontzio eta oxigeno isotopoak bi sistema isotopiko independenteak dira, baina biak konbinatuz gizabanako baten jatorrizko eremu posibleari buruzko informazioa ematen dute eta beraz, mugikortasun ereduei buruzko informazioa ere bai [43]. Europan hauetako ikerketa lan ugari ditugu: Neanderthalen migrazioak [16] eta Irlanda eta Eskoziako bikingoen kolonien azterketak [44] analizatu dituztenak besteak beste. ...
Gizakien hezur eta hortzetan neurtutako isotopo-erlazioak (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C, δ15N eta δ18O) antzinako gizakien elikadura eta mugikortasun ereduak berreraikitzeko erabiltzen dira. Gizakien elikaduraren berri izateko gizaki eta faunaren hezurretik lortutako kolagenoan karbono eta nitrogeno isotopoen analisiak egiten dira. Gainera, gizaki eta animalien mugikortasunari buruz informazioa lortzeko hezur eta hortzetan neurtutako estrontzio eta oxigenoen isotopo-erlazioak dira erabiliak. Isotopo hauek duten aplikazioa ikusteko Erdi Aroko hiru aztarnategiren emaitzak deskribatuko dira, Momoitioko San Juan (Bizkaia), Tauste (Zaragoza), eta Las Gobasekoak (Trebiñuko Konderria) hain zuzen ere.
The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about the relationships between the deceased: were they chosen on the basis of status, gender or relatedness, for example? Here, the authors present the results of aDNA and isotope analyses conducted on seven individuals from an Early Iron Age barrow at Dolge njive, south-eastern Slovenia. All seven individuals are close biological relatives. While the group composition suggests strict adherence to neither patrilineal nor matrilineal structures, the funerary tradition appears highly gendered, and family links through both the male and female lines seem important in structuring of the community. The results have implications for understanding of kinship and funerary practices in late prehistoric Europe.
The relationship between residence, gender and mobility is central to the study of early social complexity. And yet, until recently, it was deemed as archaeologically intractable. The recent combination of strontium data and genomics with other methods has opened up entirely new possibilities for the archaeological study of human mobility, but these advances are not without problems. Theoretical framing, empirical accuracy and data interpretation remain controversial. In this paper we address the relationship between residence patterns, gender and mobility among early complex societies, combining both ethnographic and archaeological evidence. Our approach focuses on Chalcolithic Iberia, a period in which the stage for emerging social complexity was set. The possible existence of male-centered residential patterns and their possible connection with conflict, social complexity and gender inequalities is examined. The available data on strontium isotopes suggest women were more frequently buried in places different from those where they grew up, which can be linked to bilocality biased to patrilocality, especially in the so called ‘mega-sites’. While preliminary, this body of evidence opens up fresh lines of enquiry for the study of early complex societies, highlights the benefits of combining different kinds of evidence, and underlines the centrality of gender in the social analysis.
Analytical Archaeometry describes this interesting and challenging field of research - on the border between natural sciences (chemistry, spectroscopy, biology, geology) and humanities (archaeology, (art-)history, conservation sciences). It fills the gap between these two areas whilst focussing on the analytical aspects of this research field. The first part of the book studies the main analytical techniques used in this research field. The second part expands from the different types of materials usually encountered, and the final part is organised around a series of typical research questions. The book is not only focussed on archaeological materials, but is also accessible to a broader lay audience. Overall the book is clearly structured and gives insight into different approaches to the study of analytical providing extensive discussion on a wide range of techniques, materials, questions and applications. Due to the advances in analytical instrumentation and applications in this field, it is important to have all this information merged together. Academics as well as professionals in archaeology, art history, museum labs and conservation science will find this an invaluable reference source ensuring the reader is provided with the latest progress in this research field.
Large-scale archaeogenetic studies of people from prehistoric Europe tend to be broad in scope and difficult to resolve with local archaeologies. However, accompanying supplementary information often contains useful finer-scale information that is comprehensible without specific genetics expertise. Here, we show how undiscussed details provided in supplementary information of aDNA papers can provide crucial insight into patterns of ancestry change and genetic relatedness in the past by examining details relating to a >90 per cent shift in the genetic ancestry of populations who inhabited Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain ( c . 2450–1600 bc ). While this outcome was certainly influenced by movements of communities carrying novel ancestries into Britain from continental Europe, it was unlikely to have been a simple, rapid process, potentially taking up to 16 generations, during which time there is evidence for the synchronous persistence of groups largely descended from the Neolithic populations. Insofar as genetic relationships can be assumed to have had social meaning, identification of genetic relatives in cemeteries suggests paternal relationships were important, but there is substantial variability in how genetic ties were referenced and little evidence for strict patrilocality or female exogamy.
