Maritime Archaic Subsistence in Newfoundland, Canada: Insights from δ13C and δ15N of Bulk Bone Collagen and Amino Acids
The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2017
Reassessing the Abandonment of Pig Husbandry in Post-Viking Iceland: An Isotopic Approach
Interdisciplinary contributions to archaeology, 2023
A mitochondrial DNA study of the Beothuk and Maritime Archaic, extinct aboriginal populations from Newfoundland and Labrador
The 86th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, New Orleans, 2017
Stable isotope evidence for precontact Amerindian diet in Newfoundland, Canada
The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2016
Aquatic resource consumption at the Odense leprosarium: Advancing the limits of palaeodiet reconstruction with amino acid δ13C measurements
Journal of Archaeological Science, May 1, 2022
A Bioarchaeological Exploration of Adolescent Males at the Eighteenth-Century Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada
Bioarchaeology international, Nov 30, 2022
Using skeletal remains from the eighteenth-century Fortress of Louisbourg, this study aimed to ex... more Using skeletal remains from the eighteenth-century Fortress of Louisbourg, this study aimed to explore whether the adolescent (< 25 years) and adult (> 25 years) male experiences were synonymous in this New France colony. Additionally, this study also considered the geographic origins of these adolescent males to better understand their lived experience at Louisbourg. For this study, skeletal remains from 13 adolescent male individuals (16–25 years) were compared to 24 adult male individuals (27–47 years). Osteological analysis involved the assessment of macroscopic indicators of stress, including cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia, fractures, Schmorl’s nodes, periosteal new bone formation, dental caries, and dental abscesses. When statistically compared, there were no differences between these age cohorts and the prevalence of these indicators. Mortuary data were also assessed, including burial depth, coffin use, and the prevalence of grave goods, again with no differences observed between these age cohorts. We explored dietary patterns and their relationship to geographic origin by measuring stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in bone collagen and δ13C values of tooth enamel carbonate. All but one of the adolescent individuals consumed a mixed C3 and C4 diet during childhood, suggesting possible origins in an area consistent with what is now the eastern United States. Based on this multi-proxy approach, it is likely that the male adolescents in this group were soldiers from New England stationed at Louisbourg after the first siege in 1745 and had a similar lived experience to that of adult males. Cette étude visait à évaluer la mesure dans laquelle les expériences d’hommes (> 25 ans) et d’adolescents (< 25 ans) de sexe masculin étaient semblables dans cette colonie de la Nouvelle-France, et ce, à partir de restes humains provenant de la Forteresse de Louisbourg, du XVIIIe siècle. L’étude tenait compte des origines géographiques de ces adolescents de sexe masculin afin de mieux comprendre leur expérience vécue à Louisbourg. Dans le cadre de cette étude, les restes humains de 13 adolescents (16–25 ans) de sexe masculin ont été comparés à ceux de 24 hommes adultes (27–47 ans). Une analyse ostéologique a été menée, consistant à évaluer les indicateurs macroscopiques du stress, notamment la présence de cribra orbitalia (lésions sur le plafond des orbites), de l’hyperostose porotique, de l’hypoplasie linéaire de l’émail, de fractures, de nodules de Schmorl, de néoformation osseuse périostée ainsi que de caries et d’abcès dentaires. Aucune différence n’a été relevée lors d’une comparaison statistique entre ces cohortes d’âge, ni en ce qui a trait à la prévalence de ces indicateurs. Des données mortuaires ont également été évaluées, notamment la profondeur de l’ensevelissement, l’utilisation de cercueils et la prévalence d’objets funéraires. Aucune différence n’a été observée entre ces cohortes d’âge. Par ailleurs, nous avons analysé les habitudes alimentaires et leur relation avec l’origine géographique en mesurant les rapports d’isotopes stables du carbone (δ13C) et de l’azote (δ15N) dans le collagène osseux ainsi que les valeurs δ13C du carbonate de l’émail dentaire. Tous les individus adolescents, sauf un, auraient eu un régime alimentaire mixte (C3 et C4) pendant l’enfance, ce qui suggère des origines dans une région correspondant aujourd’hui à l’est des États-Unis. Selon cette approche reposant sur plusieurs indicateurs, il est probable que les adolescents de sexe masculin de ce groupe étaient des soldats de la Nouvelle-Angleterre postés à Louisbourg après le premier siège de 1745 et qu’ils ont vécu une expérience similaire à celle des hommes adultes.
