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Michael P Richards - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a palaeomobility study of the multi period site of sigatoka fiji using Strontium Isotope analysis
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018Co-Authors: Christina Cheung, Michael P Richards, David V Burley, Brianne PhaffAbstract:Abstract One of the most important archaeological sites in Fiji is located in the Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park, on the southwest coast of Viti Levu. Numerous excavation projects at Sigatoka since the 1960s have revealed multiple episodes of human occupation, including burials, and a well-defined cemetery complex. This paper uses Strontium Isotope analysis of human remains from Sigatoka to investigate the residential mobility for 53 individuals from the site. In order to establish the local baseline of bioavailable Strontium around Sigatoka, we have collected and measured the Strontium isotopic compositions of 59 modern environmental samples from 15 localities across the island. Results suggest that the bioavailable Strontium of Viti Levu is derived from a combination of oceanic- (i.e. sea spray) and geological-Strontium, and the relative contribution of each source varies from location to location. This variation allows us to identify individuals from Sigatoka as being from local or non-local contexts, providing additional insight into the Fijian past.
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black pitch carved histories radiocarbon dating wood species identification and Strontium Isotope analysis of prehistoric wood carvings from trinidad s pitch lake
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Joanna Ostapkowicz, Christophe Snoeck, John Pouncett, Philippe Claeys, Nadine Mattielli, Rick Schulting, Fiona Brock, Alex C Wiedenhoeft, Yasmin S Bakshcomeau, Michael P RichardsAbstract:Abstract We report on the results of a multi-disciplinary project (including wood identification, radiocarbon dating and Strontium Isotope analysis) focused on a collection of pre-Columbian wooden carvings and human remains from Pitch Lake, Trinidad. While the lake's unusual conditions are conducive to the survival of organic artefacts, they also present particular challenges for analysis. There is a loss of any contextual association beyond that of the lake, and specific methodologies are required to deal with pitch contamination. A surprising taxonomic range of woods was employed for the various utilitarian and ceremonial items recovered. The 14C results range from ca. 3200 BCE to ca. 700 CE, and include the earliest known wooden carvings in the entire Caribbean. The Strontium Isotope results - interpreted with the aid of an isoscape developed for the project, based on extensive samples of modern trees across Trinidad and Tobago - indicate that most carvings are consistent with the site's immediate environs; however, a ‘weaving tool’ came from a more radiogenic region that is unlikely to be found on Trinidad, suggesting links with the South American mainland.
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Strontium Isotope evidence for migration in late pleistocene rangifer implications for neanderthal hunting strategies at the middle palaeolithic site of jonzac france
Journal of Human Evolution, 2011Co-Authors: Kate Britton, Vaughan Grimes, Jean-jacques Hublin, Laura Niven, Teresa E Steele, Shannon P Mcpherron, Marie Soressi, Tegan Kelly, Jacques Jaubert, Michael P RichardsAbstract:Abstract In order to understand the behaviours and subsistence choices of Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers, it is essential to understand the behavioural ecology of their prey. Here, we present Strontium Isotope data from sequentially-sampled enamel from three reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ssp.) and a single bison ( Bison cf. priscus ) from the late Middle Palaeolithic site of Jonzac (Chez-Pinaud), France. The results are used to investigate the ranging and migratory behaviours of these important prey species. We found that the bison had Isotope values most consistent with a local range, while the three reindeer had values indicating a seasonal migration pattern. Due to the similarity of the patterning of two of the three reindeer and in conjunction with zooarchaeological results, we suggest that they may have been from the same herd, were likely killed around the same point during their seasonal round and may therefore be the product of a single hunting event or a small number of successive hunting events. The Isotope analyses complement the zooarchaeological data and have allowed greater insight into the palaeoecology of these species, the palaeoenvironment, and Neanderthal site use and hunting strategies.