O registro arqueológico associado aos sítios conchíferos do litoral catarinense aponta para uma intensificação nos processos de mudança a partir de 2000 anos AP, marcada por acontecimentos diversos como a diminuição no número de sítios, a diminuição no uso de conchas em sua formação, o aparecimento da cerâmica, o aumento da violência e a alteração do padrão de residência pós-marital. Com o objetivo de compreender melhor esses processos de mudança e entendendo o sítio Armação do Sul (Florianópolis/SC) como elemento chave para essa compreensão, foram realizadas análises isotópicas de estrôncio (87Sr/86Sr), carbono (δ13C) e nitrogênio (δ15N) nos indivíduos que nele se encontram sepultados, juntamente com a análise das práticas mortuárias associadas a esses sepultamentos e o estabelecimento de uma cronologia que associa informação estratigráfica com datações radiocarbônicas obtidas para diversos esqueletos. A partir de uma perspectiva de longa duração centrada na prática e do reconhecimento da multidimensionalidade inerente aos processos de mudança, os dados gerados foram entendidos contextualmente na curta, média e longa duração, e em escala de sítio (Armação do Sul), local (litoral central) e regional (litoral catarinense), em busca de uma tensão positiva entre indivíduo e estrutura, mudança e estabilidade, sincronia e diacronia. Ao fim, concluiu-se que os processos de mudança se desenrolaram diferentemente em porções litorâneas distintas do litoral catarinense e que, no caso do sítio Armação do Sul, as mudanças observadas estão relacionadas a um quadro de acontecimentos inter-relacionados que envolveu: maior circulação e incorporação de indivíduos de diferentes partes do litoral central; mudança na dieta dos indivíduos do sexo masculino em direção ao consumo de recursos C4 ou à diminuição no consumo de recursos marinhos de alto nível trófico; desenvolvimento de uma hierarquia social mais claramente observável no registro arqueológico e, possivelmente, hereditária; aumento da violência; inovações em alguns elementos que compõem as práticas mortuárias; mudança no sedimento que compõe o sítio; adensamento populacional ou maior quantidade de indivíduos sendo sepultados no mesmo local; transição para um padrão de residência virilocal; e alterações paleoclimáticas e paleogeográficas. Foram ainda feitas algumas breves contribuições para um melhor entendimento das peculiaridades do panorama arqueológico do litoral central, com o auxílio de conceitos oriundos da teoria de sistemas adaptativos complexos e sob a perspectiva dos regimes de historicidade.
The archaeological record associated with shell mounds in the Santa Catarina coast points to an intensification in the processes of change starting at 2000 years BP, marked by various events such as the decrease in the number of sites, the reduction in the use of shells in their formation, the appearance of ceramics, increased violence and alterations of the pattern of post-marital residence. In order to better comprehend these processes of change and understanding the Armação do Sul site (Florianópolis/SC) as a key element to said comprehension, we have performed isotopic analyses based on strontium (87Sr/86Sr), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in the individuals that are buried there, along with the analysis of the mortuary practices associated with those burials, and the establishment of a chronology that associates stratigraphic information with radiocarbon dating obtained for several skeletons. From a long-term perspective focused on practice and recognition of the multidimensionality inherent to change processes, the resulting data were observed contextually in short, medium and long terms, and in site (Armação do Sul), local (central coast) and regional (Santa Catarina coast) scales, in search for a positive tension between individual and structure, change and stability, synchrony and diachrony. Finally, we have concluded that the change processes unfolded differently in distinct coastal portions in the Santa Catarina coast and that, in the case of the Armação do Sul site, observed changes are related to a setting of interrelated events which involved: increased circulation and incorporation of individuals from different parts of the central coast; change in the diet of male individuals towards consumption of C4 resources or the decrease in the consumption of marine resources of high trophic level; development of a social hierarchy more clearly observable in the archaeological records and, possibly, hereditary; increased violence; innovations in some elements which compose the mortuary practices; change in the depositional pattern; increase in the population density or in the number of individuals buried in the same place; transition to a pattern of virilocal residence; and climate and geographic alterations. We have also made some briefs contributions towards a better understanding of the peculiarities of the archaeological panorama in the central coast, with the aid of concepts from the theory of complex adaptive systems and within a perspective of the regimes of historicity.
Archaeology is a well-established science, with its own methods and practices. It can and often does make use of isotopes to unlock secrets of past societies and we will consider a few specific examples.
The rise of more sophisticated forms of analysis has allowed bioarchaeologists to address and answer a wide range of questions regarding past diets, health, mobility, population history, kinship, and taphonomy. However, all of these techniques, e.g. DNA analysis, radiocarbon dating, isotope analysis, and histological analysis require destructive sampling of human remains, which raises ethical issues pertaining to preservation and survival as well as cultural concerns of both past and contemporary societies regarding the post mortem treatment of the dead. This chapter will explore the validity of conducting destructive sampling for the purpose of academic research. It will explore how curators, bioarchaeologists, and archaeologists currently deal with ethical issues surrounding destructive sampling and associated analyses, including the curation of skeletal remains for research purposes, access enquiries, and matters of consent. It is recommended that bioarchaeologists, archaeologists, and curators ensure ethics are at the core of all work carried out when working with human remains. It is thus proposed that these methods should be reserved for focused research questions as opposed to exploratory studies. It is also recommended that researchers and curators receive adequate training in procedures related to destructive sampling as a means of controlling the number of times samples can be taken from bones and teeth which will, in turn, preserve skeletal remains for future generations to study using even more advanced techniques. Following an introduction to the subject matter, this chapter will explore ethics and human remains, technical analyses applied to archaeological human remains, religious and cultural beliefs, and finally makes recommendations for best practice when conducting destructive sampling.
High mobility among Scythian populations is often cited as the driving force behind pan‐regional interactions and the spread of new material culture c.700–200 bce, when burgeoning socioeconomic interactions between the Greeks, Scythian steppe pastoralists and the agro‐pastoral tribes of the forest‐steppe played out across the region. While interregional mobility central to warrior lifestyles is assumed to have been a defining feature of Scythian populations, strikingly few studies have investigated human mobility among communities located along the steppe and forest‐steppe boundary zone. Here, we document movement and dietary intake of individuals interred at Bel'sk, a large urban settlement in Ukraine, through strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of human tooth enamel. The results provide direct evidence for limited mobility among populations from Bel'sk, demonstrating the movement into, and out of, urban complexes. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal that groups at Bel'sk remained local to the urban complex. Dietary intake, reflected in carbon isotopes, was based on domesticated crops and livestock herding. The combination of low mobility alongside dietary evidence suggests local groups engaged in sedentary agro‐pastoral subsistence strategies that contrast sharply with the picture of highly mobile Scythian herders dependent on livestock portrayed in historical sources.
Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic data are reported for 27 samples of fine-grained metasediments from five different localities of the Slate Greywacke Complex of the Central Iberian Zone, Portugal. Over most of the area, Rb-Sr whole-rock isotope systematics yields a 440 to 400 Ma time interval, which is considered to correspond to an important metamorphic episode. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of most Variscan granitoids from northern Portugal together with the Sr isotopic evolution curves for all studied metapelites, show that the latter are not suitable main sources for these granitoids. Sm-Nd depleted-mantle model ages and whole-rock Sm-Nd isochron ages provide values of 1.35 to 1.25 Ga, which may correspond to the average age of the mantle-extraction of the sources of the sediments. These data provide evidence that metamorphism of greenschist facies does not induce Nd isotopic rehomogenization in fine-grained sediments. The Sr and Nd isotopic signatures of the analysed metasediments (Sri = 0.7090 to 0.7170; and εNd (430) = -2.6 to -4.18) suggest derivation from young continental crust, and deposition probably in a tectonically passive setting.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has been conducting a
world-wide survey of hydrogen (2H/1H) and oxygen
(18O/16O) isotope composition of monthly
precipitation since 1961. At present, 72 IAEA/WMO network stations are
in operation. Another 82 stations belonging to national organizations
continue to send their results to the IAEA for publication. The paper
focuses on basic features of spatial and temporal distribution of
deuterium and 18O in global precipitation, as derived from
the IAEA/WMO isotope database. The internal structure and basic
characteristics of this database are discussed in some detail. The
existing phenomenological relationships between observed stable isotope
composition of precipitation and various climate-related parameters such
as local surface air temperature and amount of precipitation are
reviewed and critically assessed. Attempts are presented towards
revealing interannual fluctuations in the accumulated isotope records
and relating them to changes of precipitation amount and the surface air
temperature over the past 30 years.
A new procedure is described in which combined lead and strontium isotope analysis of archaeological human dental tissues can be used to comment on the lifetime movements of individuals. A case study is presented of four Neolithic burials – an adult female and three juveniles – from a shared burial pit excavated at Monkton-up-Wimbourne, Dorset. It is demonstrated that the adult's place of origin was at least 80km to the north-west in the area of the Mendips. It is also shown that all three juveniles moved over significant distances during their lives.
The Sr isotope ratios and Sr concentration in tooth enamel from a rural tenth-twelfth century Anglo-Saxon population living on a Jurassic clay-carbonate terrain in eastern England gives the following mean values: 87Sr/ 86Sr = 0.7098 ± 0.0018 (2σ, n = 22) and Sr concentrations = 74 ± 62p.p.m. (2σ . The isotope data are taken to be representative of Anglo-Saxon biosphere values in the area of study. The Sr isotope composition of soil leachates, plant material, riverwaters and animal tooth enamel associated with the burial site were all analysed to see which gave the best approximation to these local Anglo-Saxon values, the aim being to define the best method of predicting the local Sr signature of areas for archaeological purposes. The Sr isotope composition of acetic acid soil leachates were dominated by the carbonate soil component and gave 0.7085 ± 0.0020 water leachates gave 0.7090 ± 0.0014 and plant material gave 0.7092 = 0.0018 (all at 2σ, n = 12) . All of these materials were less radiogenic that those of the Anglo-Saxon population. Riverwater gave the same result as the plants at 0.7092 ± 0.0012 (2σ, n = 3). The Anglo-Saxon animal tooth enamel gave the best match with a value of 0.7099 ± 0.0017 (2σ, n = 13). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests show that there is a high probability (>70% probability, 2SD) that the animals and the humans sampled were from the same population with respect to Sr isotope composition. Thus animal tooth enamel proved to be the best proxy, in this study, for the local human population.
The interpretation of mudrock Rb-Sr whole-rock regression ages using stratigraphically well-constrained samples from the Ordovician and Silurian of central Wales is re-examined. Two new Rb-Sr whole-rock regressions are presented along with K-Ar and Rb-Sr data from the < 2 mu m illite fraction of samples from these and published whole-rock suites. Eight K-Ar ages from the < 2 mu m fractions give ages which show a normal distribution, with a mean and quadratically combined 2 sigma error indicating a Devonian age of 399 +/- 3 Ma. Rb-Sr whole-rock ages are less consistent, giving 431 +/- 10, 428 +/- 14, 414 +/- 6 and 403 +/- 15 Ma. Rb-Sr data from the illite fractions do not generate a linear array. The Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron ages are interpreted as dating the time of passage of the rock through the smectite-illite transition because the radiometric ages correspond well to the estimated time of this reaction. Other explanations of the ages, such as the possibility that they were generated by mixing, or that they date sediment provenance ages, peak metamorphism, or cleavage, are rejected on geological grounds.
A previously reported, experimentally determined, relationship between the oxygen isotopic composition of bone and teeth phosphate (δp) and drinking water (δw), which has application to paleoclimatic interpretations, is shown to require modifications when applied to present day human populations.The oxygen isotopic compositions of 40 well documented human teeth and 11 urinary stones have shown that in both cases δp is well correlated with δw. The slope of the linear regression ffit of this relationship is, however, lower than expected. This is explained by a mixing of intake waters from high and low latitudes in a diet of a modern human. Urinary stones are enriched in18O by about 2% which we explain by: (a) different physiological (metabolic) rates of humans when teeth are formed (below the age of 20) compared to those rates when urinary stones form (generally in middle age); or (b) variations in the relative proportions of the different water intakes and outputs between healthy individuals and those forming urinary stones.
