Provenancing Archaeological Wool Textiles from Medieval Northern Europe by Light Stable Isotope Analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H)

We investigate the origin of archaeological wool textiles preserved by anoxic waterlogging from seven medieval archaeological deposits in north-western Europe (c. 700-1600 AD), using geospatial patterning in carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and non-exchangeable hydrogen (δ2H) composition of modern and ancient sheep proteins. δ13C, δ15N and δ2H values from archaeological wool keratin (n = 83) and bone collagen (n = 59) from four sites were interpreted with reference to the composition of modern sheep wool from the same regions. The isotopic composition of wool and bone collagen samples clustered strongly by settlement; inter-regional relationships were largely parallel in modern and ancient samples, though landscape change was also significant. Degradation in archaeological wool samples, examined by elemental and amino acid composition, was greater in samples from Iceland (Reykholt) than in samples from north-east England (York, Newcastle) or northern Germany (Hessens). A nominal assignment approach was used to classify textiles into local/non-local at each site, based on maximal estimates of isotopic variability in modern sheep wool. Light element stable isotope analysis provided new insights into the origins of wool textiles, and demonstrates that isotopic provenancing of keratin preserved in anoxic waterlogged contexts is feasible. We also demonstrate the utility of δ2H analysis to understand the location of origin of archaeological protein samples

Influences of Domestication and Island Evolution on Dental Growth in Sheep

Funder: Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeFunder: Leverhulme Trust; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000275Abstract: Domestication and island evolution can lead to changes of life history along the slow-fast gradient. Shifts of life history patterns, in turn, are potentially related to alterations of patterns and timing of tooth eruption. Schultz’s rule predicts an earlier eruption of molars relative to premolars as fecundity increases during the domestication process. On the other hand, evolution on a predator-free, resource limited island might lead to a generally slow life history and delayed tooth eruption, as in the Plio-Pleistocene Balearic caprine Myotragus. In this study, we investigate tooth eruption and its relation to life history in a unique sheep population that is an example of both domestication and island evolution: the ancient and feral Soay sheep (Ovis aries) of the St. Kilda archipelago, Scotland. Tooth eruption timing and sequence is investigated in a comparative framework featuring new data on other domestic sheep (O. aries), including European mouflon (O. a. musimon), as well as wild sheep (O. vignei, O. cycloceros, O. arkal, O. orientalis, O. ammon). These data indicate that the order of eruption is similar in wild and domestic sheep, despite the fundamental life history changes that came about with domestication. However, in contrast to other domestic sheep breeds, Soay sheep erupt their teeth at an absolute older age and also tend to grow more slowly, which resembles the evolutionary trend in island-adapted Myotragus. Despite these similarities, Soay sheep do not share the slow life history pattern inferred for Myotragus, highlighting the distinctive nature of tooth eruption in Soay sheep