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Antolín F, Jacomet S, Soteras R, Gerling C, Bernasconi SM, Follmann F, Hajdas I, Jaggi M, Jesus A, Martínez-Grau H, Oms FX, Röder B, Steiner BL, van Willigen S. An archaeobotanical and stable isotope approach to changing agricultural practices in the NW Mediterranean region around 4000 BC. Holocene 2024; 34:239-254. [PMID: 38259723 PMCID: PMC10799764 DOI: 10.1177/09596836231211848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
It has recently been observed, that a change in the crop spectrum happened during the so-called Middle Neolithic in France at ca. 4000 BC. An agricultural system based on free-threshing cereals (naked wheat and naked barley) seems to shift to one based on glume wheats. This is a major change for traditional farmers and this paper aims to shed light on its possible causes. Here we describe the results of new investigations in a key area for the understanding of this process: the NW Mediterranean arch, where free-threshing cereals are the main cultivars since ca. 5100 BC. New data confirm that the shift towards glume wheats is also observed in some sites of the NE of the Iberian Peninsula and that among the glume wheats that spread at ca. 4000 BC we should not only consider emmer and einkorn but also Timopheevi's wheat. Stable isotope analyses indicate no major decrease in soil fertility or alterations in local precipitation regimes. The agricultural change may be the result of a combination of the spread of damaging pests for free-threshing cereals and presumably new networks being developed with the North-eastern part of Italy and the Balkans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferran Antolín
- German Archaeological Institute, Natural Sciences Unit, Germany
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Jacomet
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Switzerland
| | - Raül Soteras
- German Archaeological Institute, Natural Sciences Unit, Germany
| | - Claudia Gerling
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Switzerland
- Departement Altertumswissenschaften, Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Basel University, Switzerland
| | | | - Franziska Follmann
- German Archaeological Institute, Natural Sciences Unit, Germany
- Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
| | - Irka Hajdas
- Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Madalina Jaggi
- Department of Earth Sciences, Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ana Jesus
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Switzerland
| | - Héctor Martínez-Grau
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Switzerland
| | - Francesc Xavier Oms
- Seminari d’Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP). Secció de Prehistòria i Arqueologia, Dept. d’Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història. Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Geografia i Història. Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Brigitte Röder
- Departement Altertumswissenschaften, Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Basel University, Switzerland
| | - Bigna L Steiner
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Switzerland
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Steiner BL, Martínez-Grau H, Bernasconi SM, Gross E, Hajdas I, Jacomet S, Jaggi M, Schaeren GF, Antolín F. Archaeobotanical and isotopic analyses of waterlogged remains from the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Switzerland): Resilience strategies of a plant economy in a changing local environment. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274361. [PMID: 36170265 PMCID: PMC9518907 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The excellent preservation of the waterlogged botanical remains of the multiphase Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Central Switzerland) yielded an ideal dataset to delve into the issue of plant economy of a community spanning several decades. The study identified a major change in crops where oil plants played a key role in the site’s initial phase before being supplanted over the course of a few decades by naked wheat, barley and pea. Wild plants continued to be gathered albeit in different proportions. In the latest settlement phase, the changes in the local vegetation and in the values of the analyses of carbon stable isotopes suggest a less humid environment. The hypothesis is that the changes perceived in the plant economy represent a resilience strategy adopted by the inhabitants in reaction to short term local climatic alterations. The two types of soil sampling techniques (monolith and bulk) allowed comparing these results. While the density of plant remains appears to be underestimated among the samples collected by the monolith technique, the proportions of economic taxa remain unaffected. The findings thus reveal that when the bulk samplings are distributed carefully throughout multiphase sites and avoid mixing stratigraphical units, and if the samplings are representative of all archaeological features from a whole area, then each of the two techniques offer analogous results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bigna L. Steiner
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Héctor Martínez-Grau
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Eda Gross
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Irka Hajdas
- Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Jacomet
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Ferran Antolín
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
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Steiner BL, Alonso N, Grillas P, Jorda C, Piquès G, Tillier M, Rovira N. Languedoc lagoon environments and man: Building a modern analogue botanical macroremain database for understanding the role of water and edaphology in sedimentation dynamics of archaeobotanical remains at the Roman port of Lattara (Lattes, France). PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234853. [PMID: 32555679 PMCID: PMC7302497 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A new method to evaluate archaeological wetland sites in a more objective way was tested. Different wetland environments have been sampled in areas of a nature reserve and their macroremain content analysed to build a modern analogue dataset. This dataset was then used to characterise archaeological samples from a navigation channel from the Roman port city Lattara. In the modern analogue samples, the different wetland types (saline/brackish or fresh water) could be differentiated in the correspondence analysis. Within these groups, the sampled area of the littoral (submerged, shoreline, unsubmerged) could also be differentiated. This dataset can therefore provide a basis for the interpretation of the nature and degree of aquatic influence and layer formation processes in archaeobotanical records of coastal sites. In the tested archaeological samples from the navigation channel of Lattara, changes in space and time could be tracked using the modern analogue dataset and geoarchaeological information. The channel lost its fresh water supply and silted up over a short period of time (approx. 100 years).
