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Formichella G, Soncin S, Lubritto C, Tafuri MA, Fernandes R, Cocozza C. Introducing Isotòpia: A stable isotope database for Classical Antiquity. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0293717. [PMID: 38829878 PMCID: PMC11146721 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
We present Isotòpia, an open-access database compiling over 36,000 stable isotope measurements (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, δ34S, 87Sr/86Sr, 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/206Pb, and 208Pb/206Pb) on human, animal, and plant bioarchaeological remains dating to Classical Antiquity (approximately 800 BCE - 500 CE). These were recovered from different European regions, particularly from the Mediterranean. Isotòpia provides a comprehensive characterisation of the isotopic data, encompassing various historical, archaeological, biological, and environmental variables. Isotòpia is a resource for meta-analytical research of past human activities and paleoenvironments. The database highlights data gaps in isotopic classical archaeology, such as the limited number of isotopic measurements available for plants and animals, limited number of studies on spatial mobility, and spatial heterogeneity of isotopic research. As such, we emphasise the necessity to address and fill these gaps in order to unlock the reuse potential of this database.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Formichella
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Silvia Soncin
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Carmine Lubritto
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche (DiSTABiF) and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy
| | - Mary Anne Tafuri
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - 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-střed, Czech Republic
- Climate Change and History Research Initiative, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States of America
| | - Carlo Cocozza
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Biologiche e Farmaceutiche (DiSTABiF) and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- ArchaeoBioCenter (ABC), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
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Gnecchi-Ruscone GA, Rácz Z, Samu L, Szeniczey T, Faragó N, Knipper C, Friedrich R, Zlámalová D, Traverso L, Liccardo S, Wabnitz S, Popli D, Wang K, Radzeviciute R, Gulyás B, Koncz I, Balogh C, Lezsák GM, Mácsai V, Bunbury MME, Spekker O, le Roux P, Szécsényi-Nagy A, Mende BG, Colleran H, Hajdu T, Geary P, Pohl W, Vida T, Krause J, Hofmanová Z. Network of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities. Nature 2024; 629:376-383. [PMID: 38658749 PMCID: PMC11078744 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07312-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
From AD 567-568, at the onset of the Avar period, populations from the Eurasian Steppe settled in the Carpathian Basin for approximately 250 years1. Extensive sampling for archaeogenomics (424 individuals) and isotopes, combined with archaeological, anthropological and historical contextualization of four Avar-period cemeteries, allowed for a detailed description of the genomic structure of these communities and their kinship and social practices. We present a set of large pedigrees, reconstructed using ancient DNA, spanning nine generations and comprising around 300 individuals. We uncover a strict patrilineal kinship system, in which patrilocality and female exogamy were the norm and multiple reproductive partnering and levirate unions were common. The absence of consanguinity indicates that this society maintained a detailed memory of ancestry over generations. These kinship practices correspond with previous evidence from historical sources and anthropological research on Eurasian Steppe societies2. Network analyses of identity-by-descent DNA connections suggest that social cohesion between communities was maintained via female exogamy. Finally, despite the absence of major ancestry shifts, the level of resolution of our analyses allowed us to detect genetic discontinuity caused by the replacement of a community at one of the sites. This was paralleled with changes in the archaeological record and was probably a result of local political realignment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zsófia Rácz
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Levente Samu
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Szeniczey
- Department of Biological Anthropology, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Norbert Faragó
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Corina Knipper
- Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Ronny Friedrich
- Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Denisa Zlámalová
- Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Luca Traverso
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Salvatore Liccardo
- Department of History, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sandra Wabnitz
- Department of History, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Divyaratan Popli
- Department of Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ke Wang
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Rita Radzeviciute
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - István Koncz
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Csilla Balogh
- Department of Art History, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gabriella M Lezsák
- Institute of History, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Viktor Mácsai
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Magdalena M E Bunbury
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Olga Spekker
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Petrus le Roux
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Anna Szécsényi-Nagy
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Gusztáv Mende
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Heidi Colleran
- BirthRites Lise Meitner Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tamás Hajdu
- Department of Biological Anthropology, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Walter Pohl
- Department of History, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tivadar Vida
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
- Institute of Archaeology, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Zuzana Hofmanová
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.