Two cleaved, epizone-grade Palaeozoic mudrock suites from Snowdonia yield a mean Rb-Sr whole-rock age of 409 ± 11 Ma. This is consistent with resetting of the Rb-Sr whole-rock isotope systems of the mudrocks during cleavage development in end-Silurian/Early Devonian (Acadian) deformation. In contrast, cleaved Palaeozoic anchizone mudrocks from north and central Wales give a Silurian mean age of 430 ± 9 Ma. This dates either a pre-tectonic isotopic event preserved through Acadian anchizone metamorphism, or mid-Silurian deformation and metamorphism at anchizone grade unaffected by the Acadian event. -Author
Human skeletal remains from Bell Beaker graves in southern Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were analyzed for information on human migration. Strontium isotope ratios were measured in bone and tooth enamel to determine if these individuals had changed ‘geological’ residence during their lifetimes. Strontium isotopes vary among different types of rock. They enter the body through diet and are deposited in the skeleton. Tooth enamel forms during early childhood and does not change. Bone changes continually through life. Difference in the strontium isotope ratio between bone and enamel in the same individual indicates change in residence. Results from the analysis of 81 Bell Beaker individuals indicated that 51 had moved during their lifetime. Information on the geology of south-central Europe, the application of strontium isotope analysis, and the relevant Bell Beaker sites is provided along with discussion of the results of the study.
The δ18O of mammalian bone-phosphate varies linearly with δ18O of environmental water, but is not in isotopic equilibrium with that water. This situation is explained by a model of δ18O in body water in which the important fluxes of exchangeable oxygen through the body are taken into account. Fractionation of oxygen isotopes between body and environmental drinking water is dependent on the rates of drinking and respiration. Isotopic fractionation can be estimated from physiological data and the estimates correlate very well with observed fractionation. Species whose water consumption is large relatively to its energy expenditure is sensitive to isotopic ratio changes in environmental water.
No The excavation at Cnip, Isle of Lewis, Scotland of the largest, and only known family cemetery from the early Norse period in the Hehrides, provided a unique opportunity to use Sr isotope analysis to examine the origins of people who may have been Norwegian Vikings. Sr isotope analysis permits direct investigation of a person's place of origin rather than indirectly through acquired cultural and artefactual affiliations. Sr isotope data suggest that the Norse group at Cnip was of mixed origins. The majority were consistent with indigenous origins but two individuals, of middle-age and different sex. were immigrants. They were, however, not from Norway but were raised separately, most probably on Tertiary volcanic rocks (e.g. the Inner Hebrides or NE Ireland) or, for the female, on marine carbonate rocks.
The utility of stable isotopes as tracers of the water molecule has a long pedigree. The study reported here is part of an attempt to establish a comprehensive isotopic 'baseline' for the British Isles as background data for a range of applications. Part 1 of this study (Darling and Talbot, 2003) considered the isotopic composition of rainfall in Britain and Ireland. The present paper is concerned with the composition of surface waters and groundwater. In isotopic terms, surface waters (other than some upland streams) are poorly characterised in the British Isles; their potential variability has yet to be widely used as an aid in hydrological research. In what may be the first study of a major British river, a monthly isotopic record of the upper River Thames during 1998 was obtained. This shows high damping of the isotopic variation compared to that in rainfall over most of the year, though significant fluctuations were seen for the autumn months. Smaller rivers such as the Stour and Darent show a more subdued response to the balance between runoff and baseflow. The relationship between the isotopic composition of rainfall and groundwater is also considered. From a limited database, it appears that whereas Chalk groundwater is a representative mixture of weighted average annual rainfall, for Triassic sandstone groundwater there is a seasonal selection of rainfall biased towards isotopically-depleted winter recharge. This may be primarily the result of physical differences between the infiltration characteristics of rock types, though other factors (vegetation, glacial history) could be involved. In the main, however, groundwaters appear to be representative of bulk rainfall within an error band of 0.5‰ δ<sup>18</sup>O. Contour maps of the δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>2</sup>H content of recent groundwaters in the British Isles show a fundamental SW-NE depletion effect modified by topography. The range of measured values, while much smaller than those for rainfall, still covers some ‰ for δ<sup>18</sup>O and 30‰ for δ<sup>2</sup>H. Over lowland areas the 'altitude effect' is of little significance, but in upland areas is consistent with a range of –0.2 to –0.3‰ per 100 m increase in altitude. Groundwaters dating from the late Pleistocene are usually modified in δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>2</sup>H owing to the effects of climate change on the isotopic composition of rainfall and thus of recharge. Contour maps of isotopic variability prior to 10 ka BP, based on the relatively limited information available from the British Isles, allow a first comparison between groundwaters now and at the end of the last Ice Age. The position of the British Isles in the context of the stable isotope systematics of NW Europe is reviewed briefly.
Keywords: Stable isotopes, surfacewaters, groundwater, British Isles
Teeth are one of the best sources of evidence for both identification and studies of demography, biological relationships and health in ancient human communities. This text introduces the complex biology of teeth and provides a practical guide to the: • excavation, cleaning, storage and recording of dental remains • identification of human teeth including those in a worn or fragmentary state • methods for studying variation in tooth morphology • study of microscopic internal and external structure of dental tissues, and methods of age-determination • estimation of age-at-death from dental development, tooth wear and dental histology • recording of dental disease in archaeological and museum collections Dental Anthropology is the text for students and researchers in anthropology and archaeology, together with others interested in dental remains from archaeological sites, museum collections or forensic cases.
The new method requires only a simple vacuum extraction line and a high-temperature furnace. It is much quicker, safer, and less expensive than the conventional fluorination method. The phosphate radical is isolated as Ag3PO4 without employing separate purification steps. A key aspect of the method is that Ag3PO4, when heated to temperatures above 1000°C, liberates O2 in 25% yield. -Authors
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain is one of the most impressive British prehistoric (c. 3000–1500 BC) monuments. It is dominated by large upright sarsen stones, some of which are joined by lintels. While these stones are of relatively local derivation, some of the stone settings, termed bluestones, are composed of igneous and minor sedimentary rocks which are foreign to the solid geology of Salisbury Plain and must have been transported to their present location. Following the proposal of an origin in south-west Wales, debate has focused on hypotheses of natural transport by glacial processes, or transport by human agency. This paper reports the results of a programme of sampling and chemical analysis of Stonehenge bluestones and proposed source outcrops in Wales .