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Affiliation(s)
- Bigna L. Steiner
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), UMR5140, CNRS, Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Natàlia Alonso
- Departament d’História, Grup d’Investigaciò Prehistòrica, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Patrick Grillas
- Tour du Valat, Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands, Arles, France
| | - Christophe Jorda
- Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), UMR5140, CNRS, Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Inrap-Méditerranée, Parc Actipolis, Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, France
| | - Gaël Piquès
- Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), UMR5140, CNRS, Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Margaux Tillier
- Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), UMR5140, CNRS, Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), Montpellier, France
| | - Núria Rovira
- Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), UMR5140, CNRS, Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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Steiner BL, Armbruster GFJ, Scheepens JF, Stöcklin J. Distribution of bulbil- and seed-producing plants of Poa alpina (Poaceae) and their growth and reproduction in common gardens suggest adaptation to different elevations. Am J Bot 2012; 99:2035-2044. [PMID: 23221498 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1200213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY The European Alps harbor a spatially heterogeneous environment. Plants can be adapted genetically to this heterogeneity but may also respond to it by phenotypic plasticity. We expected the important fodder grass Poa alpina to be adapted to elevation either genetically or plastically. • METHODS We investigated in three elevational common gardens whether growth and reproductive allocation of plants reproducing either by seeds or bulbils suggest adaptation to their elevation of origin and to what extent they can respond plastically to different elevations. Additionally, we analyzed genetic diversity using microsatellites and tested whether seeds are of sexual origin. • KEY RESULTS In the field, bulbil-producing plants occurred more often at higher elevations, whereas seed-producing plants occurred more often at lower elevations, but bulbil-producing plants were generally less vigorous in the common gardens. The response of plants to elevational transplantation was highly plastic, and vigor was always best at the highest location. The small genetic differences were not clinally related to elevation of origin, underlining the importance of phenotypic plasticity. Reproductive allocation was, however, independent of elevational treatments. Seed-producing plants had higher genetic diversity than the bulbil-producing plants even though we found that seed-producing plants were facultative apomicts mostly reproducing asexually. • CONCLUSIONS Bulbil-producing P. alpina, showing a fitness cost at lower elevations compared with seed-producing plants, seem better adapted to higher elevations. By means of its two reproductive modes and the capacity to adjust plastically, P. alpina is able to occupy a broad ecological niche across a large elevational range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bigna L Steiner
- Section of Plant Ecology, Institute of Botany, University of Basel, Schönbeinstrasse 6, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
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Levy AM, Gleich GJ, Sandborn WJ, Tremaine WJ, Steiner BL, Phillips SF. Increased eosinophil granule proteins in gut lavage fluid from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Mayo Clin Proc 1997; 72:117-23. [PMID: 9033543 DOI: 10.4065/72.2.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To explore the potential role of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). DESIGN We measured the concentrations of eosinophil granule proteins-namely, major basic protein, eosinophil peroxidase, eosinophil cationic protein, and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin-in gut lavage fluid. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ten healthy persons and 17 patients with IBD (9 with Crohn's disease and 8 with ulcerative colitis) underwent gut lavage. Each study subject submitted an early specimen when lavage effluent became liquid and a late specimen when the output became clear. The concentrations of the granule proteins were measured by immunoassay. RESULTS The median concentrations of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin and eosinophil cationic protein were significantly higher in patients with IBD than in control subjects for both early and late lavage specimens. Excretion of eosinophil peroxidase was also significantly higher in patients with IBD than in the healthy control subjects, but only in the early specimens. No differences were noted in the concentrations of any of the proteins between patients with ulcerative colitis and those with Crohn's disease. CONCLUSION Concentrations of eosinophil granule proteins were increased in whole gut lavage fluid from patients with IBD in comparison with healthy control subjects. These results encourage further studies of the role of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of IBD.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Levy