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Strontium Isotope evidence for landscape use by early hominins
Nature, 2011Co-Authors: Sandi R Copeland, Vaughan Grimes, Matt Sponheimer, Darryl J De Ruiter, Julia A Leethorp, Daryl Codron, Petrus Le Roux, Michael P RichardsAbstract:How do you estimate the home ranges and land-use habits of extinct species? One method is to measure the Strontium Isotope content of fossil teeth, because Strontium Isotope ratios are a good indicator of the source of the water that the creature drank during its life. This watermark is determined by the underlying geology. A Strontium-Isotope study of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus specimens from South Africa shows that the smaller individuals, inferred to have been females, ranged further than the males. This suggests that females tended to move away from their natal groups and joined others, whereas males tend to stay at home, a behaviour characteristic of humans and chimpanzees, but not of most gorillas and other primates. Ranging and residence patterns among early hominins have been indirectly inferred from morphology1,2, stone-tool sourcing3, referential models4,5 and phylogenetic models6,7,8. However, the highly uncertain nature of such reconstructions limits our understanding of early hominin ecology, biology, social structure and evolution. We investigated landscape use in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus from the Sterkfontein and Swartkrans cave sites in South Africa using Strontium Isotope analysis, a method that can help to identify the geological substrate on which an animal lived during tooth mineralization. Here we show that a higher proportion of small hominins than large hominins had non-local Strontium Isotope compositions. Given the relatively high levels of sexual dimorphism in early hominins, the smaller teeth are likely to represent female individuals, thus indicating that females were more likely than males to disperse from their natal groups. This is similar to the dispersal pattern found in chimpanzees9, bonobos10 and many human groups11, but dissimilar from that of most gorillas and other primates12. The small proportion of demonstrably non-local large hominin individuals could indicate that male australopiths had relatively small home ranges, or that they preferred dolomitic landscapes.
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Strontium Isotope evidence of neanderthal mobility at the site of lakonis greece using laser ablation pimms
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2008Co-Authors: Michael P Richards, Vaughan Grimes, Katerina Harvati, Panagiotis Karkanas, Jean-jacques Hublin, Colin I Smith, Tanya M Smith, Eleni PanagopoulouAbstract:We report here direct evidence for Neanderthal mobility through the measurement of Strontium Isotope ratios in tooth enamel using laser-ablation, which allows us to use much smaller samples than traditional methods. There has been a long-standing debate over the extent of Neanderthal mobility, with some arguing for Neanderthals having a very limited geographic range and others for more substantial, and even seasonal, lifetime movements. We sampled across the enamel of a Neanderthal third molar from the site of Lakonis, Greece, dating to ca. 40,000 years ago. The tooth was found in a coastal limestone cave, yet the Strontium Isotope values indicate the enamel was formed while the individual resided in a region with bedrock consisting of older (more radiogenic) volcanic bedrock. Therefore, this individual must have lived in a different (more radiogenic) location during this period of third molar crown formation (likely to be between the ages of 7 and 9 years) than where the tooth was found. This Strontium Isotope evidence therefore indicates that this Neanderthal moved over a relatively wide (i.e. at least 20 km) geographical range in their lifetime.
Malte Willmes - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Bioavailable Soil and Rock Strontium Isotope Data from Israel
Earth System Science Data Discussions, 2020Co-Authors: Ian Moffat, Rachel Rudd, Malte Willmes, Graham Mortimer, Les Kinsley, Linda Mcmorrow, Richard Armstrong, Maxime Aubert, Rainer GrünAbstract:Abstract. Strontium Isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of biogenic carbonates such as bones and teeth reflect the local sources of Strontium ingested as food and drink during their formation. This has led to the use of Strontium Isotope ratios as a geochemical tracer in a wide range of fields including archaeology, ecology, food studies and forensic sciences. In order to utilise Strontium as a geochemical tracer, baseline data of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in the region of interest is required, and a growing number of studies have developed reference maps for this purpose in various geographic regions, and over varying scales. This study presents a new data set of bioavailable Strontium Isotope ratios across Israel, from rock and soil samples. This data set may be viewed and accessed both in an Open Science Framework repository (doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/XKJ5Y (Moffat et al., 2020)) or via the IRHUM (Isotopic Reconstruction of Human Migration) database (Willmes et al. 2014).
