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Pezo-Lanfranco L, Mut P, Chávez J, Fossile T, Colonese AC, Fernandes R. South American Archaeological Isotopic Database, a regional-scale multi-isotope data compendium for research. Sci Data 2024; 11:336. [PMID: 38575659 PMCID: PMC10995213 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03148-9] [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: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The South American Archaeological Isotopic Database (SAAID) is a comprehensive open-access resource that aggregates all available bioarchaeological stable and radiogenic isotope measurements, encompassing data from human individuals, animals, and plants across South America. Resulting from a collaborative effort of scholars who work with stable isotopes in this region, SAAID contains 53,781 isotopic measurements across 24,507 entries from individuals/specimens spanning over 12,000 years. SAAID includes valuable contextual information on archaeological samples and respective sites, such as chronology, geographical region, biome, and spatial coordinates, biological details like estimated sex and age for human individuals, and taxonomic description for fauna and flora. SAAID is hosted at the PACHAMAMA community within the Pandora data platform and the CORA repository to facilitate easy access. Because of its rich data structure, SAAID is particularly well-suited for conducting spatiotemporal meta-analyses. It serves as a valuable tool for addressing a variety of research topics, including the spread, adoption, and consumption intensification of food items, paleo-environmental reconstruction, as well as the exploration of mobility patterns across extensive geographic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Pezo-Lanfranco
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
| | - Patricia Mut
- Departamento de Antropología Biológica, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Juan Chávez
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, USA
- Observatorio de Patrimonio Cultural y Arqueológico - Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas y Arqueológicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Thiago Fossile
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - André Carlo Colonese
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Ricardo Fernandes
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany.
- Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
- Arne Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Climate Change and History Research Initiative, Princeton University, Princeton, USA.
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Losey RJ, Guiry E, Nomokonova T, Gusev AV, Szpak P. Storing fish?: a dog's isotopic biography provides insight into Iron Age food preservation strategies in the Russian Arctic. ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2020; 12:200. [PMID: 32831958 PMCID: PMC7410107 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-020-01166-3] [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: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Analysis of individual animal bodies can provide numerous useful insights in archeology, including how humans provisioned such animals, which in turn informs on a variety of other past behaviors such as human dietary patterns. In this study, we conducted stable carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N) isotope analysis of collagen and keratin from four types of tissues from a dog burial at the Ust'-Polui site in the Iamal region of Arctic Russia. Ust'-Polui is an Iron Age site located on the Lower Ob River, a major northern fishery characterized by extreme seasonal shifts in fish presence. During a 6-month period stretching over the coldest months of the year, fish are nearly entirely absent in the Lower Ob River. Despite this, the stable isotope compositions of the dog's bone and dentine collagen and hair and nail keratin all indicate a monotonous diet focusing on local fish. This pattern indicates the dog was provisioned year-round with fish. This was likely accomplished by mass harvesting of fish using nets or traps. Such fish were then processed and frozen for consumption during the non-fishing season. These findings suggest that people in the Ust'-Polui region also relied to some extent on fish throughout the year. Stored fish likely provided a dietary buffer for uneven returns from reindeer and bird hunting, both of which also are well-evidenced at the site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J. Losey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Eric Guiry
- School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Mayor’s Walk, Leicester, UK
- Department of Anthropology, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - Tatiana Nomokonova
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Andrei V. Gusev
- Scientific Center of Arctic Studies, Iamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Salekhard, Russian Federation
| | - Paul Szpak
- Department of Anthropology, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
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