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Pérez-Ramallo P, Rissech C, Lloveras L, Lucas M, Urbina D, Urquijo C, Roberts P. Unravelling social status in the first medieval military order of the Iberian Peninsula using isotope analysis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11074. [PMID: 38745048 PMCID: PMC11094010 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61792-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Medieval Iberia witnessed the complex negotiation of religious, social, and economic identities, including the formation of religious orders that played a major role in border disputes and conflicts. While archival records provide insights into the compositions of these orders, there have been few direct dietary or osteoarchaeological studies to date. Here, we analysed 25 individuals discovered at the Zorita de los Canes Castle church cemetery, Guadalajara, Spain, where members of one of the first religious orders, the Order of Calatrava knights, were buried between the 12th to 15th centuries CE. Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses of bone collagen reveal dietary patterns typical of the Medieval social elite, with the Bayesian R model, 'Simmr' suggesting a diet rich in poultry and marine fish in this inland population. Social comparisons and statistical analyses further support the idea that the order predominantly comprised the lower nobility and urban elite in agreement with historical sources. Our study suggests that while the cemetery primarily served the order's elite, the presence of individuals with diverse dietary patterns may indicate complexities of temporal use or wider social interaction of the medieval military order.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patxi Pérez-Ramallo
- Department of Archaeology and Cultural History, University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Erling Skakkes Gt 47B, 7491, Trondheim, Norway.
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Department of Archaeology,, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.
| | - Carme Rissech
- Unitat d'Anatomia I Embriologia Humana, Dept de CiènciesMèdiques Bàsiques, Facultat de Medicina I Ciències de LaSalut, , Universitat Rovira I Virgily, 43201, Reus, Tarragona, Spain.
| | - Lluis Lloveras
- SERP, Departament d'Història I Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08001, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mary Lucas
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Department of Archaeology,, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT-the Arctic University of Norway, 9006, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Dionisio Urbina
- Archaeologists, Independent Researcher. ArchaeoSpain Directors. Juan Gavala 2, 16555, Carrascosa del Campo Cuenca, Spain
| | - Catalina Urquijo
- Archaeologists, Independent Researcher. ArchaeoSpain Directors. Juan Gavala 2, 16555, Carrascosa del Campo Cuenca, Spain
| | - Patrick Roberts
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Department of Archaeology,, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
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Villalba-Mouco V, Oliart C, Rihuete-Herrada C, Childebayeva A, Rohrlach AB, Fregeiro MI, Celdrán Beltrán E, Velasco-Felipe C, Aron F, Himmel M, Freund C, Alt KW, Salazar-García DC, García Atiénzar G, de Miguel Ibáñez MP, Hernández Pérez MS, Barciela V, Romero A, Ponce J, Martínez A, Lomba J, Soler J, Martínez AP, Avilés Fernández A, Haber-Uriarte M, Roca de Togores Muñoz C, Olalde I, Lalueza-Fox C, Reich D, Krause J, García Sanjuán L, Lull V, Micó R, Risch R, Haak W. Genomic transformation and social organization during the Copper Age-Bronze Age transition in southern Iberia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabi7038. [PMID: 34788096 PMCID: PMC8597998 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi7038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The emerging Bronze Age (BA) of southeastern Iberia saw marked social changes. Late Copper Age (CA) settlements were abandoned in favor of hilltop sites, and collective graves were largely replaced by single or double burials with often distinctive grave goods indirectly reflecting a hierarchical social organization, as exemplified by the BA El Argar group. We explored this transition from a genomic viewpoint by tripling the amount of data available for this period. Concomitant with the rise of El Argar starting ~2200 cal BCE, we observe a complete turnover of Y-chromosome lineages along with the arrival of steppe-related ancestry. This pattern is consistent with a founder effect in male lineages, supported by our finding that males shared more relatives at sites than females. However, simple two-source models do not find support in some El Argar groups, suggesting additional genetic contributions from the Mediterranean that could predate the BA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Villalba-Mouco
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC–Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Camila Oliart
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Ainash Childebayeva
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Adam B. Rohrlach
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA-5005, Australia
| | - María Inés Fregeiro
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eva Celdrán Beltrán
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Franziska Aron
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Marie Himmel