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rocks teeth and tools new insights into early neanderthal mobility strategies in south eastern france from lithic reconstructions and Strontium Isotope analysis
PLOS ONE, 2019Co-Authors: Mariehelene Moncel, Malte Willmes, Hannah F James, Paul Fernandes, Rainer GrünAbstract:Neanderthals had complex land use patterns, adapting to diversified landscapes and climates. Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in reconstructing the chronology, land use and subsistence patterns, and occupation types of sites in the Rhone Valley, southeast France. In this study, Neanderthal mobility at the site of Payre is investigated by combining information from lithic procurement analysis (“chaine evolutive” and “chaine operatoire” concepts) and Strontium Isotope analysis of teeth (childhood foraging area), from two units (F and G). Both units date to the transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 to MIS 7, and show similar environmental conditions, but represent contrasting occupation durations. Level Gb (unit G) represents a long-term year-round use, in contrast to short-term seasonal use of the cave in level Fb (unit F). For both levels, lithic material and food were generally collected from a local to semi-local region. However, in level Gb, lithic materials were mainly collected from colluviums and food collected in the valley, whereas in level Fb, lithic procurement focused primarily on alluvial deposits and food was collected from higher elevation plateaus. These procurement or exchange patterns might be related to flint availability, knapping advantages of alluvial flint or occupation duration. The site of Payre is located in a flint rich circulation corridor and the movement of groups or exchanges between groups were organized along a north-south axis on the plateaus or towards the east following the river. The ridges were widely used as they are rich in flint, whereas the Rhone Valley is not an important source of lithic raw materials. Compared to other western European Middle Palaeolithic sites, these results indicate that procurement strategies have a moderate link with occupation types and duration, and with lithic technology. The Sr Isotope ratios broadly match the proposed foraging areas, with the Rhone Valley being predominantly used in unit G and the ridges and limestone plateaus in unit F. While lithic reconstructions and childhood foraging are not directly related this suggests that the three analysed Neanderthals spend their childhood in the same general area and supports the idea of mobile Neanderthals in the Rhone Valley and neighbouring higher elevation plateaus. The combination of reconstructing lithic raw material sources, provisioning strategies, and Strontium Isotope analyses provides new details on how Neanderthals at Payre practised land use and mobility in the Early Middle Palaeolithic.
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mapping of bioavailable Strontium Isotope ratios in france for archaeological provenance studies
Applied Geochemistry, 2018Co-Authors: Ian Moffat, Malte Willmes, Les Kinsley, Linda Mcmorrow, Richard Armstrong, Clement P Bataille, Hannah F James, Stephen EgginsAbstract:Abstract Strontium Isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of archaeological samples (teeth and bones) can be used to track mobility and migration across geologically distinct landscapes. However, traditional interpolation algorithms and classification approaches used to generate Sr isoscapes are often limited in predicting multiscale 87Sr/86Sr patterning. Here we investigate the suitability of plant samples and soil leachates from the IRHUM database ( www.irhumdatabase.com ) to create a bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr map using a novel geostatistical framework. First, we generated an 87Sr/86Sr map by classifying 87Sr/86Sr values into five geologically-representative Isotope groups using cluster analysis. The Isotope groups were then used as a covariate in kriging to integrate prior geological knowledge of Sr cycling with the information contained in the bioavailable dataset and enhance 87Sr/86Sr predictions. Our approach couples the strengths of classification and geostatistical methods to generate more accurate 87Sr/86Sr predictions (Root Mean Squared Error = 0.0029) with an estimate of spatial uncertainty based on lithology and sample density. This bioavailable Sr isoscape is applicable for provenance studies in France, and the method is transferable to other areas with high sampling density. While our method is a step forward in generating accurate 87Sr/86Sr isoscapes, the remaining uncertainty also demonstrates that fine-modelling of 87Sr/86Sr variability is challenging and requires more than geological maps for accurately predicting 87Sr/86Sr variations across the landscape. Future efforts should focus on increasing sampling density and developing predictive models to further quantify and predict the processes that lead to 87Sr/86Sr variability.
