Biomolecular and isotopic characterisation of lipid residues absorbed in Impressed Wares from the Early Neolithic village of Skorba, Malta

Organic residue analysis (ORA) was used to characterise the lipid content of Impressed Ware vessels recovered from the Early Neolithic village of Skorba, Malta. ORA utilises both chromatographic and isotopic analytical techniques, and provides direct evidence for the function of ceramic vessels analysed. Lipid residues were interpreted against authentic reference fats of Mediterranean origin, and in light of the archaeological data available. The results showed that lipid yields were generally low, however direct evidence for the processing of an admixture comprising ruminant fat and marine oil was obtained in a vessel dated to the Early Neolithic period. This investigation also tests the feasibility of carrying out ORA on ceramic vessels recovered from Maltese archaeological contexts.peer-reviewe

Integrated novel applications for dietary reconstructions in Prehistory

A broad range of biogeochemical techniques encompassing a wide array of disciplines is successfully being used to address key questions in archaeological research, including chronology, migration, trade, palaeopathology and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The aim of the session was to focus particularly on the developments in palaeodietary studies, which inform about population dynamics and socio-cultural characteristics of different communities over space and time. Biogeochemical techniques in particular have shown a remarkable adeptness at acquiring data from a variety of archaeological substrates, such as ceramics, lithics, textiles, sediments, plant remains, and human and animal tissues, including dental calculus. These techniques allow an intensive exploitation of archaeological material, especially organics, which are often preserved in small quantities and would otherwise not have been considered viable for analysis. The success of this approach is attested by the wide range of publications detailing the development and application of novel techniques, targeted towards answering fundamental archaeological questions. This was also reflected in the broad range of analytical methodologies presented during the session, which comprised bulk light and heavy stable isotope analysis that allows a better understanding of the composition of ancient diets, characterization of foodstuffs absorbed within ceramic vessels using lipid residue analysis, identification of protein sequences informing on dietary deficiencies, studies on microbial communities associated with the production of specific food types, and microscopic techniques used on teeth and dental calculus to recover palaeodietary information

Phoenician maritime pioneering and Punic expansion : reconstructing trade and dietary patterns

Perhaps the most significant legacy attributed to the Phoenicians was their mastery of the seas, which led them to establish the first grand commercial Mediterranean network, expanding from Lebanon to beyond the Pillars of Hercules between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. The Punic culture, which flourished in the central and western Mediterranean from Phoenician colonies, maintained the exceptional navigation skills of the Phoenicians, but developed into more settled and structured territories that allowed the communities to intensify their exploitation of Mediterranean resources. Their rise to prominence can be measured by the threat they posed to the Roman Republic, while the salvage of the agronomic treatises by Mago after the sacking of Carthage attests to their renowned agrarian competence. The paucity of Phoenician and Punic written sources essentially means that material culture provides the data with which to model community lifeways, including daily dietary patterns, and trade more generally. The aim of this session was to bring together research focused on diet and trade in the Phoenician and Punic world, building on the work that has been done on foodways to model community interaction (Mata Parreño et al. 2010; Delgado and Ferrer 2011a and 2011b). The session comprised five oral contributions and a poster presentation. The focus was on central and western Mediterranean mainland regions and island territories. Findings from more recent archaeological excavations were described and discussed, and scientific applications to archaeological material were outlined and interpretations put forward and discussed.peer-reviewe

Molecular and isotopic investigations of pottery and “charred remains” from Sannai Maruyama and Sannai Maruyama No. 9, Aomori Prefecture.

This paper presents a preliminary study of the analysis of organic residues of Early and Middle Jomon pottery and ‘charred remains.’ Samples are taken from the Sannai Maruyama site and the Sannai Maruyama No. 9 site in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. The following questions are addressed in this study: (i) Do organic residues survive in association with pottery vessels and charred remains? (ii) Can the residues be identified based on molecular and isotopic criteria applied in other investigations? (iii) Are the residues associated with the charred remains common to the residues associated with the pottery vessels? (iv) How do these residues contribute to our understanding of food processing and consumption? Results of our analysis indicate that the lipid composition of the pottery extracts is remarkably similar although some of the sherds exhibited better preservation and a wider range of molecules were detected albeit in lower abundance. There is a marked contrast with the composition of the lipid extracts of the ‘charred remains.’ The lipid compositions of sample sets from Sannai Maruyama and Sannai Maruyama No. 9 suggest aquatic resources in the pottery but with a plant contribution. The ‘charred remains’ from Sannai Maruyama contain plant tissues most likely with a high starch composition such as nuts. Lipids were recovered from the majority of the samples

Regional asynchronicity in dairy production and processing in early farming communities of the northern Mediterranean

In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to Neolithic prehistoric Mediterranean communities has been extensively debated. Here, we combine lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels with osteo-archaeological age-at-death analysis from 82 northern Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites dating from the seventh to fifth millennia BC to address this question. The findings show variable intensities in dairy and nondairy activities in the Mediterranean region with the slaughter profiles of domesticated ruminants mirroring the results of the organic residue analyses. The finding of milk residues in very early Neolithic pottery (seventh millennium BC) from both the east and west of the region contrasts with much lower intensities in sites of northern Greece, where pig bones are present in higher frequencies compared with other locations. In this region, the slaughter profiles of all domesticated ruminants suggest meat production predominated. Overall, it appears that milk or the by-products of milk was an important foodstuff, which may have contributed significantly to the spread of these cultural groups by providing a nourishing and sustainable product for early farming communities

