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Breu A, Risch R, Molina E, Friederich S, Meller H, Knoll F. Pottery spilled the beans: Patterns in the processing and consumption of dietary lipids in Central Germany from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301278. [PMID: 38753872 PMCID: PMC11098342 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The need to better understand economic change and the social uses of long-ago established pottery types to prepare and consume food has led to the study of 124 distinct ceramic vessels from 17 settlement and funerary sites in Central Germany (present day Saxony-Anhalt). These, dated from the Early Neolithic (from 5450 cal. BCE onwards) to the Late Bronze Age (1300-750 cal. BCE; youngest sample ca. 1000 BCE), include vessels from the Linear Pottery (LBK), Schiepzig/Schöningen groups (SCHIP), Baalberge (BAC), Corded Ware (CWC), Bell Beaker (BBC), and Únětice (UC) archaeological cultures. Organic residue analyses performed on this assemblage determined the presence of vessel contents surviving as lipid residues in 109 cases. These were studied in relation to the changing use of settlement and funerary pottery types and, in the case of burials, to the funerary contexts in which the vessels had been placed. The obtained results confirmed a marked increase in the consumption of dairy products linked to innovations in pottery types (e.g., small cups) during the Funnel Beaker related Baalberge Culture of the 4th millennium BCE. Although the intensive use of dairy products may have continued into the 3rd millennium BCE, especially amongst Bell Beaker populations, Corded Ware vessels found in funerary contexts suggest an increase in the importance of non-ruminant products, which may be linked to the production of specific vessel shapes and decoration. In the Early Bronze Age circum-Harz Únětice group (ca. 2200-1550 BCE), which saw the emergence of a highly hierarchical society, a greater variety of animal and plant derived products was detected in a much more standardised but, surprisingly, more multifunctional pottery assemblage. This long-term study of lipid residues from a concise region in Central Europe thus reveals the complex relationships that prehistoric populations established between food resources and the main means to prepare, store, and consume them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrià Breu
- Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Koç University, Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Roberto Risch
- Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Elena Molina
- Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Susanne Friederich
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Franziska Knoll
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale), Germany
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2
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Manoukian N, Whelton HL, Dunne J, Badalyan R, Smith AT, Simonyan H, Rothman MS, Bobokhyan A, Hovsepyan R, Avetisyan P, Evershed RP, Pollard AM. Diverse dietary practices across the Early Bronze Age 'Kura-Araxes culture' in the South Caucasus. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0278345. [PMID: 36542561 PMCID: PMC9770345 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278345] [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: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural phenomenon (dated to the Early Bronze Age, c. 3500/3350-2500 BCE) is primarily characterised by the emergence of a homogeneous pottery style and a uniform 'material culture package' in settlements across the South Caucasus, as well as territories extending to the Ancient Near East and the Levant. It has been argued that KA societies practised pastoralism, despite a lack of direct examination of dietary and culinary practices in this region. Here, we report the first analyses of absorbed lipid residues from KA pottery to both determine the organic products produced and consumed and to reconstruct subsistence practices. Our results provide compelling evidence for a diversified diet across KA settlements in Armenia, comprising a mixed economy of meat and plant processing, aquatic fats and dairying. The preservation of diagnostic plant lipid biomarkers, notably long-chain fatty acids (C20 to C28) and n-alkanes (C23 to C33) has enabled the identification of the earliest processing of plants in pottery of the region. These findings suggest that KA settlements were agropastoral exploiting local resources. Results demonstrate the significance of applying biomolecular methods for examining dietary inferences in the South Caucasus region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nyree Manoukian
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Helen L. Whelton
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Julie Dunne
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Ruben Badalyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Adam T. Smith
- Department of Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Hakob Simonyan
- Scientific Research Center of the Historical and Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Mitchell S. Rothman
- Department of Anthropology, Widener University, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Arsen Bobokhyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Roman Hovsepyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Pavel Avetisyan
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Richard P. Evershed
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - A. Mark Pollard
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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3
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Hammann S, Bishop RR, Copper M, Garrow D, Greenwood C, Hewson L, Sheridan A, Sturt F, Whelton HL, Cramp LJE. Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5045. [PMID: 36068217 PMCID: PMC9448721 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32286-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cereal cultivation in Britain dates back to ca. 4000 BCE, probably introduced by migrant farmers from continental Europe. Widespread evidence for livestock appears in the archaeozoological record, also reflected by ubiquitous dairy lipids in pottery organic residues. However, despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated plants (such as cereals), organic residue evidence has been near-absent. Our approach, targeting low-abundance cereal-specific markers, has now revealed evidence for cereals (indicating wheat) in Neolithic pottery from Scottish ‘crannogs’, dating to ca. 3600 – 3300 BCE. Their association with dairy products suggests cereals may have been regularly prepared together as a milk-based gruel. We also observed a strong association between the occurrence of dairy products and smaller-mouthed vessels. Here, we demonstrate that cereal-specific markers can survive in cooking pots for millennia, revealing the consumption of specific cereals (wheat) that are virtually absent from the archaeobotanical record for this region and illuminating culinary traditions among early farming communities. Despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated cereals, organic residue evidence is scarce. Here, the authors identify cereal-specific markers in pottery from Scottish ‘crannogs’, revealing the presence of cereals in Neolithic pottery which might have been mixed with dairy products as a milk-based gruel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Hammann
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS81UU, UK. .,Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nikolaus-Fiebiger Straße 10, 91058, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Rosie R Bishop
- Arkeologisk Museum, Universitetet i Stavanger, Peder Klows gate 31A, 4036, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Mike Copper
- School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK
| | - Duncan Garrow
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK.
| | - Caitlin Greenwood
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS81UU, UK
| | - Lanah Hewson
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK.,Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) Northampton, 30 Billing Road, Northampton, NN1 5DQ, UK
| | - Alison Sheridan
- c/o Scottish History & Archaeology Department, National Museums Scotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF, UK
| | - Fraser Sturt
- Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BF, UK.
| | - Helen L Whelton
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Lucy J E Cramp
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS81UU, UK.