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improvement of laser ablation in situ micro analysis to identify diagenetic alteration and measure Strontium Isotope ratios in fossil human teeth
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2016Co-Authors: Malte Willmes, Les Kinsley, Richard Armstrong, Maxime Aubert, Stephen Eggins, Mariehelene Moncel, Rainer GrünAbstract:Abstract Strontium Isotope ratios measured in fossil human teeth are a powerful tool to investigate past mobility patterns. In order to apply this method, the sample needs to be investigated for possible diagenetic alteration and a least destructive analytical technique needs to be employed for the isotopic analysis. We tested the useability of U, Th, and Zn distribution maps to identify zones of diagenetic overprint in human teeth. Areas with elevated U concentrations in enamel were directly associated with diagenetic alterations in the Sr isotopic composition. Once suitable domains within the tooth are identified, Strontium Isotope ratios can be determined either with micro-drilling followed by TIMS analysis or in situ LA-MC-ICP-MS. Obtaining accurate 87Sr/86Sr Isotope ratios from LA-MC-ICP-MS is complicated by the potential occurrence of a significant direct interference on mass 87 from a polyatomic compound. We found that this polyatomic compound is present in our analytical setup but is Ar rather than Ca based, as was previously suggested. The effect of this interference can be significantly reduced by tuning the instrument for reduced oxide levels. We applied this improved analytical protocol to a range of human and animal teeth and compared the results with micro-drilling Strontium isotopic analysis using TIMS. Tuning for reduced oxide levels allowed the measurement of accurate Strontium Isotope ratios from human and animal tooth enamel and dentine, even at low Sr concentrations. The average offset between laser ablation and solution analysis using the improved analytical protocol is 38 ± 394 ppm (n = 21, 2σ). LA-MC-ICP-MS thus provides a powerful alternative to micro-drilling TIMS for the analysis of fossil human teeth. This method can be used to untangle diagenetic overprint from the intra-tooth isotopic variability, which results from genuine changes in 87Sr/86Sr Isotope ratios related to changes in food source, and by extension mobility.
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Strontium Isotope tracing of prehistoric human mobility in France
2015Co-Authors: Malte WillmesAbstract:Human mobility in recent history is well documented and often related to drastic external changes, including war, famine, and the discovery and exploration of new geographic regions and resources. Reconstruction of mobility patterns in prehistory is thus a crucial part of understanding the forces that drove our ancestors, but it is complicated by the fact that the archaeological evidence becomes scarce as we go back in time. The application of stable Isotopes in archaeological research has revolutionised palaeomobility studies by providing independent data, which can be used to evaluate models of migration, trade, and cultural change. This research project explores the use of Strontium Isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) to trace prehistoric human mobility patterns. Strontium Isotope ratios vary across the landscape based on the age and composition of the underlying geology. Through diet humans incorporate Strontium into their skeletal tissues such as bones and teeth. Teeth form during childhood and are resistant to weathering and geochemical alteration, often preserving the original Isotope values. By comparing the Strontium Isotope ratios in teeth to the variations of Strontium Isotopes in the landscape it becomes possible to investigate mobility across geologically different areas between childhood and death. This study establishes the Isotopic Reconstruction of Human Migration (IRHUM) reference database and provides the first dataset of 87Sr/86Sr Isotope ratios of plant and soil samples, covering all major geologic units of France. This provides a new powerful tool for the archaeological science community as it allows the mapping of the variations of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr Isotope across the landscape. Utilizing this dataset, a bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr Isotope map for archaeological provenance studies in France is created. For the application of this method to human fossil teeth new analytical methods to detect diagenetic overprint were tested. These now allow for rapid scanning to investigate the suitability of samples, minimising the damage to fossil remains. Least destructive analytical techniques for Strontium Isotope analysis, such as micro drilling thermal ionisation mass spectrometry and