Strontium isotope evidence for Late Neolithic mobility in South-Central Portugal
The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2016
The use and abuse of Pb in bioarchaeological studies: A review of Pb concentration and isotope analyses of teeth
Journal of Archaeological Science
Emergence, continuity, and evolution of Yersinia pestis throughout medieval and early modern Denmark
Current Biology
Isotopic Evidence for the Geographic Origin, Movement and Diet of the Hofmeyr Individual
Vertebrate paleobiology and paleoanthropology series, 2022
Dietary niche separation of three Late Pleistocene bear species from Vancouver Island, on the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America
Journal of Quaternary Science
Competition between taxa related to climate changes has been proposed as a possible factor in Ple... more Competition between taxa related to climate changes has been proposed as a possible factor in Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions, and here we present isotope evidence of the diets of three co‐existing bear species [black bear (Ursus americanus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), and the now extinct short‐faced bear (Arctodus simus)] from a locale in western North America dating to the Late (Terminal) Pleistocene (~14.5–11.7 ka). The three bear species were found at several sites on Vancouver Island, on the western coast of Canada. To examine the chronological overlap and niche partitioning between these species of bear, we used direct radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis and ZooMS proteomic identification methods. Here we present new radiocarbon evidence from Terminal Pleistocene U. americanus, U. arctos and A. simus from several sites on the island, along with both bulk collagen and compound‐specific isotope data for these species. Radiocarbon dates confirm the chronological overla...
Revised SOM 06.24.2015
Insights into biogenic and diagenetic lead exposure in experimentally altered modern and archaeological bone: Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging
Science of The Total Environment, 2021
Bones represent a valuable biological archive of environmental lead (Pb) exposure for modern and ... more Bones represent a valuable biological archive of environmental lead (Pb) exposure for modern and archaeological populations. Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging (SR-XFI) generates maps of Pb in bone on a microstructural scale, potentially providing insights into an individual's history of Pb exposure and, in the context of archaeological bone, the biogenic or diagenetic nature of its uptake. The aims of this study were to (1) examine biogenic spatial patterns for Pb from bone samples of modern cadavers compared with patterns observed archaeologically, and (2) test the hypothesis that there are spatial differences in the distribution of Pb for diagenetic and biogenic modes of uptake in bone. To address these aims, this study used inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and SR-XFI on unaltered and experimentally altered cadaveric bone samples (University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK) and archaeological bone samples from 18th to 19th century archaeological sites from Antigua and Lithuania. Bone concentrations of modern individuals are relatively low compared to those of archaeological individuals. SR-XFI results provide insights into modern Saskatchewan Pb exposure with some samples demonstrating a pattern of relatively low Pb exposure with higher levels of Pb exposure occurring in bone structures of a relatively older age that formed earlier in life, likely during the era of leaded gasoline (pre-1980s), and other samples demonstrating a pattern of fairly consistent, low-level exposure. Results support hypotheses for the spatial distribution of Pb corresponding to biogenic vs. diagenetic uptake. Diagenetic Pb is mainly confined to the periosteal surface of each sample with some enrichment of cracks and sub-periosteal canals. This may be useful in the future for differentiating diagenetic from biogenic Pb accumulation, analyzing environmental contamination, and informing sampling strategies in archaeological or fossil bone.
