16 research outputs found
Biological histories of an elite: Skeletons from the Royal Chapel of Lugo Cathedral (NW Spain)
Direccion Xeral de Patrimonio Historico de Galicia; Xunta de Galicia, Grant/Award Numbers: ED431B 2018/20, ED 431D2017/08, ED481D 2017/014; Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion and Beca Leonardo a Investigadores y Creadores Culturales 2020 de la Fundacion BBVA, Grant/Award Number: PID2019-111683RJ-I00This study aims to reconstruct the biological histories of the people buried at the
Royal Chapel of Lugo Cathedral, an important religious center of NW Spain, by using
anthropological, geochemical, and historical perspectives. We conducted a macroscopic
and radiographic study on 955 skeletal elements, a multi-isotope (δ13Ccol,
δ15N, δ34Scol, δ13Cap, δ18Oap) analysis of human (n = 12) and animal (n = 4) samples,
and the study of 1407 documents from the cathedral archives. There was a minimum
of 15 individuals, including six subadults (<7 years), seven mature males, and one
possible female. Several traumatic healed injuries, a pelvis osteochondroma, and a
case of DISH have been detected. Males were enriched in 15N (up to 15.7â°, Îhumananimal
avg = 5.1â°) suggesting consumption of animal protein including freshwater
fish. Cathedral documents reflect fora payments in the form of rye, eggs, poultry,
sheep, pigs, and eels as well as the hiring of two physicians. All individuals, except
one, lived between the 14th and the early 15th centuries and show characteristics of
high standard of living. Males were likely members of the cathedralâchaplains,
administrators, sacristans, but not bishopsâor noblemen relatives of the former
according to preserved documents. Isotopic and paleopathological study suggest that
they had an active and traveling life and at least one of them had connections with
Central Spain. Children were local and possibly connected to the nobility. Lugo
Cathedral is a prime example about the possibilities of transdisciplinary research in
the identification of lifestyle in past populations.Direccion Xeral de Patrimonio Historico de GaliciaXunta de Galicia
European Commission ED431B 2018/20
ED 431D2017/08
ED481D 2017/014Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion and Beca Leonardo a Investigadores y Creadores Culturales 2020 de la Fundacion BBVA PID2019-111683RJ-I0
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Sheep and goat management in the early neolithic in the Zagros region (8000-5000 BC): new zooarchaeological and isotopic evidence from Ganj Dareh, Bestansur and Jarmo
The transition from hunter gathering to farming is one of the most important episodes in the history of humankind. Considerable evidence indicates that this shift was a slow, complex, highly localized process, which took place in multiple places in Southwest Asia independently, from around 9500 BC. Caprines were arguably the first domesticated livestock, brought under human control during a process that began in the 9th millennium BC in a region extending from south-eastern Turkey to north-western Iran. In this research we integrate zooarch- aeological analysis with stable isotopic data of faunal remains from three key Early Neolithic sites in the Eastern Fertile Crescent: Ganj Dareh (ca. 8000 BC), Bestansur (ca. 7800â7000 BC) and Jarmo (ca. 7000â5000 BC).While some form of goat management seemed to have been practiced at Bestansur, based on spherulites, dung and shed deciduous teeth, no evidence has been found for winter foddering or transhumance practices. At Ganj Dareh goat were managed, and might have been foddered during the winter or vertical transhumance might have taken place. At Pottery Neolithic Jarmo both sheep and goat were managed and they were possibly brought to higher elevations during the summer months or foddered during winter. This research has supported the idea that already during early stages of goat management, humans kept a high degree of control over the population
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Carbon stable isotope analysis of cereal remains as a way to reconstruct water availability: preliminary results
Reconstructing past water availability, both as rainfall and irrigation, is important to answer questions about the way society reacts to climate and its changes and the role of irrigation in the development of social complexity. Carbon stable isotope analysis of archaeobotanical remains is a potentially valuable method for reconstructing water availability. To further define the relationship between water availability and plant carbon isotope composition and to set up baseline values for the Southern Levant, grains of experimentally grown barley and sorghum were studied. The cereal crops were grown at three stations under five different irrigation regimes in Jordan. Results indicate that a positive but weak relationship exists between irrigation regime and total water input of barley grains, but no relationship was found for sorghum. The relationship for barley is site-specific and inter-annual variation was present at Deir âAlla, but not at Ramtha and Khirbet as-Samra
A Long Way from Home: Diaspora Communities in Roman Britain
This project explored the cultural and biological experience of immigrant communities in Roman Britain. It has long been known from epigraphic and historical sources that Britain was home to a wide range of immigrants during the Roman period, with most of the evidence referring to imperial officials and military personnel. Using a range of scientific techniques, we have identified possible migrants in the burial record of Roman Britain
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Putting South-West England on the (strontium isotope) map: a possible origin for highly radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr values from southern Britain
Reconstructions of ancient mobility based on strontium isotopes are only ever as reliable as estimates for baseline values of bioavailable strontium in the study area. Current biosphere mapping for Britain suggests that there are no sizeable areas hosting 87Sr/86Sr values above 0.714 south of Cumbria. As a result, archaeological humans or animals with such (for Britain) âhighly radiogenicâ strontium isotope values are commonly interpreted as having moved either from Scotland or abroad. This paper presents the first dedicated strontium isotope map for South-West England based on 98 modern biosphere samples (including 68 new measurements). Numerous samples from the Cornubian granite (Dartmoor) have 87Sr/86Sr values above 0.714 (maximum 0.7287) and, based on their distribution, it is suggested that the previously elusive âhighly radiogenicâ values are characteristic for areas where the soil has with high rubidium concentrations. These occur at lower elevations which are better suited for agriculture and permanent human settlement than the high moors. Previous interpretations of archaeological samples from southern Britain may need to be revised considering these new results, but they also highlight the continued need for biosphere sampling and the usefulness of geochemical maps as a routine part of strontium isotope investigations in archaeology