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4
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Evershed RP, Davey Smith G, Roffet-Salque M, Timpson A, Diekmann Y, Lyon MS, Cramp LJE, Casanova E, Smyth J, Whelton HL, Dunne J, Brychova V, Šoberl L, Gerbault P, Gillis RE, Heyd V, Johnson E, Kendall I, Manning K, Marciniak A, Outram AK, Vigne JD, Shennan S, Bevan A, Colledge S, Allason-Jones L, Amkreutz L, Anders A, Arbogast RM, Bălăşescu A, Bánffy E, Barclay A, Behrens A, Bogucki P, Carrancho Alonso Á, Carretero JM, Cavanagh N, Claßen E, Collado Giraldo H, Conrad M, Csengeri P, Czerniak L, Dębiec M, Denaire A, Domboróczki L, Donald C, Ebert J, Evans C, Francés-Negro M, Gronenborn D, Haack F, Halle M, Hamon C, Hülshoff R, Ilett M, Iriarte E, Jakucs J, Jeunesse C, Johnson M, Jones AM, Karul N, Kiosak D, Kotova N, Krause R, Kretschmer S, Krüger M, Lefranc P, Lelong O, Lenneis E, Logvin A, Lüth F, Marton T, Marley J, Mortimer R, Oosterbeek L, Oross K, Pavúk J, Pechtl J, Pétrequin P, Pollard J, Pollard R, Powlesland D, Pyzel J, Raczky P, Richardson A, Rowe P, Rowland S, Rowlandson I, Saile T, Sebők K, Schier W, Schmalfuß G, Sharapova S, Sharp H, Sheridan A, Shevnina I, Sobkowiak-Tabaka I, Stadler P, Stäuble H, Stobbe A, Stojanovski D, Tasić N, van Wijk I, Vostrovská I, Vuković J, Wolfram S, Zeeb-Lanz A, Thomas MG. Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe. Nature 2022; 608:336-345. [PMID: 35896751 PMCID: PMC7615474 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05010-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions2,3. Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectories than uniform selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank4,5 cohort of 500,000 contemporary Europeans, LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation-proxies for these drivers-provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard P Evershed
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | | | - Adrian Timpson
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Yoan Diekmann
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Matthew S Lyon
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Lucy J E Cramp
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Emmanuelle Casanova
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Jessica Smyth
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Helen L Whelton
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Julie Dunne
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Veronika Brychova
- Department of Dairy, Fat and Cosmetics, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Nuclear Dosimetry Department, Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lucija Šoberl
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Pascale Gerbault
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK
| | - Rosalind E Gillis
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnement (UMR 7209), CNRS-Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle-Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
- ICArEHB, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Volker Heyd
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Cultures, Section of Archaeology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Emily Johnson
- Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Archaeology South-East, UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Iain Kendall
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Katie Manning
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Alan K Outram
- Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jean-Denis Vigne
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnement (UMR 7209), CNRS-Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle-Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
| | - Stephen Shennan
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Andrew Bevan
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sue Colledge
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Luc Amkreutz
- National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Alexandra Anders
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Adrian Bălăşescu
- Department of Bioarchaeology, 'Vasile Pârvan' Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Eszter Bánffy
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Römisch-Germanische Kommission, Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Anja Behrens
- German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter Bogucki
- School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Ángel Carrancho Alonso
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Comunicación, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - José Miguel Carretero
- Laboratorio Evolución Humana, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humana, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Erich Claßen
- LVR-State Service for Archaeological Heritage, Bonn, Germany
| | - Hipolito Collado Giraldo
- Patrimonio & Arte Research Group, Extremadura University, Badajoz and Cáceres, Badajoz, Spain
- Geosciences Centre, Coimbra University, Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | | | - Lech Czerniak
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Maciej Dębiec
- Institute of Archaeology, University Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland
| | | | | | | | - Julia Ebert
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christopher Evans
- Cambridge Archaeological Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Detlef Gronenborn
- Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology, Mainz, Germany
| | - Fabian Haack
- Archaeological Department, Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany
| | | | - Caroline Hamon
- UMR 8215, Trajectoires, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - Roman Hülshoff
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, Saxony Anhalt/State Museum of Prehistory, Halle/Saale, Germany
| | - Michael Ilett
- UMR 8215, Trajectoires, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - Eneko Iriarte
- Laboratorio Evolución Humana, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - János Jakucs
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | | | - Andy M Jones
- Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Cornwall Council, Truro, UK
| | | | - Dmytro Kiosak
- 'I.I. Mechnikov', Odessa National University, Odessa, Ukraine
- Ca' Foscari, University of Venice, Venice, Italy
| | - Nadezhda Kotova
- Institute of Archaeology of Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
| | - Rüdiger Krause
- Prehistory Department, Institut of Archaeology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Marta Krüger
- Department of Archaeology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Philippe Lefranc
- UMR 7044, INRAP Grand-Est Sud, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Olivia Lelong
- GUARD Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Eunomia Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK
| | - Eva Lenneis
- Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Tibor Marton
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | | | - Luiz Oosterbeek
- Geosciences Centre, Coimbra University, Coimbra, Portugal
- Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, Tomar, Portugal
- Terra e Memória Institute, Mação, Portugal
| | - Krisztián Oross
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Joachim Pechtl
- Kelten Römer Museum Manching, Manching, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Pierre Pétrequin
- MSHE C.N. Ledoux, CNRS & University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Joshua Pollard
- Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | | | - Joanna Pyzel
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Pál Raczky
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Peter Rowe
- Tees Archaeology, Hartlepool, UK
- North Yorkshire County Council HER, Northallerton, UK
| | | | | | - Thomas Saile
- Institute of History, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Katalin Sebők
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Wolfram Schier
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Helen Sharp
- Leicestershire County Council Museums, Leicestershire, UK
| | | | | | - Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
- Faculty of Archaeology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Peter Stadler
- Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Astrid Stobbe
- Prehistory Department, Institut of Archaeology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Darko Stojanovski
- Geology Department, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | | | - Ivo van Wijk
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ivana Vostrovská
- Institute of Archaeology and Museology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of History, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Andrea Zeeb-Lanz
- Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Dir. Landesarchäologie, Speyer, Germany
| | - Mark G Thomas
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
- UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, London, UK.
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5
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Wells JCK, Pomeroy E, Stock JT. Evolution of Lactase Persistence: Turbo-Charging Adaptation in Growth Under the Selective Pressure of Maternal Mortality? Front Physiol 2021; 12:696516. [PMID: 34497534 PMCID: PMC8419441 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.696516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of the capacity to digest milk in some populations represents a landmark in human evolution, linking genetic change with a component of niche construction, namely dairying. Alleles promoting continued activity of the enzyme lactase through the life-course (lactase persistence) evolved in several global regions within the last 7,000 years. In some European regions, these alleles underwent rapid selection and must have profoundly affected fertility or mortality. Elsewhere, alleles spread more locally. However, the functional benefits underlying the rapid spread of lactase persistence remain unclear. Here, we set out the hypothesis that lactase persistence promoted skeletal growth, thereby offering a generic rapid solution to childbirth complications arising from exposure to ecological change, or to new environments through migration. Since reduced maternal growth and greater neonatal size both increase the risk of obstructed labour, any ecological exposure impacting these traits may increase maternal mortality risk. Over many generations, maternal skeletal dimensions could adapt to new ecological conditions through genetic change. However, this adaptive strategy would fail if ecological change was rapid, including through migration into new niches. We propose that the combination of consuming milk and lactase persistence could have reduced maternal mortality by promoting growth of the pelvis after weaning, while high calcium intake would reduce risk of pelvic deformities. Our conceptual framework provides locally relevant hypotheses to explain selection for lactase persistence in different global regions. For any given diet and individual genotype, the combination of lactase persistence and milk consumption would divert more energy to skeletal growth, either increasing pelvic dimensions or buffering them from worsening ecological conditions. The emergence of lactase persistence among dairying populations could have helped early European farmers adapt rapidly to northern latitudes, East African pastoralists adapt to sudden climate shifts to drier environments, and Near Eastern populations counteract secular declines in height associated with early agriculture. In each case, we assume that lactase persistence accelerated the timescale over which maternal skeletal dimensions could change, thus promoting both maternal and offspring survival. Where lactase persistence did not emerge, birth weight was constrained at lower levels, and this contributes to contemporary variability in diabetes risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emma Pomeroy
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jay T Stock
- Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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6