A bioavailable baseline strontium isotope map of southwestern Turkey for mobility studies
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
Abstract We present here a map of bioavailable strontium for Southwestern Turkey derived from mea... more Abstract We present here a map of bioavailable strontium for Southwestern Turkey derived from measurements of modern plants and mollusk (land snail) shells from various geological areas. Samples were collected from 87 locations and strontium isotope measurements were made on 283 plant and mollusk samples. The plants consisted of deep-rooted, medium-rooted and shallow-rooted species each sampling strontium from different water sources. The data was interpolated to produce a predictive strontium isotope map (‘Sr-isoscape’) of the region. Despite the complex underlying geology of this region the bioavailable Sr values broadly grouped into two separate areas, related to the age of the underlying bedrock. These results provide a baseline for interpretation of strontium isotope values of archaeological samples to help understand past animal and human mobility, and can also be used by researchers in a range of other disciplines that incorporate strontium analysis for mobility, including animal ecology and forensics.
To access the role of mobility in the social trajectory of Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic societ... more To access the role of mobility in the social trajectory of Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies in the South of Portugal (Southwest Iberia) a project was design to address the human, animal and object/raw material flow present at Perdigões enclosure. Perdigões, located in the inner Alentejo region, has a long chronology from Late Middle Neolithic to Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age (middle 4th and 3rd millennium BC). It is a large complex of ditched enclosures (with at least 16 ditches), presenting several funerary contexts, an abundance of faunal remains and significant concentrations of exogenous materials in tombs. In this study human and animal mobility are addressed through 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotopic analysis. 69 individuals dating from Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic, with provenance from 9 different archaeological contexts inside the enclosures (tombs, ditches and pits) were analysed. Human data are presented along with previously published strontium isotope ratios from fauna (n = 28; Canis familiaris, Bos taurus, Sus sp., Ovis/Capra, Cervus elaphus, Equus sp.) from the same chronological range and several contextual provenances (Zalaite et al., 2018). Plant samples (n = 20) that cover local and peripheral lithologies were used for establishing local bioavailable strontium isotope ranges. To compare with the Perdigões results, 9 human samples from 3 megalithic monuments (Cebolinhos 1, Comenda 1 and Vidigueiras 2) of the local settlement network were also analysed. The results show a significant scaled mobility of humans and animals in Perdigões, a contextual variation between the funerary contexts within the site and a significant contrast with the individuals from local megalithic monuments. These results, combined with other archaeological data at the site, agree with the interpretation of the site as a large aggregation centre integrated in large scale interaction networks.
Bonesamples forcarbon and nitrogen isotopeanalysis, and enamel samples for oxygen isotope analysi... more Bonesamples forcarbon and nitrogen isotopeanalysis, and enamel samples for oxygen isotope analysis. were prepared and analysed at the University of Bradford. Strontium isotope data were obtained from tooth enamel samples, which"", ere prepared at the University of Bradford following the method given in Montgomery (2002), and then transferred to the clean laboratory suite at the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Keyworth, NOttinghamshire, for chemical separation and analysis. The strontium data for ...
We undertook a large-scale study of Neolithic and Bronze Age human mobility on Crete using biomol... more We undertook a large-scale study of Neolithic and Bronze Age human mobility on Crete using biomolecular methods (isotope analysis, DNA), with a particular focus on sites dating to the Late Bronze Age (‘Late Minoan’) period. We measured the strontium and sulphur isotope values of animal remains from archaeological sites around the island of Crete to determine the local baseline values. We then measured the strontium and sulphur values of humans from Late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Our results indicate that most of the humans have sulphur and strontium isotope values consistent with being local to Crete, showing no evidence for a wide-scale movement of people from the Greek mainland or other areas away from Crete in these time periods. However, we found four individuals from the late Bronze Age (Late Minoan III) cemetery of Armenoi with sulphur isotope values not typically found in Crete and are instead consistent with an origin elsewhere. This cemetery at Armenoi also has one of...
Port au Choix Site [EeBi-2] vertebrate fauna dataset
Raw data for the Port au Choix Site [EeBi-2] vertebrate fauna dataset obtained from the Neotoma P... more Raw data for the Port au Choix Site [EeBi-2] vertebrate fauna dataset obtained from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database.
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