Praktikate püsivus. Multidistsiplinaarne uurimus küttide ja korilaste matustest Eestis, ajavahemikul 6500–2600 aastat eKr

Käesoleva töö “Persistent practices. A Multi-Disciplinary Study of Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Remains from c. 6500–2600 cal. BC, Estonia” [“Praktikate püsivus. Multidistsiplinaarne uurimus küttide ja korilaste matustest Eestis, ajavahemikul 6500–2600 eKr“] keskmes on küsimus, kuidas kohtlesid kiviaja kütid ja korilased surnuid. Lähtun surnukehast, õigemini selle materiaalsetest jäänustes, milleks siin on terviklikud luustikud ja üksikud inimluud asulate kultuurkihtides. Matmispraktikaid rekonstrueeritakse arheotanatoloogia abil ning surnute esmaseid identiteete osteoloogiliste meetodite ja süsiniku ja lämmastiku stabiilsete isotoopide analüüside kaudu. Luu kollageenist tehtud radiosüsiniku dateeringud annavad uurimusele ajalise sügavuse. Uute radiosüsiniku dateeringute kohaselt leidsid kõige vanemad matused toimusid 7. aastatuhande keskel Narva Joaorus. Noorimad dateeringud seevastu kuuluvad Tamula ja Naakamäe matustele, jäädes aega umbes 2600 eKr. Stabiilsete isotoopide uuringud näitavad, et vaadeldud inimluud kuuluvad sisemaa kalastajatele ja ranniku küttidele. See omakorda näitab, et kuni 3. aastatuhande keskpaigani eKr oli püügimajanduslik elatusviis määrava tähtsusega, lubades töös vaadatud surnuid koondada ühisnimetaja kütid ja korilased alla. Arheoloogiliselt nähtavad matmispraktikad said osaks nii naistele, lastele, kui ka meestele. Seetõttu võib öelda, et esmastel identiteetidel ei olnud matmispraktikate valimisel määravat rolli. Pikk ajaline perspektiiv lubab jälgida nii praktikate püsivust, kui ka muutusi. Arheotanatoloogiline analüüs näitab, et aktsepteeritava normi moodustas hulk erinevaid praktikaid. Kusjuures suur osa toonastest rituaalidest jääb tabamatuks. Arheoloogiliselt jälgitavatest praktikatest domineerib esmane laibamatus, samas tõestati ka mitme-episoodiliste matuste olemasolu Eestis. Surnuid sängitati nii asula kultuurkihti, kalmistutele, kui ka üksikmatustena asustusest eemale. Hoolimata mitmetest erinevustest rõhutatakse töös, et matuserituaalide põhisisu säilis ajavahemikus 6500–2600 eKr suures osas muutumatuna. Selleks muutumatuks tuumikuks võib pidada kohest tegutsemist surma ilmnemisel, surnukeha kesksust praktikate läbiviimisel, elevate ja surnute maailma ranget eraldamatust ja praktikate avatud iseloomu, mis võimaldas nende säilimise ja järk-järgulise muutumise ligi nelja aasta tuhande jooksul. Võtmesõnad: matmispraktikad, praktikate teooriad, keha materiaalse kultuuri osana, arheotanatoloogia, süsiniku ja lämmastiku stabiilsed isotoobid, radiosüsiniku dateeringud, kütid ja korilased, kiviaeg, EestiThe thesis “Persistent practices. A Multi-Disciplinary Study of Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Remains from c. 6500–2600 cal. BC, Estonia” focuses on the question of how death was handled within and among hunter-gatherer communities in Estonia. The study departs from the human remains – both intact skeletons and loose human bones in occupation layers – bringing the human body to the foreground to detect mortuary practices through the lens of archaeo-thanatology, and to recreate the primary identities of these people by the application of osteological methods and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope studies. The time depth is provided by the radiocarbon dates of human bone collagen. The new radiocarbon dates show that the first burials took place at Narva Joaorg starting from the mid of the 7th millennium cal. BC. The youngest hunter-gatherer burials derive from Tamula that was used as a burial place for a longer time period; its end date corresponds to the burial at Naakamäe, being c. 2600 cal. BC. Stable isotope results show that all the human remains belonged to inland fishers and coastal hunters of marine fished and mammals, indicating the importance of hunting and gathering subsistence until the mid of 3rd millennium cal. BC in Estonia. Burials contained the remains of both females, males, and adults and children of all age groups. These general observations about biological sex and age allege that mortuary rituals were carried out irrespective of the primary identities of the deceased. The long temporal perspective allowed observing the continuum and change of practices. As indicated by the archaeothanatological analyses, a range of practices were considered as norm. Only a fraction of the population received archaeologically observable handling; the vast majority of these constitute primary inhumations in a variety of body positions either with or without grave goods. Also, clear evidence of practices in multiple episodes was demonstrated. The deceased had been placed in the ground of contemporary settlement sites, cemeteries, and solitary graves close to the hunter-gatherer pathways. However, instead of stressing the differences in grave goods, or in places for the dead, and/or variability in body positions, it is stressed that a unchanging pattern of underlying norms of mortuary practices persisted from the first evidence of mortuary remains in c. 6500 cal. BC until the mid 3rd millennium cal. BC. This core of practices was formed by the immediate handling of the dead, primacy of the corpse, absence of clear separation between life and death, and open character of the mortuary practices that allowed the maintenance and gradual change of mortuary rituals within and among hunter-gatherer communities. Key words: mortuary practices, practice theory, body as material culture, archaeothanatology, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, radiocarbon dates, hunter-gatherers, Stone Age, Estoni

