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Vytlačil Z, Durand R, Kacki S, Holleville M, Drtikolová Kaupová S, Brůžek J, Castex D, Velemínský P. Well supplied in life, set aside in death: A multi-isotope study of Justinian plague victims from Saint-Doulchard (France, 7th-8th centuries AD). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 185:e25002. [PMID: 39034501 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.25002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Justinian plague and its subsequent outbreaks were major events influencing Early Medieval Europe. One of the affected communities was the population of Saint-Doulchard in France, where plague victim burials were concentrated in a cemetery enclosure ditch. This study aimed to obtain more information about their life-histories using the tools of isotope analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Dietary analysis using carbon and nitrogen isotopes was conducted on 97 individuals buried at Le Pressoir in Saint-Doulchard, with 36 of those originating from the enclosure ditch. This sample set includes all individuals analyzed for plague DNA in a previous study. Mobility analysis using strontium isotope analysis supplements the dietary study, with 47 analyzed humans. The results are supported by a reference sample set of 31 animal specimens for dietary analysis and 9 for mobility analysis. RESULTS The dietary analysis results showed significantly different dietary behavior in individuals from the ditch burials, with better access to higher quality foods richer in animal protein. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are similar for both studied groups and indicate a shared or similar area of origin. DISCUSSION The results suggest that the ditch burials contain an urban population from the nearby city of Bourges, which overall had a better diet than the rural population from Saint-Doulchard. It is implied that city's population might have been subjected to high mortality rates during the plague outbreak(s), which led to their interment in nearby rural cemeteries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zdeněk Vytlačil
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Praha 1, Czech Republic
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha 2, Czech Republic
| | - Raphaël Durand
- Service d'Archéologie preventive Bourges Plus, Communauté d'agglomération Bourges Plus, Bourges, France
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/UB/MC, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Sacha Kacki
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/UB/MC, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac cedex, France
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Marion Holleville
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/UB/MC, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac cedex, France
| | | | - Jaroslav Brůžek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha 2, Czech Republic
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/UB/MC, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Dominique Castex
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/UB/MC, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Petr Velemínský
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Praha 1, Czech Republic
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Harris AJT, Santos GM, Malone KO, Van Der Meer MTJ, Riekenberg P, Fernandes R. A long-term study of stable isotope ratios of fingernail keratin and amino acids in a mother-infant dyad. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024:e25021. [PMID: 39192684 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.25021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 07/13/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential of compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) for investigating infant feeding practices, we conducted a long-term study that compared infant and maternal amino acid (AA) nitrogen isotope ratios. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fingernail samples were collected from a single mother-infant dyad over 19 months postpartum. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were measured in the bulk keratin of the fingernail samples. Selected samples were then hydrolyzed and derivatized for compound-specific nitrogen isotope analysis of keratin AAs. RESULTS As in previous studies, infant bulk keratin nitrogen isotope values increased during exclusive breastfeeding and fell with the introduction of complementary foods and eventual cessation of breastfeeding. Infant trophic AAs had elevated nitrogen isotope values relative to the mother, while the source AAs were similar between the mother and infant. Proline and threonine appeared to track the presence of human milk in the infant's diet as the isotopic composition of these AAs remained offset from maternal isotope values until the cessation of breastfeeding. DISCUSSION Although CSIA-AA is costly and labor intensive, it appears to hold potential for estimating the duration of breastfeeding, even after the introduction of complementary foods. Through the analysis of a full suite of AAs, it may also yield insights into infant physiology and AA synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison J T Harris
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Canada
| | - Guaciara M Santos
- Keck Carbon Cycle AMS Facility, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Kaelyn O Malone
- Keck Carbon Cycle AMS Facility, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Marcel T J Van Der Meer
- Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry Department, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Riekenberg
- Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry Department, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, The Netherlands
| | - Ricardo Fernandes
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Arne Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
- Climate Change and History Research Initiative, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