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Bondetti M, González Carretero L, Dolbunova E, McGrath K, Presslee S, Lucquin A, Tsybriy V, Mazurkevich A, Tsybriy A, Jordan P, Heron C, Meadows J, Craig OE. Neolithic farmers or Neolithic foragers? Organic residue analysis of early pottery from Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don (Russia). ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2021; 13:141. [PMID: 34777611 PMCID: PMC8550616 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-021-01412-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The emergence of pottery in Europe is associated with two distinct traditions: hunter-gatherers in the east of the continent during the early 6th millennium BC and early agricultural communities in the south-west in the late 7th millennium BC. Here we investigate the function of pottery from the site of Rakushechny Yar, located at the Southern fringe of Eastern Europe, in this putative contact zone between these two economic 'worlds'. To investigate, organic residue analysis was conducted on 120 samples from the Early Neolithic phase (ca. mid-6th millennium BC) along with microscopic and SEM analysis of associated foodcrusts. The results showed that the earliest phase of pottery use was predominantly used to process riverine resources. Many of the vessels have molecular and isotopic characteristics consistent with migratory fish, such as sturgeon, confirmed by the identification of sturgeon bony structures embedded in the charred surface deposits. There was no evidence of dairy products in any of the vessels, despite the fact these have been routinely identified in coeval sites to the south. Further analysis of some of the mammalian bones using ZooMS failed to demonstrate that domesticated animals were present in the Early Neolithic. Nevertheless, we argue that intensive exploitation of seasonally migratory fish, accompanied by large-scale pottery production, created storable surpluses that led to similar socio-economic outcomes as documented in early agricultural societies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-021-01412-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Bondetti
- BioArCh, University of York, Environment Building, Wentworth Way Heslington, York, YO10 5DD UK
- Arctic Centre and Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA), University of Groningen, Aweg 30, 9718CW Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Ekaterina Dolbunova
- Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, London, WC1B 3DG UK
- Department of Archaeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia, The State Hermitage Museum, 34 Dvortsovaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg, 190000 Russian Federation
| | - Krista McGrath
- ICTA, Universitate Autonoma de Barcelona, UAB 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola), Building Z Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sam Presslee
- BioArCh, University of York, Environment Building, Wentworth Way Heslington, York, YO10 5DD UK
| | - Alexandre Lucquin
- BioArCh, University of York, Environment Building, Wentworth Way Heslington, York, YO10 5DD UK
| | - Viktor Tsybriy
- Don Archaeological Society, 95A M Gorkogo, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation
| | - Andrey Mazurkevich
- Department of Archaeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia, The State Hermitage Museum, 34 Dvortsovaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg, 190000 Russian Federation
| | - Andrey Tsybriy
- Don Archaeological Society, 95A M Gorkogo, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation
| | - Peter Jordan
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Carl Heron
- Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, London, WC1B 3DG UK
| | - John Meadows
- Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA), SchlossGottorf, Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
| | - Oliver E. Craig
- BioArCh, University of York, Environment Building, Wentworth Way Heslington, York, YO10 5DD UK
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7
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Pavelka J, Smejda L, Kuckova S, Mensik P. Challenge to molecular archaeology—Sediments contaminated by allochthonous animal proteins. J LIQ CHROMATOGR R T 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/10826076.2020.1838925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jaroslav Pavelka
- Centre of Biology, Geosciences and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Plzen, Czech Republic
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Plzen, Czech Republic
| | - Ladislav Smejda
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Plzen, Czech Republic
- Department of Applied Geoinformatics and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Stepanka Kuckova
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic
- Department of Chemistry and Chemistry Education, Faculty of Education, Charles University, Prague 1, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Mensik
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Plzen, Czech Republic
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8
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Interpreting ancient food practices: stable isotope and molecular analyses of visible and absorbed residues from a year-long cooking experiment. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13704. [PMID: 32855436 PMCID: PMC7452889 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70109-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemical analyses of carbonized and absorbed organic residues from archaeological ceramic cooking vessels can provide a unique window into the culinary cultures of ancient people, resource use, and environmental effects by identifying ingredients used in ancient meals. However, it remains uncertain whether recovered organic residues represent only the final foodstuffs prepared or are the accumulation of various cooking events within the same vessel. To assess this, we cooked seven mixtures of C3 and C4 foodstuffs in unglazed pots once per week for one year, then changed recipes between pots for the final cooking events. We conducted bulk stable-isotope analysis and lipid residue analysis on the charred food macro-remains, carbonized thin layer organic patina residues and absorbed lipids over the course of the experiment. Our results indicate that: (1) the composition of charred macro-remains represent the final foodstuffs cooked within vessels, (2) thin-layer patina residues represent a mixture of previous cooking events with bias towards the final product(s) cooked in the pot, and (3) absorbed lipid residues are developed over a number of cooking events and are replaced slowly over time, with little evidence of the final recipe ingredients.
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9
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Living off the land: Terrestrial-based diet and dairying in the farming communities of the Neolithic Balkans. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237608. [PMID: 32817620 PMCID: PMC7444498 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of biomolecular techniques to archaeological materials from the Balkans is providing valuable new information on the prehistory of the region. This is especially relevant for the study of the neolithisation process in SE Europe, which gradually affected the rest of the continent. Here, to answer questions regarding diet and subsistence practices in early farming societies in the central Balkans, we combine organic residue analyses of archaeological pottery, taxonomic and isotopic study of domestic animal remains and biomolecular analyses of human dental calculus. The results from the analyses of the lipid residues from pottery suggest that milk was processed in ceramic vessels. Dairy products were shown to be part of the subsistence strategies of the earliest Neolithic communities in the region but were of varying importance in different areas of the Balkan. Conversely, milk proteins were not detected within the dental calculus. The molecular and isotopic identification of meat, dairy, plants and beeswax in the pottery lipids also provided insights into the diversity of diet in these early Neolithic communities, mainly based on terrestrial resources. We also present the first compound-specific radiocarbon dates for the region, obtained directly from absorbed organic residues extracted from pottery, identified as dairy lipids.
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10
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Shillito LM, Whelton HL, Blong JC, Jenkins DL, Connolly TJ, Bull ID. Pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas identified by human fecal biomarkers in coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaba6404. [PMID: 32743069 PMCID: PMC7363456 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba6404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
When and how people first settled in the Americas is an ongoing area of research and debate. The earliest sites typically only contain lithic artifacts that cannot be directly dated. The lack of human skeletal remains in these early contexts means that alternative sources of evidence are needed. Coprolites, and the DNA contained within them, are one such source, but unresolved issues concerning ancient DNA taphonomy and potential for contamination make this approach problematic. Here, we use fecal lipid biomarkers to demonstrate unequivocally that three coprolites dated to pre-Clovis are human, raise questions over the reliance on DNA methods, and present a new radiocarbon date on basketry further supporting pre-Clovis human occupation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa-Marie Shillito
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Armstrong Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Helen L. Whelton
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - John C. Blong
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Armstrong Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Dennis L. Jenkins
- Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Thomas J. Connolly
- Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Ian D. Bull
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
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11
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Latitudinal gradient in dairy production with the introduction of farming in Atlantic Europe. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2036. [PMID: 32341389 PMCID: PMC7184739 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15907-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe. The transition to agriculture brought major changes to human populations in Europe during the Neolithic period. Here, Cubas and colleagues analyse lipid residues from Neolithic pottery from along the Atlantic coast of Europe to trace the spread of dairy production and shifts in diet.
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12
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Molecular and isotopic evidence for milk, meat, and plants in prehistoric eastern African herder food systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:9793-9799. [PMID: 32284419 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1920309117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of pastoralism transformed human diets and societies in grasslands worldwide. The long-term success of cattle herding in Africa has been sustained by dynamic food systems, consumption of a broad range of primary and secondary livestock products, and the evolution of lactase persistence (LP), which allows digestion of lactose into adulthood and enables the milk-based, high-protein, low-calorie diets characteristic of contemporary pastoralists. Despite the presence of multiple alleles associated with LP in ancient and present-day eastern African populations, the contexts for selection for LP and the long-term development of pastoralist foodways in this region remain unclear. Pastoral Neolithic (c 5000 to 1200 BP) faunas indicate that herders relied on cattle, sheep, and goats and some hunting, but direct information on milk consumption, plant use, and broader culinary patterns is rare. Combined chemical and isotopic analysis of ceramic sherds (n = 125) from Pastoral Neolithic archaeological contexts in Kenya and Tanzania, using compound-specific δ13C and Δ13C values of the major fatty acids, provides chemical evidence for milk, meat, and plant processing by ancient herding societies in eastern Africa. These data provide the earliest direct evidence for milk product consumption and reveal a history of reliance on animal products and other nutrients, likely extracted through soups or stews, and plant foods. They document a 5,000-y temporal framework for eastern Africa pastoralist cuisines and cultural contexts for selection for alleles distinctive of LP in eastern Africa.