Pets or functional animals: dogs and cats in medieval and early modern Estonia

The role of dogs and cats in the history of the human-animal relationship has been variable. They have served as pets, working animals, useful commensals, subjects of worship and sacrifice, and providers of resources, such as skin and meat. These roles have also been more or less visible in Estonian archaeological material. Here, our focus is on the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period (13th to 18th centuries), which was the time of urbanisation and widening contacts as well as wars and famines. During this time of change, also the roles of dogs and cats as companion and commensal species changed. With over 700 specimens from all over Estonia, we aimed to explore the presence of dogs and cats in archaeological material, their keeping conditions, and their economic use. For dogs, essential questions also involved the different (morpho)types and their possible roles. The study confirmed that new dog types emerged in Estonia from the early 13th century. Furthermore, different site types, specifically castle and urban material, contained dogs with significantly diverse sizes, possibly due to their functionality. There is evidence of the economic value of both cats and dogs in the expression of cut marks that could be related to food waste and fur trading. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis confirmed the assumption that dogs mainly ate food scraps and leftovers, including freshwater and marine resources. Documented pathologies were rare, leaving the question of caring for or neglecting these animals open

Multi-isotopic analysis of zooarchaeological material from Estonia (ca. 200–1800 CE): Variation among food webs and geographical regions

To better comprehend the dietary practices of past populations in the Eastern Baltic region we have created temporally and geographically restricted baselines for the time period of 200–1800 CE. In this multi-isotopic analysis, we report new δ13C, δ15N and δ34S values for 251 faunal bone collagen samples from various archaeological contexts in Estonia representing the most comprehensive set of Iron Age, Medieval and Early Modern Period faunal stable isotope values to date. The results map out the local carbon and nitrogen baselines and define isotopic ranges of local terrestrial, avian and aquatic fauna. We also demonstrate the potential application of sulfur stable isotope analysis in archaeological research. The results demonstrate a clear distinction between δ13C and δ34S values of marine and terrestrial species, however, freshwater fish display notable overlaps with both marine and terrestrial ranges for both δ13C and δ34S values. Herbivores show variation in δ34S values when grouped by region, explained by differences in the local biotopes. This study is the first attempt to connect the Eastern Baltic isotopic baselines and provides more detailed temporal and geographical references to study the local ecologies and interpret the human data

The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region

Correction: Nature communications 9 (2018), art. no. 1494 doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03872-yWhile the series of events that shaped the transition between foraging societies and food producers are well described for Central and Southern Europe, genetic evidence from Northern Europe surrounding the Baltic Sea is still sparse. Here, we report genome-wide DNA data from 38 ancient North Europeans ranging from similar to 9500 to 2200 years before present. Our analysis provides genetic evidence that hunter-gatherers settled Scandinavia via two routes. We reveal that the first Scandinavian farmers derive their ancestry from Anatolia 1000 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The range of Mesolithic Western hunter-gatherers extended to the east of the Baltic Sea, where these populations persisted without gene-flow from Central European farmers during the Early and Middle Neolithic. The arrival of steppe pastoralists in the Late Neolithic introduced a major shift in economy and mediated the spread of a new ancestry associated with the Corded Ware Complex in Northern Europe.Peer reviewe

Author Correction: The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region

The original version of this Article omitted references to previous work, which are detailed in the associated Author Correction. These omissions have been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article