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Caecilia Freund
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Kurt W. Alt
- Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University, Steiner Landstr. 124, A-3500 Krems, Austria
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Gewerbestrasse 14-16, CH-4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
| | - Domingo C. Salazar-García
- Grupo de investigación en Prehistoria IT-1223-19 (UPV-EHU)/IKERBASQUE—Basque Foundation for Science, Vitoria, Spain
- Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Universitat de València, València, Spain
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Gabriel García Atiénzar
- Institute for Research in Archaeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Ma. Paz de Miguel Ibáñez
- Institute for Research in Archaeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Mauro S. Hernández Pérez
- Institute for Research in Archaeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Virginia Barciela
- Institute for Research in Archaeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Alejandro Romero
- Institute for Research in Archaeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Juana Ponce
- Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Lorca, Murcia, Spain
| | | | - Joaquín Lomba
- Department of Prehistory, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | | | | | - Azucena Avilés Fernández
- Arqueología y Diseño Web S.L. (Grupo Entorno), Floridablanca 14, 1.°D, 30800 Lorca, Murcia, Spain
| | | | | | - Iñigo Olalde
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC–Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Carles Lalueza-Fox
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC–Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Reich
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Vicente Lull
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rafael Micó
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Roberto Risch
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA-5005, Australia
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Varalli A, Desideri J, David-Elbiali M, Goude G, Honegger M, Besse M. Bronze Age innovations and impact on human diet: A multi-isotopic and multi-proxy study of western Switzerland. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245726. [PMID: 33503025 PMCID: PMC7840060 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The archaeological Bronze Age record in Europe reveals unprecedented changes in subsistence strategies due to innovative farming techniques and new crop cultivation. Increasing cultural exchanges affected the economic system. The inhabitants of Switzerland played a pivotal role in this European context through relationships with the Mediterranean, the High and Middle Danube regions and the Alps thanks to the area’s central position. This research aims to reconstruct, for the first time in Switzerland, human socio-economic systems through the study of human diet, herding and farming practices and their changes throughout the Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) by means of biochemical markers. The study includes 41 human, 22 terrestrial and aquatic animal specimens and 30 charred seeds and chaff samples from sites in western Switzerland. Stable isotope analyses were performed on cereal and legume seeds (δ13C, δ15N), animal bone collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N, δ34S), human bone and tooth dentine collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N,) and human tooth enamel (δ13Cenamel). The isotopic data suggest a) an intensification of soil fertilization and no hydric stress throughout the Bronze Age, b) a human diet mainly composed of terrestrial resources despite the proximity of Lake Geneva and the Rhone river, c) a diet based on C3 plants during the Early and Middle Bronze Age as opposed to the significant consumption of 13C-enriched resources (probably millet) by individuals from the Final Bronze Age, d) no important changes in dietary patterns throughout an individual’s lifespan but a more varied diet in childhood compared to adulthood, e) no differences in diet according to biological criteria (age, sex) or funerary behavior (burial architecture, grave goods).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Varalli
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail: ,
| | - Jocelyne Desideri
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Mireille David-Elbiali
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gwenaëlle Goude
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist of Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Matthieu Honegger
- Institut d’Archéologie, University of Neuchâtel, Hauterive, Switzerland
| | - Marie Besse