Analysis by X-ray-fluorescence of fifteen monolith samples and twenty-two excavated fragments from Stonehenge indicate that the dolerites originated at three sources in a small area in the eastern Preseli Hills, and that the rhyolite monoliths derive from four sources including northern Preseli and other (unidentified) locations in Pembrokeshire, perhaps on the north Pembrokeshire coast. Rhyolite fragments derive from four outcrops (including only one of the monolith sources) over a distance of at least 10 km within Preseli. The Altar Stone and a sandstone fragment (excavated at Stonehenge) are from two sources within the Palaeozoic of south-west Wales. This variety of source suggests that the monoliths were taken from a glacially-mixed deposit, not carefully selected from an in situ source. We then consider whether prehistoric man collected the bluestones from such a deposit in south Wales or whether glacial action could have transported bluestone boulders onto Salisbury Plain. Glacial erratics deposited in south Dyfed (dolerites chemically identical to Stonehenge dolerite monoliths), near Cardiff, on Flatholm and near Bristol indicate glacial action at least as far as the Avon area. There is an apparent absence of erratics east of here, with the possible exception of the Boles Barrow boulder, which may predate the Stonehenge bluestones by as much as 1000 years, and which derived from the same Preseli source as two of the Stonehenge monoliths. However, 18th-century geological accounts describe intensive agricultural clearance of glacial boulders, including igneous rocks, on Salisbury Plain, and contemporary practice was of burial of such boulders in pits. Such erratics could have been transported as ‘free boulders’ from ‘nunataks’ on the top of an extensive, perhaps Anglian or earlier, glacier some 400,000 years ago or more, leaving no trace of fine glacial material in present river gravels. Erratics may be deposited at the margins of ice-sheets in small groups at irregular intervals and with gaps of several kilometres between individual boulders .
‘Bluestone’ fragments are frequently reported on and near Salisbury Plain in archaeological literature, and include a wide range of rock types from monuments of widely differing types and dates, and pieces not directly associated with archaeological structures. Examination of prehistoric stone monuments in south Wales shows no preference for bluestones in this area. The monoliths at Stonehenge include some structurally poor rock types, now completely eroded above ground. We conclude that the builders of the bluestone structures at Stonehenge utilized a heterogeneous deposit of glacial boulders readily available on Salisbury Plain. Remaining erratics are now seen as small fragments sometimes incorporated in a variety of archaeological sites, while others were destroyed and removed in the 18th century. The bluestones were transported to Salisbury Plain from varied sources in south Wales by a glacier rather than human activity.
The RbSr isotope systematics of bedrock, soil digests, and the cation exchange fraction of soils from a granitic glacial soil chronosequence in the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming, USA, were investigated. Six soil profiles ranging in age from 0.4 to ∼300 kyr were studied and revealed that the ratio of exchangeable strontium in the B-horizons decreased from 0.7947 to 0.7114 with increasing soil age. Soil digests of the same samples showed much smaller variation in from 0.7272 to 0.7103 and also generally decreased with increasing soil age. Elevation of the ratios of Sr released by weathering over the soil digest and bedrock values results from the rapid weathering of biotite to form hydrobiotite and vermiculite in the younger soils. Biotite is estimated to weather at aaproximately eight times the rate of plagioclase (per gram of mineral) in the youngest soil profile and decreases to a rate of only ∼20% of that of plagioclase in the oldest soil. ratios of the soil cation exchange fraction are estimated to be depleted by factors of up to 11 over the ratios released by weathering, due to ion exchange partitioning. This study demonstrates that the ratio released by weathering of crystalline rocks can deviate significantly from bedrock values, and that in soils less than ∼20 kyr in age which contain biotite in the soil parent material, weathering-derived values can be elevated so dramatically that this factor must be considered in estimations of weathering rates based on strontium isotopes.
Strontium isotope ratios and strontium concentrations in bone and tooth enamel are used to investigate patterns of residential mobility and migration in the late prehistoric (14th century) period in the mountain province of east-central Arizona. This area is of interest because of significant questions concerning the movement of people into and within the region and because of the number of late prehistoric sites with well-studied burial populations. Grasshopper Pueblo is the main focus of analysis, with additional information from the site of Walnut Creek.A pilot strontium isotope study of bone and tooth enamel of first molars from the Grasshopper and Walnut Creek regions has demonstrated intriguing variability in strontium isotope compositions of human samples and indicates a significant probability of the success of the investigations proposed here. This initial work indicates that there are measurable and meaningful differences between bones and tooth enamel from the same individuals, among individuals from the same site, and between communities in the study area.
The oxygen isotopic compositions of the carbonate shells of landsnails either Prosobranchia or Putmonata are directly related to the annual mean oxygen isotopic composition of meteoric precipitation by the following relation: δOp(SMOW) = 1.17δ18OSaragonite(PDB) −5.91Moreover, the present study leads for the first time to the establishment of a map of the 18O equal-contents contours of meteoric precipitation in France and on some other areas of western Europe and northern Africa. The calculated values are compared with the local isotopic data of precipitation.In addition, this study provides a tool for hydrogeology to make quick determinations of the annual isotopic mean composition of meteoric precipitation within a given area. This method also allows the quantification of continental paleoclimatic parameters, e.g. temperature and δ 18O of precipitations.
