Land use and mobility during the Neolithic in Wales explored using isotope analysis of tooth enamel

Provenancing antiquarian museum collections using multi-isotope analysis

Many of the most significant archaeological sites in Europe were excavated by antiquarians over one hundred years ago. Modern museum collections therefore frequently contain human remains that were recovered during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here we apply multi-isotope analysis (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ ¹⁸O, δ ¹³C, δ ¹⁵N) and ¹⁴C dating to evaluate the provenance of human remains within a collection that is thought to have been recovered from one of the most important archaeological sites in Britain. Excavated in 1910, the site of Coldrum in Kent is a megalithic burial monument that may be one of the earliest sites associated with the transition to farming in Britain. The interpretation of this site is therefore key to understanding how agriculture began. Using isotope analysis we show that although the human skeletal collections attributed to Coldrum do contain some of the earliest dated Neolithic human remains in Britain, they also contain the remains of individuals of fifth to seventh centuries AD date. We evaluate subsistence and mobility patterns of early Neolithic populations and provide new information about the origins of those individuals in the collection that date to the fifth to seventh centuries AD. We demonstrate the utility of employing isotope analysis to provide direct and independent information about the provenance of human remains in museum collections.

The expendables: Bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in 19th century England and the health consequences of child labour

Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England is well documented. During this period, the removal of pauper children from workhouses in cities to work as apprentices in rural mills in the North of England was commonplace. Whilst the experiences of some of these children have been recorded historically, this study provides the first direct evidence of their lives through bioarchaeological analysis. The excavation of a rural churchyard cemetery in the village of Fewston, North Yorkshire, yielded the skeletal remains of 154 individuals, including an unusually large proportion of children aged between 8 to 20 years. A multi-method approach was undertaken, including osteological and palaeopathological examination, stable isotope and amelogenin peptide analysis. The bioarchaeological results were integrated with historical data regarding a local textile mill in operation during the 18th-19th centuries. The results for the children were compared to those obtained from contemporaneous individuals of known identity (from coffin plates) of comparable date. Most of the children exhibited distinctive 'non-local' isotope signatures and a diet low in animal protein when compared to the named local individuals. These children also showed severe growth delays and pathological lesions indicative of early life adversity, as well as respiratory disease, which is a known occupational hazard of mill work. This study has provided unique insights into the harrowing lives of these children; born into poverty and forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions. This analysis provides a stark testimony of the impacts of industrial labour on the health, growth and mortality risk of children, with implications for the present as well as our understanding of the past.

Multi-isotopic and morphometric evidence for the migration of farmers leading up to the Inka conquest of the southern Andes

We present isotopic and morphometric evidence suggesting the migration of farmers in the southern Andes in the period AD 1270–1420, leading up to the Inka conquest occurring ~ AD 1400. This is based on the interdisciplinary study of human remains from archaeological cemeteries in the Andean Uspallata Valley (Argentina), located in the southern frontier of the Inka Empire. The studied samples span AD 800–1500, encompassing the highly dynamic Late Intermediate Period and culminating with the imperial expansion. Our research combines a macro-regional study of human paleomobility and migration based on a new strontium isoscape across the Andes that allows identifying locals and migrants, a geometric morphometric analysis of cranio-facial morphology suggesting separate ancestral lineages, and a paleodietary reconstruction based on stable isotopes showing that the migrants had diets exceptionally high in C₄ plants and largely based on maize agriculture. Significantly, this migration influx occurred during a period of regional demographic increase and would have been part of a widespread period of change in settlement patterns and population movements that preceded the Inka expansion. These processes increased local social diversity and may have been subsequently utilized by the Inka to channel interaction with the local societies.

Coalescing traditions-Coalescing people: Community formation in Pannonia after the decline of the Roman Empire

The decline of the Roman rule caused significant political instability and led to the emergence of various ‘Barbarian’ powers. While the names of the involved groups appeared in written sources, it is largely unknown how these changes affected the daily lives of the people during the 5^th century AD. Did late Roman traditions persist, did new customs emerge, and did both amalgamate into new cultural expressions? A prime area to investigate these population and settlement historical changes is the Carpathian Basin (Hungary). Particularly, we studied archaeological and anthropological evidence, as well as radiogenic and stable isotope ratios of strontium, carbon, and nitrogen of human remains from 96 graves at the cemetery of Mözs-Icsei dűlő. Integrated data analysis suggests that most members of the founder generation at the site exhibited burial practises of late Antique traditions, even though they were heterogeneous regarding their places of origin and dietary habits. Furthermore, the isotope data disclosed a nonlocal group of people with similar dietary habits. According to the archaeological evidence, they joined the community a few decades after the founder generation and followed mainly foreign traditions with artificial skull modification as their most prominent characteristic. Moreover, individuals with modified skulls and late Antique grave attributes attest to deliberate cultural amalgamation, whereas burials of largely different isotope ratios underline the recipient habitus of the community. The integration of archaeological and bioarchaeological information at the individual level discloses the complex coalescence of people and traditions during the 5^th century.

At the world's edge: Reconstructing diet and geographic origins in medieval Iceland using isotope and trace element analyses

Objectives

A multi‐isotope study was conducted on individuals buried at Skriðuklaustur monastery (AD 1493–1554) to investigate their geographic origins and dietary composition. Comparative material from individuals excavated from Skeljastaðir, an inland farm site was also analyzed.

Materials and methods

Bone collagen was extracted from 50 humans (Skriðuklaustur and Skeljastaðir) and 25 animals (Skriðuklaustur) and analyzed for δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S. Dental enamel samples from 31 individuals (Skriðuklaustur) were also analyzed for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, and trace elements (Pb, Sr, Zn, Ba).