Pottery use at the transition to agriculture in the western Mediterranean: evidence from biomolecular and isotopic characterisation of organic residues in Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels

Recent research has attributed the introduction of agriculture in the western Mediterranean to several rapid waves of ‘maritime pioneer colonisation’, followed by indigenous adoption. Impressed/Cardial Wares are thought to have spread simultaneously with domesticates through this region, and are hypothesised to have been used to process domestic plant and animal products. To test this hypothesis, organic residue analysis (ORA) has been applied to 301 Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels recovered from 14 Early and Middle Neolithic sites in the western Mediterranean, to determine their content and function. ORA is a well established technique that can provide direct and sometimes specific evidence of an artefact’s function by analysing lipid residues trapped within its matrix. Characterisation of these fatty residues was carried out using Gas Chromatography (GC), GC-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and GC-combustion-Isotope Ratio MS (GC-c-IRMS). The latter is especially useful, since it allows the δ13C values of two particular fatty acids, C16:0 and C18:0, to be measured. Because of variations in the way these two fatty acids are biosynthesised and routed in different organisms, the difference between their δ13C measurements (i.e. Δ13C values) allow distinction between various types of fat, namely between ruminant and non-ruminant adipose, and ruminant adipose and ruminant dairy products. This research presents the first extensive application of ORA to Early Neolithic pottery recovered from Mediterranean contexts, and was aimed at better understanding the origins of pottery in the Mediterranean and testing their implied association with the transmission of farming from south-west Asia. However, as most ORA studies have been carried out on ceramic assemblages excavated from northern European contexts, the suitability of the method to the Mediterranean region needed to be rigorously tested, in particular since: i) lipid preservation in warmer climates was observed to be considerably lower; ii) shifts in the δ13C and ∆13C isotopic values were identified, compared to UK reference data sets. In view of this, two experiments were set up to: i) determine whether the low chemical fingerprint of plant lipid residues may be a significant contributor to the low lipid yields obtained, which was investigated by re-creating plant residues in ceramic vessels through a series of cooking experiments, and analysing the degraded profile obtained after burial; ii) quantify the shift in the δ13C and ∆13C isotopic signals, by setting up a controlled feeding experiment in the Mediterranean, and comparing the δ13C and ∆13C measurements obtained to northern European values. The results obtained from the experimental work carried out were used to interpret archaeological resides extracted from Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels. Shifts in the δ13C isotopic signals of modern Mediterranean reference fats were identified, and also in the Δ13C values that demarcate the different fat categories. The degraded plant lipid profiles obtained from the cooking experiment were used to identify plant contributions in archaeological residues, and also showed that low quantities of absorbed lipid in archaeological potsherds could potentially indicate a plant input. ORA analysis confirmed the processing of animal and plant products in Impressed/Cardial Wares, and more importantly, unequivocably identified evidence for the use of dairy products in the Mediterranean, dating to the late 7th millennium BC

Earliest evidence of dental caries manipulation in the Late Upper Paleolithic.

Prehistoric dental treatments were extremely rare, and the few documented cases are known from the Neolithic, when the adoption of early farming culture caused an increase of carious lesions. Here we report the earliest evidence of dental caries intervention on a Late Upper Palaeolithic modern human specimen (Villabruna) from a burial in Northern Italy. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we show the presence of striations deriving from the manipulation of a large occlusal carious cavity of the lower right third molar. The striations have a “V”-shaped transverse section and several parallel micro-scratches at their base, as typically displayed by cutmarks on teeth. Based on in vitro experimental replication and a complete functional reconstruction of the Villabruna dental arches, we confirm that the identified striations and the associated extensive enamel chipping on the mesial wall of the cavity were produced ante-mortem by pointed flint tools during scratching and levering activities. The Villabruna specimen is therefore the oldest known evidence of dental caries intervention, suggesting at least some knowledge of disease treatment well before the Neolithic. This study suggests that primitive forms of carious treatment in human evolution entail an adaptation of the well-known toothpicking for levering and scratching rather than drilling practices

Earliest evidence of dental caries manipulation in the Late Upper Palaeolithic

Prehistoric dental treatments were extremely rare, and the few documented cases are known from the Neolithic, when the adoption of early farming culture caused an increase of carious lesions. Here we report the earliest evidence of dental caries intervention on a Late Upper Palaeolithic modern human specimen (Villabruna) from a burial in Northern Italy. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we show the presence of striations deriving from the manipulation of a large occlusal carious cavity of the lower right third molar. The striations have a 'V'-shaped transverse section and several parallel micro-scratches at their base, as typically displayed by cutmarks on teeth. Based on in vitro experimental replication and a complete functional reconstruction of the Villabruna dental arches, we confirm that the identified striations and the associated extensive enamel chipping on the mesial wall of the cavity were produced ante-mortem by pointed flint tools during scratching and levering activities. The Villabruna specimen is therefore the oldest known evidence of dental caries intervention, suggesting at least some knowledge of disease treatment well before the Neolithic. This study suggests that primitive forms of carious treatment in human evolution entail an adaptation of the well-known toothpicking for levering and scratching rather than drilling practices