A Rb/Sr study of Hercynian magmatism in Devon and Cornwall has established that the major granites were emplaced at approx 290-280 m.y. and that the inferred sequence of intrusion shows no geographical pattern. High initial 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios (0.710-0.716) are compatible with 'S-type' and peraluminous mineralogical characteristics of the granites. REE distributions are consistent with those for normal leucogranites, in that they have a high LREE/HREE ratio and negative Eu anomaly; the REE profiles for Bodmin and Carnmenellis granites, however, contrast markedly with those for Land's End and Dartmoor, implying differences both in the chemistry of their source regions and in conditions of crystallization. The Meldon aplite yielded an isochron age of 279 + or - 2 m.y., confirming it to be a late-stage magmatic differentiate of the Dartmoor granite (280 + or - 1 m.y.). An independent fluid-inclusion Rb/Sr age for the South Crofty Sn-W deposit (269 + or - 4 m.y.) has shown that in the Camborne-Redruth area the main stage of polymetallic mineralization is significantly younger than the Carnmenellis host granite. There is little evidence for an older Westphalian event and in the European Hercynian context the granites show greatest affinity with the younger Sn-W granites of Portugal.-R.A.H.
Major ions, trace elements, and O, H and Sr isotopes have been determined for surface water and groundwater in the Somme catchment (northern France). The present study, using a coupled hydrological and geochemical (stable- and Sr isotopes) approach, focuses on the interactions between ground- and surface water. Stable water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H) show that all waters have a purely local origin from precipitation, without significant evaporation or water–rock interaction, as all points plot close to the general meteoric-water line. Water chemistry in the different catchments shows large variations in major-element contents. Plotting Na+ vs. Cl− contents and Mg2+, NO3−, K+, SO42−, Sr2+ concentrations reveals: (a) slight variations in groundwater composition, (b) agricultural input into surface waters, and (c) some similarities between ground- and surface waters suggesting the former to be responsible for the chemical signature of the dissolved river load. Strontium-isotope ratios measured in groundwater range from 0.70769 to 0.70808, clearly higher than that of Chalk matrix water (0.707337). Variations of Sr-isotope signatures in groundwater from the Chalk aquifer are significant and help identifying different groundwater bodies. The different signatures in groundwater are better explained by matrix heterogeneity, which can present lateral facies variations, than by a strong anthropogenic influence. The Sr-isotope compositional range in surface waters is very wide, varying from 0.70775 to 0.70816 and defining a trend towards a more radiogenic Sr-isotope signature with high Sr contents and high Mg/Sr ratios. The relationship between 87Sr/86Sr and the Mg/Sr ratios allows different end-members to be defined: the rivers are influenced by anthropogenic disturbance, even during flood periods, and river water has geochemical characteristics very similar to those of groundwater, indicating a strong influence from groundwater feeding the rivers.
Strontium isotope ratios () in human and animal bone are inherited, via foodstuffs, from rocks in the areas in which an individual lived. If such an area includes more than one rock type with differing , or is coastal region with terrestrial different from that of the sea, then bone strontium isotope ratio measurements provide a measure of the relative importance of foods from each isotopic zone. In the southwestern Cape of South Africa, marine and coastal terrestrial areas (covered by marine sands) should yield foods with close to the marine average, while the Cambrian and pre-Cambrian shales and sandstones of the hinterland ought to be enriched in 87Sr (from radioactive decay of 87Rb during the considerable time elapsed since they were laid down). Analyses of modern animal bones show that these patterns do prevail, furnishing us with a new means of reconstructing prehistoric diets.Preliminary measurements on archaeological human material recovered from coastal shell-midden sites apparently reflect heavy reliance on coastal foods. However, these bones have been shown to be contaminated with diagenetic marine strontium from the shells in the middens. Experiments on faunal specimens show that diagenetic strontium can be removed by repeated washing in acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer. Mineral with similar to the burial environment dissolves first, while subsequent washes remove strontium with different . For two coastal human skeletons, however, the marine/coastal terrestrial nature of the isotopic signature remains. Further experimental work is required in order to establish the limits of the technique; however, a combination of the solubility profile method and strontium isotope analysis promises to provide a powerful tool for reconstructing palaeodiets.
A 12-point whole-rock Rb–Sr isochron for the Carnsore Granite of southeastern Ireland yields an age of 428±11 Ma and initial ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratio of 0.7068±0.0003 (index of goodness of fit, MSWD = 0.65). A similar mean ²⁰⁷ Pb/ ²⁰⁶ Pb age of 432±3 Ma from three slightly discordant zircon size fractions from the granite is also indicated, and shows that the pluton was emplaced contemporaneously with the neighbouring Saltee Granite.
Thus, Tuskar Group rocks, which are intruded by the Carnsore Granite, could be as young as Ordovician. While the early history of the Rosslare Complex is undoubtedly Precambrian, the new age for the Carnsore pluton means that the later intrusive and tectonothermal events in the history of this complex are no longer constrained to be Precambrian and may have occurred over a 150 + Ma interval in Cambro-Ordovician time.
The zircons from the Carnsore Granite are slightly discordant, and show no apparent inherited radiogenic lead component. The initial ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratio suggests that the magma may have been derived as a melt in the lower crust. The higher strontium isotope ratios of the Rosslare gneisses would seem to preclude their involvement in the genesis of the Carnsore magma.