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13
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Courel B, Robson HK, Lucquin A, Dolbunova E, Oras E, Adamczak K, Andersen SH, Astrup PM, Charniauski M, Czekaj-Zastawny A, Ezepenko I, Hartz S, Kabaciński J, Kotula A, Kukawka S, Loze I, Mazurkevich A, Piezonka H, Piličiauskas G, Sørensen SA, Talbot HM, Tkachou A, Tkachova M, Wawrusiewicz A, Meadows J, Heron CP, Craig OE. Organic residue analysis shows sub-regional patterns in the use of pottery by Northern European hunter-gatherers. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:192016. [PMID: 32431883 PMCID: PMC7211838 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.192016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The introduction of pottery vessels to Europe has long been seen as closely linked with the spread of agriculture and pastoralism from the Near East. The adoption of pottery technology by hunter-gatherers in Northern and Eastern Europe does not fit this paradigm, and its role within these communities is so far unresolved. To investigate the motivations for hunter-gatherer pottery use, here, we present the systematic analysis of the contents of 528 early vessels from the Baltic Sea region, mostly dating to the late 6th-5th millennium cal BC, using molecular and isotopic characterization techniques. The results demonstrate clear sub-regional trends in the use of ceramics by hunter-gatherers; aquatic resources in the Eastern Baltic, non-ruminant animal fats in the Southeastern Baltic, and a more variable use, including ruminant animal products, in the Western Baltic, potentially including dairy. We found surprisingly little evidence for the use of ceramics for non-culinary activities, such as the production of resins. We attribute the emergence of these sub-regional cuisines to the diffusion of new culinary ideas afforded by the adoption of pottery, e.g. cooking and combining foods, but culturally contextualized and influenced by traditional practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blandine Courel
- Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, London WC1B 3DG, UK
| | - Harry K. Robson
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Alexandre Lucquin
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Ekaterina Dolbunova
- Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, London WC1B 3DG, UK
- The State Hermitage Museum, 34 Dvortsovaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg 190000, Russian Federation
| | - Ester Oras
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, Ravila 14A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kamil Adamczak
- Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
| | | | | | - Maxim Charniauski
- Department of Archaeology of Prehistoric Society, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Academic St 1, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
| | - Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Science, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Krakow, Poland
| | - Igor Ezepenko
- Department of Archaeology of Prehistoric Society, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Academic St 1, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
| | - Sönke Hartz
- Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Schloss Gottorf, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
| | - Jacek Kabaciński
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science, 31-016 Kraków, Poland
| | - Andreas Kotula
- Seminar für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 15, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stanisław Kukawka
- Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
| | - Ilze Loze
- Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Rīga 1050, Latvia
| | - Andrey Mazurkevich
- The State Hermitage Museum, 34 Dvortsovaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg 190000, Russian Federation
| | - Henny Piezonka
- Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Johanna-Mestorf-Straße 2-6, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Søren A. Sørensen
- Museum Lolland-Falster, Frisegade 40, 4800 Nykøbing Falster, Denmark
| | - Helen M. Talbot
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Aleh Tkachou
- Department of Archaeology of Prehistoric Society, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Academic St 1, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
| | - Maryia Tkachova
- Department of Archaeology of Prehistoric Society, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Academic St 1, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
| | - Adam Wawrusiewicz
- Muzeum Podlaskie w Białymstoku, Ratusz, Rynek Kościuszki 10, 15-426 Białystok, Poland
| | - John Meadows
- Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA), Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation, Schloss Gottorf, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
| | - Carl P. Heron
- Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, London WC1B 3DG, UK
| | - Oliver E. Craig
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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14
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Digging deeper - A new data mining workflow for improved processing and interpretation of high resolution GC-Q-TOF MS data in archaeological research. Sci Rep 2020; 10:767. [PMID: 31964913 PMCID: PMC6972930 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57154-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling is the most established method for the analysis of organic residues, particularly lipids, from archaeological contexts. This technique allows the decryption of hidden chemical information associated with archaeological artefacts, such as ceramic pottery fragments. The molecular and isotopic compositions of such residues can be used to reconstruct past resource use, and hence address major questions relating to patterns of subsistence, diet and ritual practices in the past. A targeted data analysis approach, based on previous findings reported in the literature is common but greatly depends on the investigator’s prior knowledge of specific compound classes and their mass spectrometric behaviour, and poses the risk of missing unknown, potentially diagnostic compounds. Organic residues from post-prehistoric archaeological samples often lead to highly complex chromatograms, which makes manual chromatogram inspection very tedious and time consuming, especially for large datasets. This poses a significant limitation regarding the scale and interpretative scopes of such projects. Therefore, we have developed a non-targeted data mining workflow to extract a higher number of known and unknown compounds from the raw data to reduce investigator’s bias and to vastly accelerate overall analysis time. The workflow covers all steps from raw data handling, feature selection, and compound identification up to statistical interpretation.
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15
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Robson HK, Skipitytė R, Piličiauskienė G, Lucquin A, Heron C, Craig OE, Piličiauskas G. Diet, cuisine and consumption practices of the first farmers in the southeastern Baltic. ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2019; 11:4011-4024. [PMID: 31565086 PMCID: PMC6743674 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-019-00804-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
With the arrival of the Early Neolithic Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures into the southeastern Baltic, ca. 2900/2800-2400 cal BC, a new type of economy was introduced, animal husbandry. However, the degree to which this transformed the subsistence economy is unknown. Here, we conducted organic residue analyses of 64 ceramic vessels to identify their contents. The vessels were sampled from 10 Lithuanian archaeological sites dating across the Subneolithic-Neolithic transition to the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2900/2800-1300 cal BC). Our results demonstrate that regardless of location or vessel type, many ceramics were used to process aquatic resources. Against our expectations, this association continued even after marked economic change concurrent with the migration of pastoralists from central and southeastern Europe, as evidenced by recent ancient DNA analysis of human remains. Moreover, we observed dairy fats in pottery from all cultures of the Early Neolithic (i.e. Rzucewo, Globular Amphora and Corded Ware) but unlike other regions of Europe, it seems that these were incorporated into indigenous culinary practices. Furthermore, some vessels were used to process plant foods, and others may have been used for the production and/or storage of birch bark tar. However, evidence for domesticated plant processing, for example millet, was absent. We show that organic residue analysis of pottery provides a different picture of past consumption patterns compared to the stable isotope analysis of human remains from isolated burials where a clear dietary shift is evident.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry K. Robson
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Raminta Skipitytė
- Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, Vilnius 10257, Lithuania
- Lithuanian Institute of History, Kražių st. 5, Vilnius 01108, Lithuania
| | - Giedrė Piličiauskienė
- Faculty of History, Vilnius University, Universiteto st. 7, Vilnius 01513, Lithuania
| | - Alexandre Lucquin
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Carl Heron
- Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG, UK
| | - Oliver E. Craig
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
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16
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Itahashi Y, Erdal YS, Tekin H, Omar L, Miyake Y, Chikaraishi Y, Ohkouchi N, Yoneda M. Amino acid 15 N analysis reveals change in the importance of freshwater resources between the hunter-gatherer and farmer in the Neolithic upper Tigris. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168:676-686. [PMID: 30693483 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Revised: 07/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The inhabitants of several sites in the Upper Tigris Valley, such as Hakemi Use, domesticated animals and cereals during the Pottery Neolithic period, while the inhabitants in this valley were hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, consuming freshwater and terrestrial food resources. However, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding whether or not changes in dietary food composition accompanied the shift in food production away from foraging. In order to reveal the impact of the development of agriculture on the human diet over the Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic periods in this region, we analyzed the isotopic compositions of amino acids from the farmers at the Hakemi Use Pottery Neolithic site, and compared them with those from the Pre-Pottery hunter-gatherers in the close region. MATERIALS AND METHODS Herein, we report the nitrogen isotopic compositions of amino acids, as well as both carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of bulk collagen, from human and faunal remains collected from Hakemi Use. RESULTS Whereas freshwater resources were consumed by hunter-gatherers in this region during the Pre-Pottery period, the δ15 N values of glutamic acid (δ15 NGlu ) and phenylalanine (δ15 NPhe ) suggest that freshwater food resources were rarely consumed by inhabitants following the development of agriculture. DISCUSSION Despite living in similar settings by the Tigris as its inhabitants during the Pre-Pottery period, the farmers of the Pottery Neolithic period depended less on freshwater resources for their diets relative to the hunter-gatherers of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Itahashi