Parallel worlds and mixed economies : multi-proxy analysis reveals complex subsistence systems at the dawn of early farming in the northeast Baltic

The transition from foraging to farming was a key turning point in ancient socio-economies. Yet, the complexities and regional variations of this transformation are still poorly understood. This multi-proxy study provides a new understanding of the introduction and spread of early farming, challenging the notions of hierarchical economies. The most extensive biological and biomolecular dietary overview, combining zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, dietary stable isotope and pottery lipid residue analyses is presented, to unravel the nature and extent of early farming in the 3rd millennium cal BCE in the northeast Baltic. Farming was introduced by incoming Corded Ware cultural groups (CWC), but some dietary segregation existed within these communities, with some having more access to domesticates, others incorporating more wild resources into their diet. The CWC groups coexisted in parallel with local hunter–fisher–gatherers (HFG) without any indication of the adoption of domesticates. There was no transition from foraging to farming in the 3rd millennium cal BCE in the NE Baltic. Instead, we see a complex system of parallel worlds with local HFGs continuing forager lifeways, and incoming farmers practising mixed economies, with the continuation of these subsistence strategies for at least a millennium after the first encounter with domesticated animals

Faunal baseline data for E-Baltic hunter gatherers

This dataset gathers relevant bulk stable isotope values from the Stone Age sites at the Eastern Baltic to act as a baseline for the human values discussed in the article "Buried at home? Stable isotope analysis of the late hunter-gatherer cemetery population at Tamula, SE Estonia" (by Tõrv and Eriksson, EJA 27, 2; 10.3176/arch.2023.2.02). These data are gathered from published materials and are important in order to interpret the human values of the three sites - Tamula, Veibri, Zvejnieki - included in the cited study

Archaeological and archaeothanatological overview of the individuals at Tamula cemetery

This dataset represents the Tamula hunter-gatherer burials included in the article "Buried at home? Stable isotope analysis of the late hunter-gatherer cemetery population at Tamula, SE Estonia" by Tõrv and Eriksson (2023, EJA 27,2; 10.3176/arch.2023.2.02). It gives an archaeological and archaeothanatological background to the burials that are analysed for bulk stable isotope values in this article. The full analysis of the Tamula burials is published in Tõrv 2018. TAn overview of the analysed individuals, grave contexts (Jaanits 1957; Tõrv 2015; 2019), and the information about mortuary practices determined by the application of archaeothanatology (Tõrv 2015; 2018) is given. Young child is 1–5 years, older child 6–11 years old and adolescent 12–17 years old; young adult is 18–25 years old, middle adult 26–45 years old and older adult ˃46 years old (after Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994; Scheuer and Black 2000; Gray Jones 2011)

Photographic repository and RTI imaging of paleopathological lesions in fetal and perinatal human remains

This repository does not include all the 43 specimens of the sample. The dataset was created with the specific purpose of showing in the most detailed way possible the lesions related to metabolic disease discovered in this sample, with the hope of being of aid to any other operator working with infantile human remains in the future. Therefore, a thorough selection of the specimens and of the lesions to be recorded and photographed was conducted. 9 standard light directions, obtained from the dome, were selected for this preliminary work. These are the zenith direction (90° above the specimen), the principal cardinal points (above, below, left and right), and intermediate light directions (upper-right, upper-left, lower-right, lower-left). In addition, two standard RTI rendering modes were adopted (Specular Enhancement and Normal Visualization). For any query, or to request pictures of other specimens, please contact the corresponding author.This repository is a further step in the study of perinatal metabolic disease patterns. The paleopathological findings of six child burials discovered in the Medieval and Early Modern cemetery of St Jacob (Tartu, Estonia) are reported using standard photography and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). This is the first time RTI is used on human remains with the specific aim of examining pathological lesions of the bone. This photographic material is associated to the paper "Hunger, disease and subtle lesions: investigating infant systemic metabolic disease in osteological material from 13th-15th century Tartu, Estonia", and is also part of a larger research project focused on the use of RTI imaging in paleopathology. This photographic collection adds to the number of changes that can be identified in immature skeletal remains, serving as a model for future research

Dataset of selected archaeological dog specimens from medieval and early modern Estonia: metrics for the withers and crania, and values for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes

This dataset contains data collected during the study of archaeological dog remains. The dataset consists of three tables: (1) withers height data, (2) skull measurements data, (3) carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data. It is being made public both to act as supplementary data for publication Nuut et al. (in prep.) and the research project PRG29