in situ laser-ablation MC-ICPMS, were further developed and applied to a range of materials of known composition, including shark and dugong teeth, modern and archaeological fauna samples, and fossil and modern human teeth. Finally, Strontium Isotope tracing was applied to three key archaeological sites in France, including the Neanderthal sites of Moula-Guercy, and the Neolithic sites of Le Tumulus des Sables and La Grotte des Perrats. Strontium Isotope tracing proved to be a valuable technique and in combination with additional strings of evidence from archaeological material and other isotopic tracers, such as oxygen, improved our understanding of prehistoric human mobility at these sites. By covering different geographic locations and different time periods this study tests geochemical…
Vaughan Grimes - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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spatial variation in bioavailable Strontium Isotope ratios 87sr 86sr in kenya and northern tanzania implications for ecology paleoanthropology and archaeology
Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 2020Co-Authors: Sandi R Copeland, Anneke Janzen, Clement P Bataille, Rhonda L Quinn, Stanley H Ambrose, Denne N Reed, Marian Hamilton, Vaughan GrimesAbstract:Abstract Eastern Africa is a key region for studying archaeological, palaeontological, and ecological movements. This region hosts critical developments in hominin and human evolution, the dispersal of food-producing populations across the continent, and some of the largest known contemporary mammalian migrations on the planet. Strontium Isotope analysis of biominerals such as tooth enamel, eggshell, and other tissues in modern animals have been used to reconstruct migration, residential mobility, and provenience. The diverse geologies of Kenya and Tanzania, ranging from the Archaean Basement System rocks of the Tanzanian Craton to the recent volcanics of rift valleys, make it a highly promising area for mobility and provenience studies using Strontium Isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr). Nevertheless, the application of Strontium Isotope analysis to reconstruct migration and individual mobility has been limited in the region due to the lack of a map predicting biologically available (bioavailable) 87Sr/86Sr. We present bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr data from a variety of modern and archaeological materials throughout Kenya and northern Tanzania. We show that 87Sr/86Sr of living organisms in the study area range from as low as 0.70439 for samples collected from Neogene volcanics to 0.72796 for samples collected from Precambrian Basement System rocks. We also present an 87Sr/86Sr map (isoscape) of Kenya and Tanzania developed using a machine-learning framework and a compilation of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr data from Africa. This map provides the first predictions of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr for East Africa, and represents a crucial resource for future work on ancient and modern animal and human mobility.
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Strontium Isotope evidence for migration in late pleistocene rangifer implications for neanderthal hunting strategies at the middle palaeolithic site of jonzac france
Journal of Human Evolution, 2011Co-Authors: Kate Britton, Vaughan Grimes, Jean-jacques Hublin, Laura Niven, Teresa E Steele, Shannon P Mcpherron, Marie Soressi, Tegan Kelly, Jacques Jaubert, Michael P RichardsAbstract:Abstract In order to understand the behaviours and subsistence choices of Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers, it is essential to understand the behavioural ecology of their prey. Here, we present Strontium Isotope data from sequentially-sampled enamel from three reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ssp.) and a single bison ( Bison cf. priscus ) from the late Middle Palaeolithic site of Jonzac (Chez-Pinaud), France. The results are used to investigate the ranging and migratory behaviours of these important prey species. We found that the bison had Isotope values most consistent with a local range, while the three reindeer had values indicating a seasonal migration pattern. Due to the similarity of the patterning of two of the three reindeer and in conjunction with zooarchaeological results, we suggest that they may have been from the same herd, were likely killed around the same point during their seasonal round and may therefore be the product of a single hunting event or a small number of successive hunting events. The Isotope analyses complement the zooarchaeological data and have allowed greater insight into the palaeoecology of these species, the palaeoenvironment, and Neanderthal site use and hunting strategies.