- Laboratory of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology, Department F.-A. Forel, Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Knipper C, Reinhold S, Gresky J, Berezina N, Gerling C, Pichler SL, Buzhilova AP, Kantorovich AR, Maslov VE, Petrenko VG, Lyakhov SV, Kalmykov AA, Belinskiy AB, Hansen S, Alt KW. Diet and subsistence in Bronze Age pastoral communities from the southern Russian steppes and the North Caucasus. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0239861. [PMID: 33052915 PMCID: PMC7556513 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The flanks of the Caucasus Mountains and the steppe landscape to their north offered highly productive grasslands for Bronze Age herders and their flocks of sheep, goat, and cattle. While the archaeological evidence points to a largely pastoral lifestyle, knowledge regarding the general composition of human diets and their variation across landscapes and during the different phases of the Bronze Age is still restricted. Human and animal skeletal remains from the burial mounds that dominate the archaeological landscape and their stable isotope compositions are major sources of dietary information. Here, we present stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data of bone collagen of 105 human and 50 animal individuals from the 5th millennium BC to the Sarmatian period, with a strong focus on the Bronze Age and its cultural units including Maykop, Yamnaya, Novotitorovskaya, North Caucasian, Catacomb, post-Catacomb and late Bronze Age groups. The samples comprise all inhumations with sufficient bone preservation from five burial mound sites and a flat grave cemetery as well as subsamples from three further sites. They represent the Caucasus Mountains in the south, the piedmont zone and Kuban steppe with humid steppe and forest vegetation to its north, and more arid regions in the Caspian steppe. The stable isotope compositions of the bone collagen of humans and animals varied across the study area and reflect regional diversity in environmental conditions and diets. The data agree with meat, milk, and/or dairy products from domesticated herbivores, especially from sheep and goats having contributed substantially to human diets, as it is common for a largely pastoral economy. This observation is also in correspondence with the faunal remains observed in the graves and offerings of animals in the mound shells. In addition, foodstuffs with elevated carbon and nitrogen isotope values, such as meat of unweaned animals, fish, or plants, also contributed to human diets, especially among communities living in the more arid landscapes. The regional distinction of the animal and human data with few outliers points to mobility radii that were largely concentrated within the environmental zones in which the respective sites are located. In general, dietary variation among the cultural entities as well as regarding age, sex and archaeologically indicated social status is only weakly reflected. There is, however, some indication for a dietary shift during the Early Bronze Age Maykop period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corina Knipper
- Curt Engelhorn Center Archaeometry, Mannheim, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Sabine Reinhold
- Eurasia Department, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia Gresky
- Department of Natural Sciences, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nataliya Berezina
- Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Claudia Gerling
- Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sandra L. Pichler
- Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra P. Buzhilova
- Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Anatoly R. Kantorovich
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir E. Maslov
- Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | | | - Sergey V. Lyakhov
- Heritage Organization Ltd, ‘Nasledie’, Stavropol, Russian Federation
| | | | | | - Svend Hansen
- Eurasia Department, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kurt W. Alt
- Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland
- Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University (DPU), Krems-Stein, Austria
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Socio-Ecological Contingencies with Climate Changes over the Prehistory in the Mediterranean Iberia. QUATERNARY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/quat3030019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We conducted palynological, sedimentological, and chronological analyses of a coastal sediment sequence to investigate landscape evolution and agropastoral practices in the Nao Cap region (Spain, Western Mediterranean) since the Holocene. The results allowed for a reconstruction of vegetation, fire, and erosion dynamics in the area, implicating the role of fire in vegetation turnover at 5300 (mesophilous forests replaced by sclerophyllous scrubs) and at 3200 calibrated before present (cal. BP) (more xerophytics). Cereal cultivation was apparent from the beginning of the record, during the Mid-Neolithic period. From 5300 to 3800 cal. BP, long-lasting soil erosion was associated with the presence of cereals, indicating intense land-use during the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods. The decline of the agriculture signal and vegetal recolonization is likely explained by land abandonment during the Final Bronze Age. Anthropogenic markers reappeared during the Iberian period when more settlements were present. A contingency of human and environmental agencies was found at 5900, 4200, and 2800 cal. BP, coinciding with abrupt climate events, that have manifested locally in reduced spring discharge, an absence of agropastoral evidence, and a marked decline in settlement densities. This case study, covering five millennia and three climate events, highlights how past climate changes have affected human activities, and also shows that people repeatedly reoccupied the coast once the perturbation was gone. The littoral zone remained attractive for prehistoric communities despite the costs of living in an area exposed to climatic hazards, such as droughts.
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