Early Dalmatian farmers specialized in sheep husbandry

The spread of farming in the central and western Mediterranean took place rapidly, linked to the Impressa Ware. The Impressa Ware originated somewhere in the southern Adriatic and spread westwards across the Mediterranean. These early farmers had an economy based on cereal agriculture and caprine husbandry, but there is still little information on how this agropastoral system functioned. This study aims to unravel the farming practices of the early Dalmatian farmers linked to the Impressa culture by using an integrated analysis, combining archaeozoology, palaeoproteomics and stable isotopes, applied to the faunal assemblages of Tinj-Podlivade and Crno Vrilo. The results show: (1) the composition of the flocks was overwhelmingly sheep; (2) sheep exploitation at both sites was similar, focusing on milk and meat; (3) sheep reproduction was concentrated at the beginning of winter, with no reproduction in autumn as in later sites in the western Mediterranean. We conclude that a common animal economy existed at both sites, which could be related to the mobility practiced by these early farming societies throughout the Mediterranean

The identification of archaeological eggshell using peptide markers

Avian eggshell survives well in alkaline and neutral soils, but its potential as an archaeological resource remains largely unexplored, mainly due to difficulties in its identification. Here we exploit the release of novel bird genomes and, for the first time on eggshell, use MALDI-ToF (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight) mass spectrometry in combination with peptide sequencing by LC-MS/MS. The eggshell proteome is revealed as unexpectedly complex, with 5755 proteins identified for a reference collection comprising 23 bird species. We determined 782 m/z markers useful for eggshell identification, 583 of which could be assigned to known eggshell peptide sequences. These were used to identify eggshell fragments recovered from a medieval site at Freeschool Lane, Leicester. We discuss the specificity of the peptide markers and highlight the importance of assessing the level of taxonomic identification achievable for archaeological interpretation

Multi-method Analysis of Avian Eggs as Grave Goods: Revealing Symbolism in Conversion Period Burials at Kukruse, NE Estonia

Eggshells are unusual finds in the Iron Age of eastern Europe (500 BC–1200 AD) deserving extra attention in terms of analysis as well as interpretation. This paper discusses two rare eggshell finds, discovered in female burials at the conversion period (12th–13th century AD) cemetery at Kukruse, NE Estonia. Our multianalytical study combining FT-IR, SEM(-EDS), microscopy and ZooMS provides an overview of methods applicable for identifying egg species, their predepositional history and curation. Based on the analytical results and the comparative analysis of the content and context of these two burials, we argue that different aims and connotations lay behind depositing eggs as burial goods, allowing well-supported interpretations of both pagan and Christian religious worldviews simultaneously

Preparation of bone powder for FTIR-ATR analysis: The particle size effect

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using attenuated total reflection (ATR) is commonly used for the examination of bone. During sample preparation bone is commonly ground, changing the particle size distribution. Although previous studies have examined changes in crystallinity caused by the intensity of grinding using FTIR, the effect of sample preparation (i.e. particle size and bone tissue type) on the FTIR data is still unknown. This study reports on the bone powder particle size effects on mid-IR spectra and within sample variation (i.e. periosteal, mesosteal, trabecular) using FTIR-ATR. Twenty-four archaeological human and faunal bone samples (5 heated and 19 unheated) of different chronological age (Neolithic to post-Medieval) and origin (Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Greece) were ground using either (1) a ball-mill grinder, or (2) an agate pestle and mortar, and split into grain fractions (>500 μm, 250–500 μm, 125–250 μm, 63–125 μm, and 20–63 μm). Bone powder particle size has a strong but predictable effect on the infrared splitting factor (IRSF), carbonate/phosphate (C/P) ratio, and amide/phosphate (Am/P) values. The absorbance and positions of the main peaks, the 2nd derivative components of the phosphate and carbonate bands, as well as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the 1010 cm−1phosphate peak are particle size dependent. This is likely to be because of the impact of the particle size on the short- and long-range crystal order, as well as the contact between the sample and the prism, and hence the penetration depth of the IR light. Variations can be also observed between periosteal, cortical and trabecular areas of bone. We therefore propose a standard preparation method for bone powder for FTIR-ATR analysis that significantly improves accuracy, consistency, reliability, replicability and comparability of the data, enabling systematic evaluation of bone in archaeological, anthropological, paleontological, forensic and biomedical studies.Onassis Foundation (Grant no. F ZL 047-1/2015-2016), Leventis Foundation and the Greek Archaeological Committee UK (GACUK). SP would like to thank Brian Chait and the Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry (Rockefeller University) for use of the Retsch PM100 ball mill and useful help and support. KP thanks the Leverhulme Trust (PLP-2012-116) and MJC thanks the DNRF for the award of a Niels Bohr Professorship

Birds of prey and humans in prehistoric Europe: A view from El Mirón Cave, Cantabria (Spain)

Bird eggs can become part of the archaeological record either accidentally or as a result of human activities but, in both instances, they can reveal important aspects of the environment at the site, the ways in which people chose to exploit it, and even the existence of subtle ecological balances between humans and other animals. This is the case for El Mirόn, one of the most important cave sites in Cantabrian Spain, with occupation levels spanning around 40,000 years, from the late Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age. This mountainous area in Cantabria was an ideal environment for hunting medium-sized game and, as such, supported both human and non-human predators, including birds of prey. Here we use a combination of peptide mass fingerprinting (by MALDI-MS) and protein sequencing (by LC-MS/MS) in order to taxonomically identify ninety-five fragments of eggshells recovered from nineteen archaeological layers. We firmly identify these as diurnal birds of prey (Accipitridae) and suggest that the species might have been bearded vulture, based on previous taphonomic studies that highlighted its presence at the cave. The implication is that both species of diurnal predators, humans and birds, inhabited the cave and used the surrounding environment during different periods of the year

The identification of archaeological eggshell using peptide markers

Avian eggshell survives well in alkaline and neutral soils, but its potential as an archaeological resource remains largely unexplored, mainly due to difficulties in its identification. Here we exploit the release of novel bird genomes and, for the first time on eggshell, use MALDI-ToF (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight) mass spectrometry in combination with peptide sequencing by LC-MS/MS. The eggshell proteome is revealed as unexpectedly complex, with 5755 proteins identified for a reference collection comprising 23 bird species. We determined 782 m/z markers useful for eggshell identification, 583 of which could be assigned to known eggshell peptide sequences. These were used to identify eggshell fragments recovered from a medieval site at Freeschool Lane, Leicester. We discuss the specificity of the peptide markers and highlight the importance of assessing the level of taxonomic identification achievable for archaeological interpretation

The identification of archaeological eggshell using peptide markers

Avian eggshell survives well in alkaline and neutral soils, but its potential as an archaeological resource remains largely unexplored, mainly due to difficulties in its identification. Here we exploit the release of novel bird genomes and, for the first time on eggshell, use MALDI-ToF (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight) mass spectrometry in combination with peptide sequencing by LC-MS/MS. The eggshell proteome is revealed as unexpectedly complex, with 5755 proteins identified for a reference collection comprising 23 bird species. We determined 782 m/z markers useful for eggshell identification, 583 of which could be assigned to known eggshell peptide sequences. These were used to identify eggshell fragments recovered from a medieval site at Freeschool Lane, Leicester. We discuss the specificity of the peptide markers and highlight the importance of assessing the level of taxonomic identification achievable for archaeological interpretation