An increasing number of studies dealing with environmental and dietary reconstruction involve measurement of intra-tooth variation of isotope ratios. The sampling procedure typically consists of collecting a sequence of horizontal bands perpendicular to the growth axis of the tooth. The objective is to obtain a temporal sequence of the changes recorded in dental tissues during tooth development. This paper examines some issues associated with this sampling strategy and consequences for interpretation of the data. Time resolution is influenced by the pattern and duration of enamel mineralization, in a way that might, however, depend on the species and the tooth analysed. Although it may be impossible to sample discrete amounts of time, a chronological order seems to be respected, which should be well enough when the objective is to detect changes in isotope ratios with time. Absolute data must be interpreted with caution. Such issues do not affect studies of inter-individual variability as long as the sampling procedure applied to the compared specimens is consistent. A new sampling strategy is tested on modern goat teeth, involving drilling in an oblique direction. The results obtained from obliquely drilled samples are very similar to those obtained from the horizontal sampling procedure. More work is still needed to determine the value of alternative sampling strategies. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Strontium isotope analysis of bone and tooth enamel from prehistoric human skeletons is an important new technique used to address questions regarding migration. Two problems arise in such investigations: (1) levels of strontium isotope ratios in local bedrock, soil, water, plants and animals are variable; and (2) a range of values in human bone and enamel data make it difficult to distinguish some migrants from locals. Analysis of the bones of small animals provides a robust measure of local strontium isotope ratios and a reliable, if conservative, means for determining confidence limits for distinguishing migrants. Data from various geographical areas are presented here in a discussion of variability in strontium isotope values. Examples are provided using modern and prehistoric materials. We conclude with the recommendation that studies involving strontium isotope analysis should incorporate small animal samples for comparative purposes whenever possible.
This research addresses the potential contribution of strontium isotopes to the reconstruction of early hominid behavior at the Swartkrans site in the Sterkfontein Valley of Gauteng Provence (formally known as the Transvaal), South Africa. We report that, while there is considerable variability in the 87Sr/86Sr of whole soils within a 15 km radius of this site, available soil and grassland plant 87Sr/86Sr is much less variable and generally above 0.730. This value is higher (more radiogenic) than the 87Sr/86Sr of plants growing within the greenbelt surrounding the Blaaubank stream adjacent to Swartkrans and streamwater itself (0.721).The difference between grassland and riparian strontium isotope composition suggests a method for determining habitat utilization by early hominids. In this study, a geological explanation for a natural difference between Blaaubank stream and grassland Sr is suggested, based on relatively less radiogenic Sr (having lower 87Sr/86Sr values) in the carbonate component of the local dolomite when compared to other nearby geological formations. The explanation was tested initially using a top-down approach in which the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of water, soil, and plants from the entire Blaaubank catchment were measured. Next, a bottom-up approach was used to examine Swartkrans Member I faunal species known to have obtained their Sr from well-defined habitats.The results are that (1) pollution is not the explanation for the relatively low 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the Blaaubank stream, (2) Swartkrans Member I carbonate has a similar 87Sr/86Sr to that of modern Blaaubank water, indicating that relationships seen today existed in the Pleistocene, and (3) Pleistocene riparian fauna have relatively low 87Sr/86Sr ratios when compared to fauna adapted to drier habitats. Together these results make it possible to interpret the strontium isotope composition of Pleistocene early hominids from Swartkrans in terms of habitat utilization.
Naturally occurring isotopes of elements like strontium have proved to be good tools for tracing the past and for monitoring of processes in the present. The spread and variation in87Sr/86Sr ratios make Sr isotopes a powerful tool when it comes to detecting trends in the soil-vegetation system. There is also a great potential in combining different parameters like soil, water, biological material and isotopes for detecting environmental changes over short as well as long time periods. Sampling of the past is a difficult task but biological material, in combination with inorganic material, proves advantageous as environmental archives. There is also the possibility of using museum collections as environmental historic archives. This paper discusses the potential of using the natural87Sr/86Sr ratio as a tracer for environmental studies. The results presented point to an ongoing impoverishment of the environment and show that the temporal trend in Sr isotope composition for different media is similar despite material and location of test area.
Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in human bones and teeth have become a useful tool to study migration and sedentism of individuals from archaeological contexts. Here we analyzed 87Sr/86Sr of water, bedrock, soils, and plants across a broad geographic region to test the potential of this method in the ancient Maya area. Our aims were two-fold: first to test if the sources of dietary strontium (i.e., plants and water) in humans reflect the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of exposed bedrock, and second, to determine whether the ranges of 87Sr/86Sr values were sufficiently distinct among the principal Maya geocultural areas to infer past migration. We identified five distinct subregions on the basis of geologic maps and evaluated the variability of 87Sr/86Sr values (values given as mean 87Sr/86Sr ±2 standard deviations; number of samples): (1) Northern Lowlands (0.70888±0.00066; n=16); (2) Southern Lowlands (0.70770±0.00052; n=86); (3) Volcanic Highlands and Pacific Coast (0.70415±0.00023; n=34); (4) Metamorphic Province (0.70743±0.00572; n=50); and (5) the Maya Mountains of Belize (0.71327±0.00167; n=3). Although the sample size is small and overlap exists in 87Sr/86Sr values among some subregions, most areas can be readily distinguished from one another on the basis of strontium isotopes. These subregional 87Sr/86Sr differences provide archaeologists with a powerful tool to recognize geographic “outliers” in ancient Maya burials and thereby test hypotheses concerning the origin of specific individuals, inferred population migration patterns, and the possibility of outside cultural influences in the Maya region.
Residence patterns provide keys to social structure, information flow, and patterns of material culture. A biogeochemical model has been formulated—using tooth eruption sequence, elemental exchange rates in bone tissue, and the geochemistry of strontium isotopes—to examine patterns of human residence in the past. Strontium isotopes, characteristic of local geology, pass unmodified through the food chain. isotopic values of human second molar teeth, representative of the individual from ages six to twelve, and bone, representative of the last six years of life, characterize the food chain of pre-marital and marital residences respectively. Marriage residence patterns are determined by stratifying age/sex data. The biogeochemical model and preliminary results are presented for two sites in California.