Results

The mean value determined from individuals from Skriðuklaustur (n = 36) was δ¹³C = −18.7 ± 0.8‰, δ¹⁵N = 12.8 ± 1.1‰, and δ³⁴S = 9.0 ± 1.6‰, whereas at Skeljastaðir (n = 14), it was δ¹³C = −20.5 ± 0.8‰, δ¹⁵N = 7.8 ± 0.9‰, and δ³⁴S = 9.4 ± 1.6‰. At Skriðuklaustur, human dental enamel samples (n = 31) provided a ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr range of 0.7060–0.7088, δ¹⁸O_phosphate from 13.9 to 16.1‰ and δ¹³C_carbonate from −16.6 to −12.9‰. Inferred drinking water (δ¹⁸O_dw) values range from −12.3 to −8.9‰. Sr concentrations range from 25.8 to 156.7 ppm, Ba from 0.11 to 0.81 ppm, Zn from 43.8 to 145.8 ppm, and Pb from 0.13 to 9.40 ppm.

Discussion

A combination of results indicates that the people from Skriðuklaustur were born in Iceland, but some lived inland during childhood while others lived closer to the coast. Since Skriðuklaustur was a hospital, these individuals may have sought medical treatment at the monastery. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values determined from bone collagen indicate that the people residing at Skriðuklaustur consumed a diet high in marine protein, while those residing at Skeljastaðir exhibit values more consistent with terrestrial resources.

Molecular insights into an ancient form of Paget's disease of bone

We identify an ancient and atypical form of Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) in a collection of medieval skeletons exhibiting unusually extensive pathological changes, high disease prevalence, and low age-at-death estimations. Proteomic analysis of ancient bone-preserved proteins combined with analysis of small RNAs supports a retrospective diagnosis of PDB. Remains affected by other skeletal disorders may therefore hold a chemical memory amenable to similar molecular interrogation. Abnormalities in a contemporary PDB-linked protein detected in ancient tooth samples indicate that dentition may represent an unexplored storehouse for the study of skeletal disorders. Our work provides insights into the natural history of PDB and prompts a similar revaluation of other archaeological collections.

Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a chronic skeletal disorder that can affect one or several bones in individuals older than 55 y of age. PDB-like changes have been reported in archaeological remains as old as Roman, although accurate diagnosis and natural history of the disease is lacking. Six skeletons from a collection of 130 excavated at Norton Priory in the North West of England, which dates to medieval times, show atypical and extensive pathological changes resembling contemporary PDB affecting as many as 75% of individual skeletons. Disease prevalence in the remaining collection is high, at least 16% of adults, with age at death estimations as low as 35 y. Despite these atypical features, paleoproteomic analysis identified sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1) or p62, a protein central to the pathological milieu of PDB, as one of the few noncollagenous human sequences preserved in skeletal samples. Targeted proteomic analysis detected >60% of the ancient p62 primary sequence, with Western blotting indicating p62 abnormalities, including in dentition. Direct sequencing of ancient DNA excluded contemporary PDB-associated SQSTM1 mutations. Our observations indicate that the ancient p62 protein is likely modified within its C-terminal ubiquitin-associated domain. Ancient miRNAs were remarkably preserved in an osteosarcoma from a skeleton with extensive disease, with miR-16 expression consistent with that reported in contemporary PDB-associated bone tumors. Our work displays the use of proteomics to inform diagnosis of ancient diseases such as atypical PDB, which has unusual features presumably potentiated by yet-unidentified environmental or genetic factors.

Land use and mobility during the Neolithic in Wales explored using isotope analysis of tooth enamel

Objectives

The nature of land use and mobility during the transition to agriculture has often been debated. Here, we use isotope analysis of tooth enamel from human populations buried in two different Neolithic burial monuments, Penywyrlod and Ty Isaf, in south‐east Wales, to examine patterns of land use and to evaluate where individuals obtained their childhood diet.

Materials and Methods

We employ strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and carbon (δ¹³C) isotope analysis of enamel from adjacent molars. We compare strontium isotope values measured in enamel to locally bioavailable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values. We combine discussion of these results with evaluation of new radiocarbon dates obtained from both sites.

Results

The majority of enamel samples from Penywyrlod have strontium isotope ratios above 0.7140. In contrast, the majority of those from Ty Isaf have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values below 0.7140. At Penywyrlod oxygen isotope ratios range between 25.9 and 28.2 ‰ (mean 26.7 ± 0.6 ‰, 1σ, n = 15) and enamel δ¹³C_carbonate values range between −18.0 and −15.0 ‰ (mean −16.0 ± 0.8 ‰, 1σ, n = 15). At Ty Isaf oxygen isotope ratios exhibited by Neolithic individuals range between 25.4 and 27.7 ‰ (mean 26.7 ± 0.6 ‰, 1σ, n = 15) and enamel δ¹³C_carbonate values range between −16.9 and −14.9 ‰ (mean −16.0 ± 0.6 ‰, 1σ, n = 15).

Discussion

The strontium isotope results suggest that the majority of individuals buried at Penywyrlod did not source their childhood diet locally. One individual in this group has strontium isotope ratios that exceed all current known biosphere values within England and Wales. This individual is radiocarbon dated to the first few centuries of the 4^th millennium BC, consistent with the period in which agriculture was initiated in Wales: the results therefore provide evidence for migration during the transition to farming in Wales. In contrast, all individuals sampled from Ty Isaf post‐date the period in which agriculture is considered to have been initiated and could have sourced their childhood diet from the local region in which they were buried.