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Strontium Isotope evidence for landscape use by early hominins
Nature, 2011Co-Authors: Sandi R Copeland, Vaughan Grimes, Matt Sponheimer, Darryl J De Ruiter, Julia A Leethorp, Daryl Codron, Petrus Le Roux, Michael P RichardsAbstract:How do you estimate the home ranges and land-use habits of extinct species? One method is to measure the Strontium Isotope content of fossil teeth, because Strontium Isotope ratios are a good indicator of the source of the water that the creature drank during its life. This watermark is determined by the underlying geology. A Strontium-Isotope study of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus specimens from South Africa shows that the smaller individuals, inferred to have been females, ranged further than the males. This suggests that females tended to move away from their natal groups and joined others, whereas males tend to stay at home, a behaviour characteristic of humans and chimpanzees, but not of most gorillas and other primates. Ranging and residence patterns among early hominins have been indirectly inferred from morphology1,2, stone-tool sourcing3, referential models4,5 and phylogenetic models6,7,8. However, the highly uncertain nature of such reconstructions limits our understanding of early hominin ecology, biology, social structure and evolution. We investigated landscape use in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus from the Sterkfontein and Swartkrans cave sites in South Africa using Strontium Isotope analysis, a method that can help to identify the geological substrate on which an animal lived during tooth mineralization. Here we show that a higher proportion of small hominins than large hominins had non-local Strontium Isotope compositions. Given the relatively high levels of sexual dimorphism in early hominins, the smaller teeth are likely to represent female individuals, thus indicating that females were more likely than males to disperse from their natal groups. This is similar to the dispersal pattern found in chimpanzees9, bonobos10 and many human groups11, but dissimilar from that of most gorillas and other primates12. The small proportion of demonstrably non-local large hominin individuals could indicate that male australopiths had relatively small home ranges, or that they preferred dolomitic landscapes.
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Strontium Isotope evidence of neanderthal mobility at the site of lakonis greece using laser ablation pimms
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2008Co-Authors: Michael P Richards, Vaughan Grimes, Katerina Harvati, Panagiotis Karkanas, Jean-jacques Hublin, Colin I Smith, Tanya M Smith, Eleni PanagopoulouAbstract:We report here direct evidence for Neanderthal mobility through the measurement of Strontium Isotope ratios in tooth enamel using laser-ablation, which allows us to use much smaller samples than traditional methods. There has been a long-standing debate over the extent of Neanderthal mobility, with some arguing for Neanderthals having a very limited geographic range and others for more substantial, and even seasonal, lifetime movements. We sampled across the enamel of a Neanderthal third molar from the site of Lakonis, Greece, dating to ca. 40,000 years ago. The tooth was found in a coastal limestone cave, yet the Strontium Isotope values indicate the enamel was formed while the individual resided in a region with bedrock consisting of older (more radiogenic) volcanic bedrock. Therefore, this individual must have lived in a different (more radiogenic) location during this period of third molar crown formation (likely to be between the ages of 7 and 9 years) than where the tooth was found. This Strontium Isotope evidence therefore indicates that this Neanderthal moved over a relatively wide (i.e. at least 20 km) geographical range in their lifetime.