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Halil Tekin
- Department of Archaeology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Lubna Omar
- Anthropology Faculty, The State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York
| | - Yutaka Miyake
- Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Yoshito Chikaraishi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan.,Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Minoru Yoneda
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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17
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Cramp LJE, Ethier J, Urem-Kotsou D, Bonsall C, Borić D, Boroneanţ A, Evershed RP, Perić S, Roffet-Salque M, Whelton HL, Ivanova M. Regional diversity in subsistence among early farmers in Southeast Europe revealed by archaeological organic residues. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20182347. [PMID: 30963881 PMCID: PMC6367183 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The spread of early farming across Europe from its origins in Southwest Asia was a culturally transformative process which took place over millennia. Within regions, the pace of the transition was probably related to the particular climatic and environmental conditions encountered, as well as the nature of localized hunter-gatherer and farmer interactions. The establishment of farming in the interior of the Balkans represents the first movement of Southwest Asian livestock beyond their natural climatic range, and widespread evidence now exists for early pottery being used extensively for dairying. However, pottery lipid residues from sites in the Iron Gates region of the Danube in the northern Balkans show that here, Neolithic pottery was being used predominantly for processing aquatic resources. This stands out not only within the surrounding region but also contrasts markedly with Neolithic pottery use across wider Europe. These findings provide evidence for the strategic diversity within the wider cultural and economic practices during the Neolithic, with this exceptional environmental and cultural setting offering alternative opportunities despite the dominance of farming in the wider region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy J. E. Cramp
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
| | - Jonathan Ethier
- Institut für Ur-und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Universität Heidelberg, Marstallhof 4, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dushka Urem-Kotsou
- Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace, Tsaldari 1, Komotini 694100, Greece
| | - Clive Bonsall
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
| | - Dušan Borić
- The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Adina Boroneanţ
- ‘Vasile Pârvan’ Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Henri Coandă Strada 11, Bucharest 010667, Romania
| | - Richard P. Evershed
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Slaviša Perić
- Institute of Archaeology, Knez Mihailova 35/4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Mélanie Roffet-Salque
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Helen L. Whelton
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Maria Ivanova
- Institut für Ur-und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Universität Heidelberg, Marstallhof 4, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
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18
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Weldenegodguad M, Popov R, Pokharel K, Ammosov I, Ming Y, Ivanova Z, Kantanen J. Whole-Genome Sequencing of Three Native Cattle Breeds Originating From the Northernmost Cattle Farming Regions. Front Genet 2019; 9:728. [PMID: 30687392 PMCID: PMC6336893 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2018.00728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Northern Fennoscandia and the Sakha Republic in the Russian Federation represent the northernmost regions on Earth where cattle farming has been traditionally practiced. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing to genetically characterize three rare native breeds Eastern Finncattle, Western Finncattle and Yakutian cattle adapted to these northern Eurasian regions. We examined the demographic history, genetic diversity and unfolded loci under natural or artificial selection. On average, we achieved 13.01-fold genome coverage after mapping the sequencing reads on the bovine reference genome (UMD 3.1) and detected a total of 17.45 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 1.95 million insertions-deletions (indels). We observed that the ancestral species (Bos primigenius) of Eurasian taurine cattle experienced two notable prehistorical declines in effective population size associated with dramatic climate changes. The modern Yakutian cattle exhibited a higher level of within-population variation in terms of number of SNPs and nucleotide diversity than the contemporary European taurine breeds. This result is in contrast to the results of marker-based cattle breed diversity studies, indicating assortment bias in previous analyses. Our results suggest that the effective population size of the ancestral Asiatic taurine cattle may have been higher than that of the European cattle. Alternatively, our findings could indicate the hybrid origins of the Yakutian cattle ancestries and possibly the lack of intensive artificial selection. We identified a number of genomic regions under selection that may have contributed to the adaptation to the northern and subarctic environments, including genes involved in disease resistance, sensory perception, cold adaptation and growth. By characterizing the native breeds, we were able to obtain new information on cattle genomes and on the value of the adapted breeds for the conservation of cattle genetic resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melak Weldenegodguad
- Department of Production Systems, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Ruslan Popov
- Yakutian Research Institute of Agriculture (FGBNU Yakutskij NIISH), Yakutsk, Russia
| | - Kisun Pokharel
- Department of Production Systems, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Innokentyi Ammosov
- Board of Agricultural Office of Eveno-Bytantaj Region, Batagay-Alyta, Russia
| | - Yao Ming
- BGI-Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zoya Ivanova
- Yakutian Research Institute of Agriculture (FGBNU Yakutskij NIISH), Yakutsk, Russia
| | - Juha Kantanen
- Department of Production Systems, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
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19
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Shevchenko A, Schuhmann A, Thomas H, Wetzel G. Fine Endmesolithic fish caviar meal discovered by proteomics in foodcrusts from archaeological site Friesack 4 (Brandenburg, Germany). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206483. [PMID: 30485287 PMCID: PMC6261446 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of aquatic resources in ancient economies and paleodiet is important for understanding the evolution of prehistorical societies. Charred food remains from ancient pottery are valuable molecular evidence of dietary habits in antiquity. However, conventional archaeometric approaches applied in their analysis lack organismal specificity, are affected by abundant environmental contaminants, do not elucidate food processing recipes and are limited in the inland regions where diverse dietary resources are available. We performed proteomics analysis of charred organic deposits adhered on early ceramics from Mesolithic-Neolithic inland site Friesack 4 (Brandenburg, Germany). One of pots—a small coarse bowl radiocarbon dated to the end of the 5th millennium BC—was attributed to Endmesolithic pottery. Proteomics of foodcrust from this vessel identified fine carp roe meal and revealed details of a prehistorical culinary recipe. Ancient proteins were unequivocally distinguished from contemporary contaminants by computing deamidation ratios of glutamine residues. These data paint a broader picture of the site-specific exploitation of aquatic resources and contribute to better understanding of the dietary context of Neolithic transition in European inland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Shevchenko
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany
| | - Andrea Schuhmann
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany
| | - Henrik Thomas
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany
| | - Günter Wetzel
- Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archaeologisches Landesmuseum (BLDAM), Aussenstelle Cottbus, Germany
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20
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Molecular and isotopic evidence for the processing of starchy plants in Early Neolithic pottery from China. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17044. [PMID: 30451924 PMCID: PMC6242940 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35227-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Organic residue analysis of ancient ceramic vessels enables the investigation of natural resources that were used in daily cooking practices in different part of the world. Despite many methodological advances, the utilization of plants in pottery has been difficult to demonstrate chemically, hindering the study of their role in ancient society, a topic that is especially important to understanding early agricultural practices at the start of the Neolithic period. Here, we present the first lipid residue study on the Chinese Neolithic pottery dated to 5.0 k - 4.7 k cal BC from the Tianluoshan site, Zhejiang province, a key site with early evidence for rice domestication. Through the identification of novel molecular biomarkers and extensive stable isotope analysis, we suggest that the pottery in Tianluoshan were largely used for processing starchy plant foods. These results not only highlight the significance of starchy plants in Neolithic southern China but also show a clear difference with other contemporary sites in northern Eurasia, where pottery is clearly orientated to aquatic resource exploitation. These differences may be linked with the early development of rice agriculture in China compared to its much later adoption in adjacent northerly regions.
