Rationale
Due to the spatial heterogeneity of stable isotope ratios of single elements measured in attempts to georeference bioarchaeological finds, multi‐isotope fingerprints are frequently employed ...under the assumption that similar isotopic signatures are indicative of similar shared environments by the individuals studied. The extraction of the spatial information from multi‐isotope datasets, however, is challenging.
Methods
Gaussian mixture clustering of six‐ to seven‐dimensional isotopic fingerprints measured in archaeological animal and human bones was performed. Uncremated animal bones served for an isotopic mapping of a specific reference area of eminent archaeological importance, namely the Inn‐Eisack‐Adige passage across the European Alps. The fingerprints consist of 87Sr/86Sr, 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 206Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/207Pb, and 206Pb/207Pb ratios, and δ18Ophosphate values in uncremated bone apatite, while the thermally unstable δ18O values of human cremations from this region were discarded.
Results
The bone finds were successfully decontaminated. Animal and human isotope clusters not only reflect individual similarities in the multi‐isotopic fingerprints, but also permit a spatial allocation of the finds. This holds also for cremated finds where the δ18Ophosphate value is no longer informative. To our knowledge, for the first time Pb stable isotopes have been systematically studied in cremated skeletal remains and proved significant in a region that was sought after for its ore deposits in prehistory.
Conclusions
Gaussian mixture clustering is a promising method for the interpretation of multi‐isotopic fingerprints aiming at detecting and quantifying migration and trade.
Stable isotope analysis of crop remains complements conventional isotope analysis of human and faunal bones, permitting a more holistic insight into subsistence practices in the past. Here, we ...demonstrate the insights that can be gained from crop isotope analysis by synthesising crop, faunal and human isotopic data from Linearbandkeramik villages, Late Neolithic lakeshore settlements and Early Iron Age sites in southwest Germany. As well as demonstrating the central role that plants played in the human diet, extensive stable isotope analysis of crop remains provides evidence for a strong interrelationship between crop production and consumption practices, which often belies a purely ecological motivation behind the differential treatment of crops.
Objective
With respect to the unknown aetiology of molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), it is unclear whether this phenomenon was overlooked in the last century as a result of a high number of ...caries in children or if this developmental disorder was not present until then. Therefore, this study determined the presence of MIH in historical dentitions and teeth.
Materials and methods
Dental remains from late medieval (
n
= 191, twelfth–sixteenth century, Regensburg, Germany), post-medieval (
n
= 33, sixteenth–eighteenth century, Passau, Germany) and modern age archaeological skeletal series (
n
= 99, nineteenth–twentieth century, Altdorf, Germany) were examined for MIH. In addition, linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), diffuse opacities, hypoplasia and Turner’s teeth were documented.
Results
MIH-related demarcated opacities or enamel breakdowns were found in only 15 (0.4 %) of the 3891 examined permanent teeth. Ten cases (3.1 %) from a total of 323 dentitions were classified as having MIH. In contrast, 98 individuals (30.3 %) showed LEH. Other enamel disorders were recorded in 64 individuals (19.8 %).
Conclusion
With respect to the low number of affected dentitions and teeth, MIH most likely did not exist or was at least rarely present in the investigated archaeological case series.
Clinical relevance
This study supports the hypothesis that MIH may be linked to contemporary living conditions or other health-related factors.
•First provenance analysis of human cremations by Sr and Pb stable isotopic fingerprints.•Novel evaluation of the data structure by Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) clustering.•Clusters reflect the ...spatial distribution of sites and identifies non-local individuals.•The Fritzens-Sanzeno culture resulted from intensified contacts across the European Alps.
Around 450 BCE, the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture emerged as a fairly uniform culture to the south of the European Alps and inneralpine regions along the Inn-Eisack-Adige-Brenner passage, a transalpine route that had been in use since the Mesolithic. By the Iron Age, an efficient communication network across the Alps enabling quick culture transfer was established since long. The open question remains as to whether the spread of this culture was due to migration or acculturation processes. 92 human individual skeletons, most of them cremated, were sampled from archaeological sites along the alpine transect. A multi-isotope fingerprint consisting of 87Sr/86Sr, 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 206Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/207Pb, 206Pb/207Pb was established on compact bone samples, and the structure of this multidimensional data-set was evaluated by Gaussian Mixture Model clustering. Resulting clusters firmly reflect the geographical location of the sites of recovery and identified archaeological conspicuous burials as primarily non-local individuals. Strontium stable isotopes were of greatest importance for provenancing migrants. The clusters are also capable of identifying mixed isotopic ratios in early immigrants with a high probability. Lead stable isotopes of all individuals are compatible with the isotopic signatures of the inneralpine copper ores that were heavily exploited that time. This similarity with regard to Pb, and the fact that non-local individuals were only detected at sites that had served as former rest stations along the transect, supports the hypothesis that the spread of the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture resulted from an intensification of contacts rather than migration.
Human and animal bones from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Nevali Çori (southeast Anatolia) were analyzed with regard to stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen, and stable carbon ...and oxygen isotopes in bone carbonate. The reconstruction of the vertebrate food web at this site revealed that humans may have faced difficulties with meat procurement, since their stable-isotope ratios reflect a largely herbivorous diet. This is in contrast with the preceding Pre-Pottery Neolithic A contexts and late Neolithic sites in the Fertile Crescent, where humans are located at the top of the food chain. Conceivably, Nevali Çori represents a community in the transition from a hunting and gathering subsistence to an economy with agriculture and animal husbandry, since domesticated einkorn and sheep, pigs, and probably also goats are in evidence at the site. In the second half of the 9th millennium calibrated (cal.) BC, however, the contribution of stock on the hoof to the human diet still seems modest. Animals kept under cultural control obviously had a dietary spectrum different from their free-ranging relatives. We conclude that these animals had been deliberately nourished by their owners, whereby the overall low delta15N-signatures in both humans and livestock might result from the consumption of protein-rich pulses. Copyright John Wiley & Sons. Reproduced with permission. An electronic version of this article is available online at http://www.interscience.wiley.com
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