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Strontium Isotope evidence of Neanderthal mobility at the site of Lakonis, Greece using laser-ablation PIMMS
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2008Co-Authors: Michael Richards, Vaughan Grimes, Tanya Smith, Katerina Harvati, Colin Smith, Panagiotis Karkanas, Jean-jacques Hublin, Eleni PanagopoulouAbstract:We report here direct evidence for Neanderthal mobility through the measurement of Strontium Isotope ratios in tooth enamel using laser-ablation, which allows us to use much smaller samples than traditional methods. There has been a long-standing debate over the extent of Neanderthal mobility, with some arguing for Neanderthals having a very limited geographic range and others for more substantial, and even seasonal, lifetime movements. We sampled across the enamel of a Neanderthal third molar from the site of Lakonis, Greece, dating to ca. 40,000 years ago. The tooth was found in a coastal limestone cave, yet the Strontium Isotope values indicate the enamel was formed while the individual resided in a region with bedrock consisting of older (more radiogenic) volcanic bedrock. Therefore, this individual must have lived in a different (more radiogenic) location during this period of third molar crown formation (likely to be between the ages of 7 and 9 years) than where the tooth was found. This Strontium Isotope evidence therefore indicates that this Neanderthal moved over a relatively wide (i.e. at least 20 km) geographical range in their lifetime. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Douglas T Price - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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who was in harold bluetooth s army Strontium Isotope investigation of the cemetery at the viking age fortress at trelleborg denmark
Antiquity, 2011Co-Authors: Douglas T Price, Karin Margarita Frei, Niels Lynnerup, Andres Siegfried Dobat, Pia BennikeAbstract:The circular fortress of Trelleborg on Zealand in Denmark is well known as a military camp with a key role in the formation of the Danish state under Harald Bluetooth in the tenth century AD. Taking a sample of 48 burials from the fort, Strontium Isotope analysis once again demonstrates its ability to eavesdrop on a community: at Trelleborg, the young men in its cemetery were largely recruited from outside Denmark, perhaps from Norway or the Slavic regions. Even persons buried together proved to have different origins, and the three females sampled were all from overseas, including a wealthy woman with a silver casket. Trelleborg, home of Harald Bluetooth's army, was a fortress of foreigners with vivid implications for the nature of his political mission.
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immigration and the ancient city of teotihuacan in mexico a study using Strontium Isotope ratios in human bone and teeth
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2000Co-Authors: Douglas T Price, Linda Manzanilla, William D MiddletonAbstract:Abstract Teotihuacan, in highland Mexico, is the earliest and largest prehispanic city in the New World, occupied primarily between ad 1 and ad 650. There are many distinctive areas within the city limits, including major ceremonial precincts, large pyramids and temples, residential areas, exchange sectors, thousands of residential compounds, and tunnels under the northern half of the city. Some of these residential compounds contain non-local architecture, artefacts, and burial arrangements known from areas on the Gulf Coast and in Oaxaca. The identity of the residents of these “foreign” compounds is uncertain. Were these local individuals adopting foreign customs, recent immigrants to the city, or a mix of locals and outsiders? After the fall of Teotihuacan, people with Coyotlatelco culture came to the city and contributed to its extensive looting. Some scholars have proposed a northern or western origin for these groups. We have measured the Strontium Isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) in human bone and tooth enamel from individuals buried in various areas of the city for information on their original place of birth. Strontium Isotope ratios are signatures for local geologies. Strontium in human bone and tooth enamel comes from the food growing in local geologies. Strontium Isotope ratios in human bone reflect the source of a diet around the time of death; ratios in tooth enamel reflect the source of the diet around the time of birth. Differences between enamel and bone ratios in the same individual indicate differences in local geologies and thus a change in residence. Our study indicates that a number of the individuals were born outside the city. Comparison with other isotopic methods for assessing residential change is also made.
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reconstruction of migration patterns in the bell beaker period by stable Strontium Isotope analysis
Applied Geochemistry, 1994Co-Authors: Douglas T Price, Gisela Grupe, Peter SchroterAbstract:Abstract This paper presents the results of a pilot study concerning residential patterns in the Bell Beaker period in the Bavarian area. Under the assumption that stable Strontium Isotope ratios in mineralized tissue reflect the geology of the area where the investigated individual had lived, we analysed the87Sr/86Sr ratios in human skeletal remains which had been formed at different ontogenetic periods (compact bone and tooth enamel).87Sr/86Sr Isotope ratios of compact bone from eight healthy adults from two archaeological sites average 0.708461 which is typical for the local geology. Enamel of the first permanent molar of three individuals differed significantly from their bone's isotopic ratio, the largest difference being as high as 0.008120 (52 analyses of NBS-987 Sr standard produced an87Sr/86Sr of 0.719273 ± 0.000011). Since dental enamel is not remodeled after its formation in early childhood whereby the elemental composition of compact bone represents the last few years prior to death, those individuals apparently spent their childhood in a place different from their place of burial.