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Nikita E, Alexander M, Cox S, Radini A, Le Roux P, Chaouali M, Fenwick C. Isotopic evidence for human mobility in late antique Bulla Regia (Tunisia). JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE, REPORTS 2023; 47:103816. [PMID: 36998714 PMCID: PMC10041345 DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
This paper represents the first isotopic study on late antique human mobility in North Africa, using the urban site of Bulla Regia in Tunisia as a case study. We also present the first values for bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in northern Tunisia, analysing 63 plant and snail samples, as well as a simple method for the pre-processing of plants in the field to facilitate their export. Bulla Regia was a prominent Roman and late antique town situated on an important axis of transport and communication in North Africa and is therefore an ideal site to explore mobility in the region during this time period. Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OCarb) isotopic analysis of 22 late antique individuals from a Christian church and cemetery identified at least seven or eight non-locals, while comparative analysis of five Roman individuals from a funerary enclosure on the same site classified all but one of them as potential locals. Most non-local individuals exhibit 87Sr/86Sr values that match various areas of northern Tunisia, which supports regional mobility rather than long-distance migration, although when combined with the oxygen results, inter-regional mobility from an area with a warmer climate may be hypothesised for some individuals. Examination of the spatial distribution of non-local individuals in their cemetery setting reveals that they were privileged individuals, thus they may reflect the mobility of wealthier town-dwellers in late antiquity, particularly perhaps along the Carthage-Hippo route.
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Affiliation(s)
- Efthymia Nikita
- Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Centre, The Cyprus Institute, 2121 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Michelle Alexander
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, YO1 5DD York, UK
| | - Samantha Cox
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Physical Anthropology Section, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Anita Radini
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, YO1 5DD York, UK
| | - Petrus Le Roux
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | | | - Corisande Fenwick
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, WC1H 0PY London, UK
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Kempf M. Take a seed! Revealing Neolithic landscape and agricultural development in the Carpathian Basin through multivariate statistics and environmental modelling. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258206. [PMID: 34714837 PMCID: PMC8555826 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The Carpathian Basin represents the cradle of human agricultural development during the Neolithic period, when large parts were transformed into 'cultural landscapes' by first farmers from the Balkans. It is assumed that an Early Neolithic subsistence economy established along the hydrologic systems and on Chernozem soil patches, which developed from loess deposits. However, recent results from soil chemistry and geoarchaeological analyses raised the hypothesis that extensive Chernozem coverage developed from increased land-use activity and that Early Neolithic 'cultural' groups were not restricted to loess-covered surfaces but rather preferred hydromorphic soils that formed in the floodplains. This article performs multivariable statistics from large datasets of Neolithic sites in Hungary and allows tracing Early to Late Neolithic site preferences from digital environmental data. Quantitative analyses reveal a strong preference for hydromorphic soils, a significant avoidance of loess-covered areas, and no preference for Chernozem soils throughout the Early Neolithic followed by a strong transformation of site preferences during the Late Neolithic period. These results align with socio-cultural developments, large-scale mobility patterns, and land-use and surface transformation, which shaped the Carpathian Basin and paved the way for the agricultural revolution across Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kempf
- Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Physical Geography, Institute of Environmental Social Science and Geography, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Abstract
In this study, we present a transparent and reproducible approach to model agricultural production with respect to environmental characteristics and available labour. Our research focuses on the city of Pergamon and its surroundings, with an emphasis on the transition between the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Period, where widespread demographic changes took place. We investigated the degree of local self-sufficiency using different concepts of a city’s complementary region. Using simple topographic derivatives, we derive a measure of environmental suitability that we translate into a carrying capacity index. Our results show that workforce was not a limiting factor for local self-sufficiency. However, environmental carrying capacity may have been limiting in a scenario with a large population. An active investment into the environment, e.g., by the construction of terraces, could have helped to increase the degree of self-sufficiency. Future research should investigate the level of resilience of such a coupled socio-ecological system in relation to environmental and socio-cultural dynamics.
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