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Riccomi G, Simonit R, Maudet S, Scott E, Lucas M, Giuffra V, Roberts P. Diets, stress, and disease in the Etruscan society: Isotope analysis and infantile skeletal palaeopathology from Pontecagnano (Campania, southern Italy, 730-580 BCE). PLoS One 2024; 19:e0302334. [PMID: 38748638 PMCID: PMC11095689 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Susceptibility to morbidity and mortality is increased in early life, yet proactive measures, such as breastfeeding and weaning practices, can be taken through specific investments from parents and wider society. The extent to which such biosocialcultural investment was achieved within 1st millennium BCE Etruscan society, of whom little written sources are available, is unkown. This research investigates life histories in non-adults and adults from Pontecagnano (southern Italy, 730-580 BCE) in order to track cross-sectional and longitudinal breastfeeding and weaning patterns and to characterize the diet more broadly. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of incrementally-sampled deciduous and permanent dentine (n = 15), bulk bone collagen (n = 38), and tooth enamel bioapatite (n = 21) reveal the diet was largely based on C3 staple crops with marginal contributions of animal protein. Millet was found to play a role for maternal diet and trajectories of breastfeeding and feeding for some infants and children at the site. The combination of multiple isotope systems and tissues demonstrates exclusive breastfeeding was pursued until 0.6 years, followed by progressive introduction of proteanocius supplementary foods during weaning that lasted between approximately 0.7 and 2.6 years. The combination of biochemical data with macroscopic skeletal lesions of infantile metabolic diseases and physiological stress markers showed high δ15Ndentine in the months prior to death consistent with the isotopic pattern of opposing covariance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Riccomi
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Division of Paleopathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Rachele Simonit
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Division of Paleopathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Erin Scott
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Mary Lucas
- The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
- Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, isoTROPIC Research Group, Jena, Germany
| | - Valentina Giuffra
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Division of Paleopathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, isoTROPIC Research Group, Jena, Germany
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Herrscher E, Valentin F, Zinger W, Pradier B, André G. Life histories in Fiji as reconstructed from first millennium CE Sigatoka Sand Dune burials using isotopes. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300749. [PMID: 38723036 PMCID: PMC11081393 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper aims to re-examine the dietary practices of individuals buried at Sigatoka Sand Dunes site (Fiji) in Burial Ground 1 excavated by Simon Best in 1987 and 1988 using two approaches and a reassessment of their archaeological, bioarchaeological and chronological frame. First, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was applied to document dietary changes between childhood and adulthood using an intra-individual approach on paired bone-tooth. Second, the potential adaptation of the individuals to their environment was evaluated through regional and temporal comparisons using inter-individual bone analysis. Ten AMS radiocarbon dates were measured directly on human bone collagen samples, placing the series in a range of approximately 600 years covering the middle of the first millennium CE (1,888 to 1,272 cal BP). δ13C and δ15N ratios were measured on bone and tooth collagen samples from 38 adult individuals. The results show that δ15N values from tooth are higher than those s from bone while bone and tooth δ13C values are similar, except for females. Fifteen individuals were included in an intra-individual analysis based on paired bone and tooth samples, which revealed six dietary patterns distinguished by a differential dietary intake of marine resources and resources at different trophic levels. These highlight sex-specific differences not related to mortuary practices but to daily life activities, supporting the hypothesis of a sexual division of labour. Compared to other Southwest Pacific series, Sigatoka diets show a specific trend towards marine food consumption that supports the hypothesis of a relative food self-sufficiency requiring no interactions with other groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Herrscher
- Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix–en–Provence, France
| | | | - Wanda Zinger
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Archaeo–and Palaeogenetics Group, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Guy André
- Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix–en–Provence, France
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Sánchez-Cañadillas E, Beaumont J, Santana-Cabrera J, Gorton M, Arnay-de-la-Rosa M. The early lives of the islanders: Stable isotope analysis of incremental dentine collagen from the prehispanic period of the Canary Islands. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:300-317. [PMID: 37530169 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study presents isotopic information for incremental dentine collagen and bone bulk collagen from individuals from the Canary Islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) to explore dietary differences during childhood life. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eight individuals have been studied, which comprises 122 δ15 N and δ13 C incremental dentine measurements and eight bulk bone collagen analyses. A baseline of potentially consumed food sources has been developed for comparative purposes. A food reconstruction using isotopic transferred signals (FRUITS) model of probable contributions of each food source towards the diet of each individual has been developed. All samples but one belongs to the later period of indigenous occupation of the archipelago. RESULTS The dentine collagen data are presented in correlated δ13 C and δ15 N plots per individual, showing the isotopic changes throughout time. δ15 N values for each individual tend to be variable whereas δ13 C data are generally more stable with a range of +9.1 to +14‰ for δ15 N and -17.4 to -20.8‰ for δ13 C. CONCLUSION The isotopic analysis allows for the reconstruction of eight dietary profiles, which allow us to estimate the different dietary protein sources. The FRUITS model shows different percentages of the primary food sources for each individual. Where both δ13 C and δ15 N are elevated, this could be indicative of a higher marine contribution to the diet. There appear to be two main dietary profiles identifiable in the dataset and these may be related to changes in status or place of residence. Short-term variations in δ13 C and δ15 N and opposing co-variance of isotopic values can be indicative of nutritional stress, although metabolic changes during growth are also considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elías Sánchez-Cañadillas
- Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Unidad de Docencia e Investigación de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
| | - Julia Beaumont
- School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
| | - Jonathan Santana-Cabrera
- Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
| | - Marise Gorton
- School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
| | - Matilde Arnay-de-la-Rosa
- Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Unidad de Docencia e Investigación de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Spain
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O'Donoghue R, Walker D, Beaumont J. Children of the abyss: Investigating the association between isotopic physiological stress and skeletal pathology in London during the Industrial Revolution. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2021; 35:61-80. [PMID: 34715484 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This project sought to investigate whether an association may be observed between isotopic stress indicators and skeletal evidence of pathological conditions. MATERIALS Deciduous and permanent teeth of 15 non-adults from two contemporaneous mid-19th century London burial grounds (City Bunhill, Lukin Street). METHODS δ13C and δ15N was measured in the incrementally sectioned dentine collagen. Isotopic profiles for each individual included death during tooth development. RESULTS Individuals with skeletal evidence of chronic pathological conditions (e.g., rickets, tuberculosis) exhibited raised δ15N values of 0.5-1.7‰ in the months prior to death. Isotopic change consistent with chronic physiological stress prior to death was also recorded in two individuals with no skeletal evidence of disease. An offset was observed between co-forming bone and dentine δ15N values in both populations, indicating that bone and dentine are not recording the same isotopic changes. CONCLUSIONS Isotopic change consistent with chronic physiological stress was observed in both those with and without skeletal evidence of disease, suggesting that adaptation to chronic stress in childhood was not uncommon within these 19th century London populations. SIGNIFICANCE Chronic physiological stress prior to death may be seen in the incrementally sampled dentine of non-adults who die during tooth formation. LIMITATIONS The temporal resolution of current dentine micro-sampling methods may mask or minimise visibility of shorter-term periods of stress or dietary change. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Future research should further explore the relationship between specific skeletal pathologies and isotopic evidence for stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth O'Donoghue
- School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK.
| | - Don Walker
- Museum of London Archaeology, Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London, N1 7ED, UK
| | - Julia Beaumont
- School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK
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Varalli A, Desideri J, David-Elbiali M, Goude G, Honegger M, Besse M. Bronze Age innovations and impact on human diet: A multi-isotopic and multi-proxy study of western Switzerland. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245726. [PMID: 33503025 PMCID: PMC7840060 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The archaeological Bronze Age record in Europe reveals unprecedented changes in subsistence strategies due to innovative farming techniques and new crop cultivation. Increasing cultural exchanges affected the economic system. The inhabitants of Switzerland played a pivotal role in this European context through relationships with the Mediterranean, the High and Middle Danube regions and the Alps thanks to the area’s central position. This research aims to reconstruct, for the first time in Switzerland, human socio-economic systems through the study of human diet, herding and farming practices and their changes throughout the Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) by means of biochemical markers. The study includes 41 human, 22 terrestrial and aquatic animal specimens and 30 charred seeds and chaff samples from sites in western Switzerland. Stable isotope analyses were performed on cereal and legume seeds (δ13C, δ15N), animal bone collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N, δ34S), human bone and tooth dentine collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N,) and human tooth enamel (δ13Cenamel). The isotopic data suggest a) an intensification of soil fertilization and no hydric stress throughout the Bronze Age, b) a human diet mainly composed of terrestrial resources despite the proximity of Lake Geneva and the Rhone river, c) a diet based on C3 plants during the Early and Middle Bronze Age as opposed to the significant consumption of 13C-enriched resources (probably millet) by individuals from the Final Bronze Age, d) no important changes in dietary patterns throughout an individual’s lifespan but a more varied diet in childhood compared to adulthood, e) no differences in diet according to biological criteria (age, sex) or funerary behavior (burial architecture, grave goods).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Varalli
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail: ,
| | - Jocelyne Desideri
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Mireille David-Elbiali
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gwenaëlle Goude
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist of Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Matthieu Honegger
- Institut d’Archéologie, University of Neuchâtel, Hauterive, Switzerland
| | - Marie Besse
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Walter BS, DeWitte SN, Dupras T, Beaumont J. Dietary Variation in an Urbanizing City: A Temporal Analysis of Diet in Late Medieval London Using Stable Isotope Analysis. BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SOCIAL THEORY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-53417-2_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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