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21
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Gerbault P, Roffet-Salque M. Histoire de l’utilisation des laitages et de la persistance du gène de la lactase. CAHIERS DE NUTRITION ET DE DIÉTÉTIQUE 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/s0007-9960(17)30195-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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22
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Dietary adaptation of FADS genes in Europe varied across time and geography. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:167. [PMID: 29094686 PMCID: PMC5672832 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genes encode rate-limiting enzymes for the biosynthesis of omega-6 and omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs). This biosynthesis is essential for individuals subsisting on LCPUFAs-poor diets (e.g. plant-based). Positive selection on FADS genes has been reported in multiple populations, but its presence and pattern in Europeans remain elusive. Here, using ancient and modern DNA, we demonstrate that positive selection acted on the same FADS variants both before and after the advent of farming in Europe, but on opposite (i.e. alternative) alleles. Selection in recent farmers also varied geographically, with the strongest signal in Southern Europe. These varying selection patterns concur with anthropological evidence of varying diets, and with the association of farming-adaptive alleles with higher FADS1 expression and thus enhanced LCPUFAs biosynthesis. Genome-wide association studies reveal that farming-adaptive alleles not only increase LCPUFAs, but also affect other lipid levels and protect against several inflammatory diseases.
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23
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Stanton DWG, Mulville JA, Bruford MW. Colonization of the Scottish islands via long-distance Neolithic transport of red deer (Cervus elaphus). Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:rspb.2016.0095. [PMID: 27053752 PMCID: PMC4843653 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Red deer (Cervus elaphus) have played a key role in human societies throughout history, with important cultural significance and as a source of food and materials. This relationship can be traced back to the earliest human cultures and continues to the present day. Humans are thought to be responsible for the movement of a considerable number of deer throughout history, although the majority of these movements are poorly described or understood. Studying such translocations allows us to better understand ancient human-wildlife interactions, and in the case of island colonizations, informs us about ancient human maritime practices. This study uses DNA sequences to characterise red deer genetic diversity across the Scottish islands (Inner and Outer Hebrides and Orkney) and mainland using ancient deer samples, and attempts to infer historical colonization events. We show that deer from the Outer Hebrides and Orkney are unlikely to have originated from mainland Scotland, implying that humans introduced red deer from a greater distance. Our results are also inconsistent with an origin from Ireland or Norway, suggesting long-distance maritime travel by Neolithic people to the outer Scottish Isles from an unknown source. Common haplotypes and low genetic differentiation between the Outer Hebrides and Orkney imply common ancestry and/or gene flow across these islands. Close genetic proximity between the Inner Hebrides and Ireland, however, corroborates previous studies identifying mainland Britain as a source for red deer introductions into Ireland. This study provides important information on the processes that led to the current distribution of the largest surviving indigenous land mammal in the British Isles.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W G Stanton
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Jacqueline A Mulville
- School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Humanities Building, Column Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK
| | - Michael W Bruford
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
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24
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Heath KM, Axton JH, McCullough JM, Harris N. The evolutionary adaptation of the C282Y mutation to culture and climate during the European Neolithic. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:86-101. [PMID: 26799452 PMCID: PMC5066702 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2015] [Revised: 12/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The C282Y allele is the major cause of hemochromatosis as a result of excessive iron absorption. The mutation arose in continental Europe no earlier than 6,000 years ago, coinciding with the arrival of the Neolithic agricultural revolution. Here we hypothesize that this new Neolithic diet, which originated in the sunny warm and dry climates of the Middle East, was carried by migrating farmers into the chilly and damp environments of Europe where iron is a critical micronutrient for effective thermoregulation. We argue that the C282Y allele was an adaptation to this novel environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS To address our hypothesis, we compiled C282Y allele frequencies, known Neolithic sites in Europe and climatic data on temperature and rainfall for statistical analysis. RESULTS Our findings indicate that the geographic cline for C282Y frequency in Europe increases as average temperatures decrease below 16°C, a critical threshold for thermoregulation, with rainy days intensifying the trend. DISCUSSION The results indicate that the deleterious C282Y allele, responsible for most cases of hemochromatosis, may have evolved as a selective advantage to culture and climate during the European Neolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M. Heath
- Department of Earth and Environmental SystemsIndiana State UniversityTerre HauteIN47809
| | - Jacob H. Axton
- Department of BiologyIndiana State UniversityTerre HauteIN47809
| | | | - Nathan Harris
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of UtahSalt Lake CityUT84112
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25
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Ancient lipids document continuity in the use of early hunter-gatherer pottery through 9,000 years of Japanese prehistory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:3991-6. [PMID: 27001829 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1522908113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The earliest pots in the world are from East Asia and date to the Late Pleistocene. However, ceramic vessels were only produced in large numbers during the warmer and more stable climatic conditions of the Holocene. It has long been assumed that the expansion of pottery was linked with increased sedentism and exploitation of new resources that became available with the ameliorated climate, but this hypothesis has never been tested. Through chemical analysis of their contents, we herein investigate the use of pottery across an exceptionally long 9,000-y sequence from the Jōmon site of Torihama in western Japan, intermittently occupied from the Late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene. Molecular and isotopic analyses of lipids from 143 vessels provides clear evidence that pottery across this sequence was predominantly used for cooking marine and freshwater resources, with evidence for diversification in the range of aquatic products processed during the Holocene. Conversely, there is little indication that ruminant animals or plants were processed in pottery, although it is evident from the faunal and macrobotanical remains that these foods were heavily exploited. Supported by other residue analysis data from Japan, our results show that the link between pottery and fishing was established in the Late Paleolithic and lasted well into the Holocene, despite environmental and socio-economic change. Cooking aquatic products in pottery represents an enduring social aspect of East Asian hunter-gatherers, a tradition based on a dependable technology for exploiting a sustainable resource in an uncertain and changing world.
