Isotopic analysis of faunal material from South Uist, Western Isles, Scotland

This paper reports on the results from stable isotope analysis of faunal bone collagen from a number of Iron Age and later sites on the island of South Uist, in the Western Isles, Scotland. This preliminary investigation into the isotopic signatures of the fauna is part of a larger project to model the interaction between humans, animals, and the broader environment in the Western Isles. The results demonstrate that the island fauna data fall within the range of expected results for the UK, with the terrestrial herbivorous diets of cattle and sheep confi rmed. The isotopic composition for pigs suggests that some of these animals had an omnivorous diet, whilst a single red deer value might be suggestive of the consumption of marine foods, such as by grazing on seaweed. However, further analysis is needed in order to verify this anomalous isotopic ratio

The dIANA database - Resource for isotopic paleodietary research in the Baltic Sea area

Paleodietary research is a complex field, which requires large sets of background information. Owing to increasing interest and activity in the field, a substantial amount of archaeological isotope baseline data exist for Northern Europe, consisting mainly of animal bone collagen delta C-13, delta N-15, and delta S-34 values. However, the data are scattered into dozens of publications written in multiple languages and less-accessible formats, making the data laborious to use. This article presents the first compilation work of this data, the open access dIANA database (Dietary Isotopic baseline for the Ancient North; https://www.oasisnorth.org/diana.html), aimed to support (paleo)dietary research in the Baltic Sea area. The database work is complemented with new analyses of archaeological and (pre-)modern domestic and wild fauna from Finland and Russia broadening the selection of analysed species in the database. We present and discuss data examples, which on one hand show existing spatiotemporal isotope patterns related to diet and differences in the environmental carbon sources and on the other, also visualize the current status of baseline research and the need for further analyses in the circum-Baltic area

Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years(1,2). Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period(3). Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe(4), but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.Molecular Technology and Informatics for Personalised Medicine and Healt

Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.Archaeological Heritage Managemen

La biodiversité animale à la transition Tardiglaciaire-Holocène, marqueur des changements et témoin des pratiques humaines.

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Bone stable isotopic signatures (15N, 18O) as tracer of temperature variation in Late-glacial and early Holocene: Case study of red deer Cervus elaphus from Rochedane (Jura, France).

Stable isotopes in mammal bones are mainly used to reconstruct dietary preferences and their use as palaeoclimatic indicators is less developed. However, important variations in 15 N abundances observed in the bone collagen of large mammals during the Late-glacial and early Holocene have been tentatively linked to a general increase in temperature. In order to test this hypothesis, we analysed nitrogen and oxygen isotopic abundances from bones of red deer (Cervus elaphus) from the Rochedane site (Jura, France). We observe a clear linear relationship between 15 N and 18 O that demonstrates the effect of temperature on the abundance of 15 N in red deer bone collagen. These results suggest that an increase in soil maturation during global warming of the Late-glacial and early Holocene led to an increase of 15 N in soils and plants that was passed on to their consumers. Red deer seem to be particularly suited for palaeoclimatic reconstruction based on the isotopic signatures of their bones

Hydrogen isotopes in Quaternary mammal collagen from Europe

Of the most abundant elemental constituents of organic matter, hydrogen has received the least attention due to its exchangeability with ambient water. The development of steam equilibration using two isotopically distinct waters can enable the user to calculate the proportion of exchangeable H and generate a δ2H value of the non-exchangeable H. Three fossil faunal assemblages from Europe were selected in order to investigate collagen δ2H with respect to body mass, diet and to compare chronological periods in the Quaternary. δ15N values in each suite of fauna show trophic level enrichment, a trend which was also observed in δ2H values. In the case of predatory species with lower δ15N values than other carnivore species, the use of hydrogen isotopes could help to infer the consumption of prey with lower δ15N values rather than a significant dietary contribution of plant foods. For example, a cave bear which exhibits low δ2H values are consistent with low δ15N and therefore point to an herbivorous diet and not omnivory. The combination of δ2H, with δ15N and δ13C, from archaeological and ecological studies of humans and fauna could help reconstruct prey preference; which is especially important when trying to distinguish the quantity of marine versus freshwater resources in diets. Relative to dietary influences, climate variability seems to be a minor control on δ2H in the faunal assemblages studied here