The Egehøj Cereals: Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum s. l.) in the Danish Early Bronze Age

The Egehøj Cereals - Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum s. l.) in the Danish Early Bronze Ag

Hunter-Gatherer Variability: Developing Models for the Northern Coasts

Hunter-fisher-gatherer (HFG) variability has received a lot of attention. We review the key developments in the theories of variability, which have usually resulted in binary classifications. We argue that a range of variation based on the degree of territorial ownership is preferable to these classifications. Hunter-fisher-gatherers of the world’s northern coasts have only been partially explored in this way with regard to variability. A major reason for this is that such coastal groups use boats, so normative models of inland terrestrial foraging are not immediately applicable. We suggest that the Saxe-Goldstein hypothesis, the cautious linking of territoriality to funerary behaviour, may be a useful avenue to explore. Much work has been done by scholars of the northern coasts on boats and maritime transport, and some conclusions could be extrapolated to regions farther south.La variabilité caractérisant les chasseurs-pêcheurs-cueilleurs (CPC) reçoit beaucoup d’attention. Nous passons en revue les principaux développements en ce qui a trait aux théories de la variabilité, qui se traduisent habituellement par des classifications binaires. Nous soutenons qu’une plage de variations fondée sur le degré de propriété territoriale est préférable à ces classifications. La variabilité caractérisant les chasseurs-pêcheurs-cueilleurs des côtes nord de la planète n’a été étudiée qu’en partie. Cela s’explique majoritairement par le fait que ces groupes côtiers se servent d’embarcations, si bien que les modèles normatifs de recherche de nourriture à l’intérieur des terres ne sont pas immédiatement applicables. Nous suggérons que l’hypothèse de Saxe-Goldstein, soit le lien prudent entre la territorialité et le comportement funéraire, pourrait présenter une piste valant la peine d’être explorée. Les spécialistes des côtes nord ont beaucoup étudié le transport maritime et le transport au moyen d’embarcations, si bien qu’il pourrait être possible d’extrapoler certaines conclusions quant aux régions situées plus au sud

Liguria: aperture e chiusure di un’isola fra due pianure

This paper discusses Neolithic and Copper Age Liguria, Braudel’s ‘island’, a mountain chain situated between the Mediterranean and the Po plain. The Neolithic colonisation of western Liguria and the Mediterranean coasts of France happened a short time (as little as one century) after that of southern Italy and before either central Italy, Corsica or Sardinia; excavations at the Arene Candide cave confirm that the initial Neolithic is characterised by Impressa ware, followed by a Cardial phase, and that it is a full Neolithic, complete with cereals and domestic animals. The colonists appear to have chosen an area where later Mesolithic hunter-gatherers are not attested, although they traded for lithic materials with the neighbouring hunter-gatherer populations of eastern Liguria. The importance of the ophiolites of Liguria is indicated by the trade in polished axes as far as Puglia, by inclusions in early Neolithic pottery and by the finding of Hordeum pollen dated 6222-5990 cal BC in a core from the prehistoric lagoon at Sestri Levante. In the Cardial phase, western Liguria became part of a larger cultural area including southern France. In the following centuries, in the context of the middle Neolithic Square-Mouthed Pottery culture, the region took on its historical role as the gateway between the Mediterranean and the Po plain. The later Neolithic Chassey culture, shared with southern France, comprised the development of mountain pastoralism and cheesemaking, which facilitated the exploitation of mountain resources such as copper that began in this period

Neolithisation through bone : Stable isotope analysis of human and faunal remains from Syltholm II, Lolland, Denmark

Despite an increasing number of studies, the application of stable sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis to prehistoric bone collagen remains in its infancy. Conventionally, stable sulfur isotope compositions reflect coastal proximity and the interaction between humans and animals. Here, we undertook stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis of human and faunal bone collagen. To understand the local environmental conditions as well as the husbandry regime employed by the first farmers, and investigate where the animals were raised or hunted in non-specific terms, we sampled 50 faunal, including wild and domestic taxa, and human remains from the Late Mesolithic to Early-Middle Neolithic (c. 4860–2310 cal BC) site of Syltholm II on the island of Lolland, Denmark. We show that the wild animals were obtained from multiple locations surrounding the prehistoric Syltholm Fjord, including forested and open landscapes, areas impacted by sea spray and saltmarshes. In contrast, the domestic taxa, especially cattle, were tightly managed for the majority of their lives based on their δ13C and δ15N isotope compositions, though were likely raised in multiple locations, including sea spray-affected areas, saltmarshes and wetlands, based on their δ34S values. The domestic dogs had a broad range of δ13C, δ15N and δ34S values, reflecting the consumption of varying degrees of marine foodstuffs, including animals that were sulfide-derived. Overall, our results contribute to a growing body of evidence for possible cultural and animal husbandry duality during the earliest Neolithic in southern Scandinavia

Sex Determination and Isotopic Analysis of the Nivåfjord Mesolithic Burials, Zealand, Denmark

Since 1992 the prehistoric Nivåfjord in northeast Zealand, Denmark, has yielded an appreciable number of inhumation burials and cremations dating to the Mesolithic, especially the sites of Nivå 10 and Nivågård. Unfortunately, the micro-region is characterised by poor organic preservation, restricting the successful application of biomolecular techniques to human remains, including large-scale radiocarbon dating programmes as well as both stable isotope and ancient DNA analyses. Here, we apply an alternative technique, an acid etch peptide-based method, to determine the sex of eight individuals from Nivå 10 as well as the Nivågård child. Moreover, we revisit the utility of stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis of human tissues to reconstruct the life histories and diets of 10 individuals from Nivå 10 as well as the Nivågård child. To contextualise further, we sampled 14 Capreolus capreolus and three Sus scrofa from the Nivågård site for stable isotope analysis. We demonstrate that sex can successfully be determined from contexts susceptible to poor organic preservation, and show that the Nivågård child spent a proportion of its life outside a sea spray-influenced environment, and consumed significant quantities of marine protein as demonstrated by its δ13C and δ34S values