A new ion-exchange separation procedure is described for the isolation of Sr from Ca. It has been designed to give reproducible results with only approximately known reagent concentrations. Evaporation during storage is not critical and may easily be checked with a common pH paper.The medium is buffered by pyridine in the range pH 5–6. The pyridinium ion is demonstrated to be a weak ion with regard to cation exchange on a Biorad® AG50W X12 resin. This method is applied to the isolation of K, Rb and Sr in the isotopic analysis of silicate samples. Total procedural blanks for samples up to 500 mg are in the picomole range for Sr and in the tenth of a picomole range for Rb.
The aim of the project was to test the hypothesis, using oxygen and strontium isotopes, that a group of burials in the Late Roman cemetery of Lankhills, Winchester, southern England, were migrants from the Danube region of central Europe. The method assumes that the oxygen isotope composition of immigrants from this locale would be significantly more depleted that any one British origin and that the restricted range in Sr isotope compositions produced by chalk in the overlying biosphere of southern England would discriminate between the local population and settlers from elsewhere. As a control for the immigrant group a sample of Romano-British individuals were examined to provide a comparative data set. The results showed that the majority of the individuals used to define the “local” control group plotted in a restricted field of strontium and oxygen isotope composition that was consistent with the values expected for the Hampshire area of southern England. By contrast, the “exotic”, putatively immigrant population generated a much more dispersed field including four with δ18O drinking water values of −10‰ or less, which supports a non-British origin for these individuals. The study shows that the archaeological data suggesting that there is an exotic population buried at the Lankhills cemetery is generally supported by the isotope work, although the “exotic” group appears to a rather dispersed set of individuals rather than a single population from a restricted overseas location.
Our work on the Loire River forms part of a French National Research Program dedicated to wetlands and aims to better understand the global functioning of the system from the hydrological, geochemical, ecological and sociological aspects. The present study, using a coupled hydrological and geochemical (stable and Sr isotopes) approach, focuses on the ‘Soulangy’ site with its secondary anastomosing channels just below the confluence of the Loire and Allier rivers, and also on the ‘Dorna``nt’ site with two unconnected oxbow lakes 50 km upstream of the confluence. The stable isotopes of water (δ18O, δ2H) show that the alluvial (or riverbank) aquifer feeds the Loire River during the summer, but is not recharged by the river during flood periods in the winter; the alluvial groundwater thus has a purely local origin from precipitation. The major elements reveal an anthropogenic input of Cl and more importantly of NO3, especially near farms. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopes identify different groundwater layers in the alluvium, i.e. an upper and a lower alluvial aquifer, and a perched aquifer at Dornant, that have relatively complex relationships with the surface water. The two main rivers (Loire and Allier) present distinct geochemical characteristics reflecting the different lithologies that they drain upstream. In addition, the secondary channels, lying parallel to the Loire main stream at the Soulangy site, give different geochemical signatures, which shows that they are not fed by the same overflows of the Loire; they are more-or-less well connected to the upper level of the alluvial plain, and a longitudinal study of one of these channels has revealed a Loire River influence progressively replaced by a water contribution from the upper alluvial aquifer. Similarly, the two oxbow lakes at the Dornant site are not supplied by the same water during the summer months. A conceptual scheme of the Loire hydrosystem based on δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr suggests that the isotopic variations of the Loire River can be related to a Massif Central surface-water supply for the Loire and Allier main streams and to a groundwater supply from the alluvial plains.
A comparison has been made of oxygen isotope analyses of natural and synthetic phosphates using three methods in current use and Ag3PO4 as the analyte. Of these methods, conventional fluorination using BrF5 provides the most precise and accurate measurements and these analyses serve as the basis for comparison. Fluorination liberates 100% of the oxygen in Ag3PO4 and the isotopic composition of this oxygen can be readily normalized to accepted oxygen isotope ratios of international reference standards. The widely used method of high-temperature reaction with graphite in isolated silica tubes is also precise but requires calibration for scale compression resulting from a combination of factors including incomplete extraction of oxygen, reaction temperature, possible oxygen exchange with the silica tube and/or differences in the grain size of the graphite used. The recently developed method based on high-temperature carbon reduction and continuous flow mass spectrometric analysis of CO is relatively fast, requires little sample and provides 100% yields for oxygen. At the present time, this method is less precise than the other methods examined and requires calibration against standards on a run to run basis.Five phosphate reference standards with δ18O values ranging from −5.2‰ to 34.0‰ were prepared and packaged for distribution to active workers in the field. Analyses of these standards will allow normalization and calibration of results obtained using any available method of oxygen isotope analysis of phosphate.
Oxygen isotope analyses of water in blood of humans and domestic pigs indicate that the oxygen isotope fractionation effects between ingested water and body water are the same in all specimens of the same species. The δ18O of body water has been shown to vary linearly with the mean δ18O of local meteoric water. This conclusion also holds for the bone phosphate. Thus, δ18O(PO3−4) values of unaltered fossil bones from humans and domestic pigs can be used to reconstruct the δ18O values of local meteoric waters during the life-times of the mammals. Such data can be used for paleohydrological and paleoclimatological studies both on land and at sea.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of London, 1990.
An improved and updated version of the statistical LOWESS fit to the marine 87Sr/86Sr record and a revised look-up table (V3:10/99; available from j.mcarthur@ucl.ac.uk) based upon it enables straightforward conversion of 87Sr/86Sr to numerical age, and vice versa, for use in strontium isotope stratigraphy (SIS). The table includes 95% confidence intervals on predictions of numerical age from 87Sr/86Sr. This version includes the Triassic and Paleozoic record (0509 Ma) omitted from previous versions because of the paucity of adequate data at the time of preparation. We highlight differences between the previous versions of the table and the current version and discuss some aspects of the 87Sr/86Sr record that may have geological significance. We give examples of how the table can be used and where it has proven useful.