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26
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Bonaduce I, Ribechini E, Modugno F, Colombini MP. Analytical Approaches Based on Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) to Study Organic Materials in Artworks and Archaeological Objects. Top Curr Chem (Cham) 2016; 374:6. [PMID: 27572989 DOI: 10.1007/s41061-015-0007-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), after appropriate wet chemical sample pre-treatments or pyrolysis, is one of the most commonly adopted analytical techniques in the study of organic materials from cultural heritage objects. Organic materials in archaeological contexts, in classical art objects, or in modern and contemporary works of art may be the same or belong to the same classes, but can also vary considerably, often presenting different ageing pathways and chemical environments. This paper provides an overview of the literature published in the last 10 years on the research based on the use of GC/MS for the analysis of organic materials in artworks and archaeological objects. The latest progresses in advancing analytical approaches, characterising materials and understanding their degradation, and developing methods for monitoring their stability are discussed. Case studies from the literature are presented to examine how the choice of the working conditions and the analytical approaches is driven by the analytical and technical question to be answered, as well as the nature of the object from which the samples are collected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Bonaduce
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Erika Ribechini
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesca Modugno
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Maria Perla Colombini
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124, Pisa, Italy.,Institute for the Conservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage, National Research Council of Italy, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
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27
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Neil S, Evans J, Montgomery J, Scarre C. Isotopic evidence for residential mobility of farming communities during the transition to agriculture in Britain. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:150522. [PMID: 26909177 PMCID: PMC4736932 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Development of agriculture is often assumed to be accompanied by a decline in residential mobility, and sedentism is frequently proposed to provide the basis for economic intensification, population growth and increasing social complexity. In Britain, however, the nature of the agricultural transition (ca 4000 BC) and its effect on residence patterns has been intensely debated. Some authors attribute the transition to the arrival of populations who practised a system of sedentary intensive mixed farming similar to that of the very earliest agricultural regimes in central Europe, ca 5500 BC, with cultivation of crops in fixed plots and livestock keeping close to permanently occupied farmsteads. Others argue that local hunter-gatherers within Britain adopted selected elements of a farming economy and retained a mobile way of life. We use strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from an Early Neolithic burial population in Gloucestershire, England, to evaluate the residence patterns of early farmers. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that early farming communities in Britain were residentially mobile and were not fully sedentary. Results highlight the diverse nature of settlement strategies associated with early farming in Europe and are of wider significance to understanding the effect of the transition to agriculture on residence patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Neil
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Jane Evans
- NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
| | - Janet Montgomery
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Chris Scarre
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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28
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Roffet-Salque M, Regert M, Evershed RP, Outram AK, Cramp LJE, Decavallas O, Dunne J, Gerbault P, Mileto S, Mirabaud S, Pääkkönen M, Smyth J, Šoberl L, Whelton HL, Alday-Ruiz A, Asplund H, Bartkowiak M, Bayer-Niemeier E, Belhouchet L, Bernardini F, Budja M, Cooney G, Cubas M, Danaher EM, Diniz M, Domboróczki L, Fabbri C, González-Urquijo JE, Guilaine J, Hachi S, Hartwell BN, Hofmann D, Hohle I, Ibáñez JJ, Karul N, Kherbouche F, Kiely J, Kotsakis K, Lueth F, Mallory JP, Manen C, Marciniak A, Maurice-Chabard B, Mc Gonigle MA, Mulazzani S, Özdoğan M, Perić OS, Perić SR, Petrasch J, Pétrequin AM, Pétrequin P, Poensgen U, Pollard CJ, Poplin F, Radi G, Stadler P, Stäuble H, Tasić N, Urem-Kotsou D, Vuković JB, Walsh F, Whittle A, Wolfram S, Zapata-Peña L, Zoughlami J. Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers. Nature 2015; 527:226-30. [PMID: 26560301 DOI: 10.1038/nature15757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect's biochemistry. Thus, the chemical 'fingerprint' of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Roffet-Salque
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Martine Regert
- CEPAM - Cultures et Environnements. Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen Âge, UMR 7264, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - CNRS, 06300 Nice, France
| | - Richard P Evershed
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Alan K Outram
- Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QE, UK
| | - Lucy J E Cramp
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.,Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
| | - Orestes Decavallas
- Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 33607 Pessac, France.,Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF), UMR 171, Palais du Louvre, Porte des Lions, 14 Quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, France
| | - Julie Dunne
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Pascale Gerbault
- Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Simona Mileto
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.,Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 15, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Sigrid Mirabaud
- Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF), UMR 171, Palais du Louvre, Porte des Lions, 14 Quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, France
| | - Mirva Pääkkönen
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.,Department of Archaeology, University of Turku, 20014 Turun Yliopisto, Finland
| | - Jessica Smyth
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.,Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
| | - Lucija Šoberl
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.,University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology, Aškerčeva 2, box 580, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Helen L Whelton
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Alfonso Alday-Ruiz
- Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology. University of Basque Country (EHU-UPV), Francisco Tomás y Valiente s/n, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Henrik Asplund
- Department of Archaeology, University of Turku, 20014 Turun Yliopisto, Finland
| | - Marta Bartkowiak
- Institute of Prehistory, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89d, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Eva Bayer-Niemeier
- Museum Quintana - Archäologie in Künzing, Partnermuseum der Archäologischen Staatssammlung München, Osterhofener Str. 2, 94550 Künzing, Germany
| | - Lotfi Belhouchet
- Musée Archéologique de Sousse, Rue Marshall Tito, 4000 Sousse, Tunisia
| | - Federico Bernardini
- Centro Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, 00184 Rome, Italy.,Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, 34151 Trieste, Italy
| | - Mihael Budja
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology, Aškerčeva 2, box 580, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gabriel Cooney
- UCD School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Miriam Cubas
- International Institute for Prehistoric Research of Cantabria, University of Cantabria, Avd de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - Ed M Danaher
- Department of Archaeology, University College Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Mariana Diniz
- UNIARQ-Departamento de História, Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Cristina Fabbri
- Dipartimento Civiltà e Forme del Sapere, Università di Pisa, Via Galvani 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Jesus E González-Urquijo
- International Institute for Prehistoric Research of Cantabria, University of Cantabria, Avd de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - Jean Guilaine
- CNRS - UMR 5608 - TRACES, Maison de la recherche, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Slimane Hachi
- CNRPAH, Centre National de Recherche Préhistorique, Anthropologique et Historique, Algiers, Algeria
| | - Barrie N Hartwell
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
| | - Daniela Hofmann
- Universität Hamburg, Archäologisches Institut, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Flügel West, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Isabel Hohle
- a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne, Graduiertenschule der Philosophischen Fakultät, Aachener Str. 217, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Necmi Karul
- Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Prehistory, 34434 Laleli Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Farid Kherbouche
- CNRPAH, Centre National de Recherche Préhistorique, Anthropologique et Historique, Algiers, Algeria
| | - Jacinta Kiely
- Eachtra Archaeological Projects, Lickybeg, Clashmore, County Waterford, Ireland
| | - Kostas Kotsakis
- School of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - Friedrich Lueth
- German Archaeological Institute, Podbielskiallee 69-71, 14 195 Berlin, Germany
| | - James P Mallory
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
| | - Claire Manen
- CNRS - UMR 5608 - TRACES, Maison de la recherche, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Arkadiusz Marciniak
- Institute of Prehistory, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89d, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | | | - Martin A Mc Gonigle
- John Cronin &Associates, 28 Upper Main Street, Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland
| | - Simone Mulazzani
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, UMR 7269 LAMPEA, LabexMed, 13284 Marseille, France.,Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Mehmet Özdoğan
- Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Prehistory, 34434 Laleli Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Olga S Perić
- Institute of Archaeology Belgrade, Kneza Mihaila 35/4 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Slaviša R Perić
- Institute of Archaeology Belgrade, Kneza Mihaila 35/4 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jörg Petrasch
- Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters - Abt. Jüngere Urgeschichte und Frühgeschichte - Schloß Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anne-Marie Pétrequin
- Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de l'Environnement C.N. Ledoux, CNRS &Université de Franche-Comté, 32 rue Mégevand, 25030 Besançon Cedex, France
| | - Pierre Pétrequin
- Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de l'Environnement C.N. Ledoux, CNRS &Université de Franche-Comté, 32 rue Mégevand, 25030 Besançon Cedex, France
| | | | - C Joshua Pollard
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BF, UK
| | - François Poplin
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 55 rue de Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Giovanna Radi
- Dipartimento Civiltà e Forme del Sapere, Università di Pisa, Via Galvani 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Peter Stadler
- Department of Pre- and Protohistory, University of Vienna, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Harald Stäuble
- Landesamt für Archaeologie, Zur Wetterwarte 7, 01109 Dresden, Germany
| | - Nenad Tasić
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade University, 18-20 Čika Ljubina Street, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Dushka Urem-Kotsou
- Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece
| | - Jasna B Vuković
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade University, 18-20 Čika Ljubina Street, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Fintan Walsh
- Irish Archaeological Consultancy, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, County Wicklow, Ireland
| | - Alasdair Whittle
- Department of Archaeology and Conservation, Cardiff University, John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK
| | - Sabine Wolfram
- State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz, Stefan-Heym-Platz 1, 09111 Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Lydia Zapata-Peña
- Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology. University of Basque Country (EHU-UPV), Francisco Tomás y Valiente s/n, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Jamel Zoughlami
- Institut National du Patrimoine de Tunis - Musée archéologique de Carthage, Carthage, Tunisia
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Difference in Death? A Lost Neolithic Inhumation Cemetery with Britain’s Earliest Case of Rickets, at Balevullin, Western Scotland. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1017/ppr.2015.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Recent radiocarbon dating of a skeleton from Balevullin, Tiree, excavated in the early twentieth century, demonstrates that it dates to the Neolithic period, rather than the Iron Age as originally expected. Osteological examination suggests that the individual was a young adult woman, exhibiting osteological deformities consistent with vitamin D deficiency, most likely deriving from childhood rickets; an exceptionally early identification of the disease in the UK with potentially significant social implications. Isotopic analysis supports the osteological evidence for physiological stress in childhood and further suggests that the woman was most probably local to the islands. Analysis of the surviving written archive reveals that the surviving skeleton was one of several originally recovered from the site, making Balevullin an exceptionally rare example of a British Neolithic inhumation cemetery.