- Division of Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA
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Sandborn WJ, Tremaine WJ, Schroeder KW, Batts KP, Lawson GM, Steiner BL, Harrison JM, Zinsmeister AR. A placebo-controlled trial of cyclosporine enemas for mildly to moderately active left-sided ulcerative colitis. Gastroenterology 1994; 106:1429-35. [PMID: 8194687 DOI: 10.1016/0016-5085(94)90394-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS Uncontrolled studies suggest that cyclosporine administered as an enema may be of benefit for left-sided ulcerative colitis and safer than intravenous or oral administration. The efficacy and safety of cyclosporine enemas for left-sided ulcerative colitis in a placebo-controlled trial was assessed. METHODS Steroid and mesalamine enemas were withdrawn before the study. Forty patients were assigned to 1 of 4 strata: no concomitant therapy, oral steroids, oral salicylates, or oral steroids and salicylates. After stratification, patients were randomized to nightly treatment with 350 mg cyclosporine (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) enemas. Clinical response was determined at baseline and 4 weeks by endoscopy, physician assessment, and a patient diary of daily symptoms. Trough blood cyclosporine levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS At 4 weeks, 8 of 20 patients (40%) who received cyclosporine showed clinical improvement compared with 9 of 20 patients (45%) who received placebo. One patient receiving cyclosporine had reversible neutropenia attributable to sulfasalazine, and another patient receiving cyclosporine was unable to tolerate the enema vehicle. No other toxicity was noted during the trial. Blood cyclosporine levels were detectable in only two patients. CONCLUSIONS Cyclosporine enemas administered in a dosage of 350 mg/day for 4 weeks are not efficacious in mildly to moderately active left-sided ulcerative colitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- W J Sandborn
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
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Sandborn WJ, Tremaine WJ, Schroeder KW, Steiner BL, Batts KP, Lawson GM. Cyclosporine enemas for treatment-resistant, mildly to moderately active, left-sided ulcerative colitis. Am J Gastroenterol 1993; 88:640-5. [PMID: 8480724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Ten patients with treatment-resistant left-sided ulcerative colitis were treated in an open protocol with 350 mg cyclosporine enemas nightly for 4 wk. A 12-point clinical disease activity index (DAI) score was calculated at baseline and after 4 wk. Whole blood and colonic tissue cyclosporine concentrations were determined by HPLC at the end of the study. Five of 10 patients responded to treatment, defined as a decrease in the clinical DAI score > or = 3 points. Responders retained the enemas longer than nonresponders (7.5 +/- 1.3 vs. 3.3 +/- 2.2 h, p = 0.01), and there was a positive correlation between decrease in the clinical DAI score and enema retention time (r = 0.64, p = 0.05). The mean colonic tissue cyclosporine concentration was not significantly higher in responders than in nonresponders (2884 +/- 1635 vs. 2359 +/- 576 ng/g, p = 0.52), and the correlation between decrease in the clinical DAI score index and colonic tissue cyclosporine was weak (r = 0.39, p = 0.26). Cyclosporine was undetectable in whole blood samples from all patients, and there were no apparent side effects with treatment. In conclusion, 50% of patients with treatment-resistant left-sided ulcerative colitis significantly improved during therapy with cyclosporine enemas for 4 wk. Patients with longer enema retention times were more likely to respond. A controlled trial is underway to investigate these findings further.
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Affiliation(s)
- W J Sandborn
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
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Porayko MK, Wiesner RH, LaRusso NF, Ludwig J, MacCarty RL, Steiner BL, Twomey CK, Zinsmeister AR. Patients with asymptomatic primary sclerosing cholangitis frequently have progressive disease. Gastroenterology 1990; 98:1594-602. [PMID: 2338198 DOI: 10.1016/0016-5085(90)91096-o] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
We identified and analyzed 45 patients with asymptomatic primary sclerosing cholangitis to better understand the natural history of this disease. Disease progression was monitored at regular intervals for the development of symptoms and physical signs as well as changes in liver biochemistry, cholangiography, and liver histology. During a median follow-up of 75.2 mo, 34 patients (76%) had evidence of disease progression. Fourteen patients (31%) developed liver failure which resulted in death or referral for liver transplantation. For patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, survival curves computed using the Kaplan-Meier method were significantly worse than expected when compared to age-, sex-, and race-specific survival rates for the United States north central population (p less than 0.001). These findings indicate that primary sclerosing cholangitis is generally a progressive disease with considerable morbidity and mortality even when detected before the onset of symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- M K Porayko
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
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