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Witas HW, Płoszaj T, Jędrychowska-Dańska K, Witas PJ, Masłowska A, Jerszyńska B, Kozłowski T, Osipowicz G. Hunting for the LCT-13910*T allele between the Middle Neolithic and the Middle Ages suggests its absence in dairying LBK people entering the Kuyavia region in the 8th millennium BP. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0122384. [PMID: 25853887 PMCID: PMC4390234 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2014] [Accepted: 01/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Populations from two medieval sites in Central Poland, Stary Brześć Kujawski-4 (SBK-4) and Gruczno, represented high level of lactase persistence (LP) as followed by the LCT-13910*T allele’s presence (0.86 and 0.82, respectively). It was twice as high as in contemporaneous Cedynia (0.4) and Śródka (0.43), both located outside the region, higher than in modern inhabitants of Poland (0.51) and almost as high as in modern Swedish population (0.9). In an attempt to explain the observed differences its frequency changes in time were followed between the Middle Neolithic and the Late Middle Ages in successive dairying populations on a relatively small area (radius ∼60km) containing the two sites. The introduction of the T allele to Kuyavia 7.4 Ka BP by dairying LBK people is not likely, as suggested by the obtained data. It has not been found in any of Neolithic samples dated between 6.3 and 4.5 Ka BP. The identified frequency profile indicates that both the introduction and the beginning of selection could have taken place approx. 4 millennia after first LBK people arrived in the region, shifting the value of LP frequency from 0 to more than 0.8 during less than 130 generations. We hypothesize that the selection process of the T allele was rather rapid, starting just after its introduction into already milking populations and operated via high rates of fertility and mortality on children after weaning through life-threatening conditions, favoring lactose-tolerant individuals. Facing the lack of the T allele in people living on two great European Neolithization routes, the Danubian and Mediterranean ones, and based on its high frequency in northern Iberia, its presence in Scandinavia and estimated occurrence in Central Poland, we propose an alternative Northern Route of its spreading as very likely. None of the successfully identified nuclear alleles turned out to be deltaF508 CFTR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henryk W. Witas
- Department of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland
- * E-mail:
| | - Tomasz Płoszaj
- Department of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland
| | | | - Piotr J. Witas
- Institute of Physics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - Alicja Masłowska
- Department of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland
| | | | - Tomasz Kozłowski
- Department of Anthropology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - Grzegorz Osipowicz
- Department of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
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31
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Kałużna-Czaplińska J, Rosiak A, Kwapińska M, Kwapiński W. Different Analytical Procedures for the Study of Organic Residues in Archeological Ceramic Samples with the Use of Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometry. Crit Rev Anal Chem 2015; 46:67-81. [PMID: 25830900 DOI: 10.1080/10408347.2015.1008130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The analysis of the composition of organic residues present in pottery is an important source of information for historians and archeologists. Chemical characterization of the materials provides information on diets, habits, technologies, and original use of the vessels. This review presents the problem of analytical studies of archeological materials with a special emphasis on organic residues. Current methods used in the determination of different organic compounds in archeological ceramics are presented. Particular attention is paid to the procedures of analysis of archeological ceramic samples used before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Advantages and disadvantages of different extraction methods and application of proper quality assurance/quality control procedures are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Kałużna-Czaplińska
- a Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz , Lodz , Poland
| | - Angelina Rosiak
- a Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz , Lodz , Poland
| | - Marzena Kwapińska
- b Department of Chemical and Environmental Science , University of Limerick , Limerick , Ireland
| | - Witold Kwapiński
- b Department of Chemical and Environmental Science , University of Limerick , Limerick , Ireland
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32
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Cramp LJE, Evershed RP, Lavento M, Halinen P, Mannermaa K, Oinonen M, Kettunen J, Perola M, Onkamo P, Heyd V. Neolithic dairy farming at the extreme of agriculture in northern Europe. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20140819. [PMID: 25080345 PMCID: PMC4132672 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2014] [Accepted: 07/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The conventional 'Neolithic package' comprised animals and plants originally domesticated in the Near East. As farming spread on a generally northwest trajectory across Europe, early pastoralists would have been faced with the challenge of making farming viable in regions in which the organisms were poorly adapted to providing optimal yields or even surviving. Hence, it has long been debated whether Neolithic economies were ever established at the modern limits of agriculture. Here, we examine food residues in pottery, testing a hypothesis that Neolithic farming was practiced beyond the 60th parallel north. Our findings, based on diagnostic biomarker lipids and δ(13)C values of preserved fatty acids, reveal a transition at ca 2500 BC from the exploitation of aquatic organisms to processing of ruminant products, specifically milk, confirming farming was practiced at high latitudes. Combining this with genetic, environmental and archaeological information, we demonstrate the origins of dairying probably accompanied an incoming, genetically distinct, population successfully establishing this new subsistence 'package'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy J E Cramp
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Richard P Evershed
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| | - Mika Lavento
- Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, PO Box 59, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Petri Halinen
- Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, PO Box 59, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Kristiina Mannermaa
- Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, PO Box 59, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Markku Oinonen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Johannes Kettunen
- Public Health Genomics Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 104, Helsinki 00251, Finland FIMM, The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, PO Box 20, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Markus Perola
- Public Health Genomics Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 104, Helsinki 00251, Finland FIMM, The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, PO Box 20, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Päivi Onkamo
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Volker Heyd
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
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33
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Long-term resilience of late holocene coastal subsistence system in Southeastern South america. PLoS One 2014; 9:e93854. [PMID: 24718458 PMCID: PMC3981759 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2013] [Accepted: 02/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Isotopic and molecular analysis on human, fauna and pottery remains can provide valuable new insights into the diets and subsistence practices of prehistoric populations. These are crucial to elucidate the resilience of social-ecological systems to cultural and environmental change. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of 82 human individuals from mid to late Holocene Brazilian archaeological sites (∼6,700 to ∼1,000 cal BP) reveal an adequate protein incorporation and, on the coast, the continuation in subsistence strategies based on the exploitation of aquatic resources despite the introduction of pottery and domesticated plant foods. These results are supported by carbon isotope analysis of single amino acid extracted from bone collagen. Chemical and isotopic analysis also shows that pottery technology was used to process marine foods and therefore assimilated into the existing subsistence strategy. Our multidisciplinary results demonstrate the resilient character of the coastal economy to cultural change during the late Holocene in southern Brazil.
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