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residential mobility in the prehistoric southwest united states a preliminary study using Strontium Isotope analysis
Journal of Archaeological Science, 1994Co-Authors: Douglas T Price, Clark M Johnson, Joseph A Ezzo, Jonathan Ericson, James H. BurtonAbstract:Abstract Strontium Isotope ratios and Strontium concentrations in bone and tooth enamel are used to investigate patterns of residential mobility and migration in the late prehistoric (14th century) period in the mountain province of east-central Arizona. This area is of interest because of significant questions concerning the movement of people into and within the region and because of the number of late prehistoric sites with well-studied burial populations. Grasshopper Pueblo is the main focus of analysis, with additional information from the site of Walnut Creek. A pilot Strontium Isotope study of bone and tooth enamel of first molars from the Grasshopper and Walnut Creek regions has demonstrated intriguing variability in Strontium Isotope compositions of human samples and indicates a significant probability of the success of the investigations proposed here. This initial work indicates that there are measurable and meaningful differences between bones and tooth enamel from the same individuals, among individuals from the same site, and between communities in the study area.
Karin Margarita Frei - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A Strontium Isotope pilot study using cremated teeth from the Vollmarshausen cemetery, Hesse, Germany
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020Co-Authors: Nicole Taylor, Karin Margarita Frei, Robert FreiAbstract:Abstract Strontium Isotope research to answer questions regarding mobility and provenance of individuals from archaeological cemeteries has, until very recently, been focused almost entirely on bone and tooth samples from inhumation burials. This study investigates whether cremated tooth enamel, when present, can provide reliable Strontium Isotope ratios despite heat-related alteration and millennia in the soil. We obtained 87Sr/86Sr ratios for 34 enamel and 2 dentine samples from 28 individuals, as well as for 18 soil leachates, from the Urnfield cremation cemetery of Vollmarshausen (State of Hesse, Germany). Our results show that cremated enamel from this site was not subject to contamination from the burial environment. Using our results and comparison with relevant published bioavailable Strontium Isotope baselines, we also show that the individuals from Vollmarshausen were predominantly local to the area around their burial site. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence regarding the applicability of Strontium Isotope analysis to cremated human remains, which given the wide global and temporal spread of this form of burial treatment opens up new possibilities for cremation archaeology.
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Shallow retardation of the Strontium Isotope signal of agricultural liming - implications for isoscapes used in provenance studies
Science of The Total Environment, 2019Co-Authors: Robert Frei, Karin Margarita Frei, Søren JessenAbstract:Abstract An intensified debate centers on the use of Strontium Isotopes in surface water run-off as archive for bioavailable signatures in prehistoric provenance studies. Its use has been challenged by a recent suggestion that modern agricultural liming of farmlands exerts a serious imprint on the Strontium Isotope compositions of these waters. We here present results from a soil profile beneath agricultural farmland in the glaciogenic outwash plain of central West Jutland, Denmark, which show that Strontium and its Isotope composition derived from lime products is efficiently retained near the surface. Pore waters and bioavailable Strontium from the acidic zone below the surface soil depict Strontium Isotope signatures that can best be explained by a mixture of silicate-derived and relic natural (not agriculturally added) carbonate-derived Strontium. We therefore argue that agricultural liming does not contaminate groundwaters and groundwater-supported surface waters, rendering reference maps based on them relevant for modern and past provenance studies.
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Strontium Isotope investigations of the Haraldskær Woman – a complex record of various tissues
ArchéoSciences, 2015Co-Authors: Karin Margarita Frei, T. Douglas Price, Ulla Mannering, Rasmus Birch IversenAbstract:Bog bodies form a unique group of archaeological human remains which offer unparalleled insight into the past. Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies have preserved their skin and other soft tissues through natural tanning processes in the bogs. We present the first comprehensive Strontium Isotope investigation of the Haraldskaer Woman and her garments, dated to the Scandinavian Pre-Roman Iron Age (500-1 BC). Our interdisciplinary research applies new advances in Strontium Isotope tracing protocols enabling us to go a step further in unravelling the life of bog people. Our study reveals long distance travel of the Haraldskaer Woman shortly before her death, leading to new speculations on to why her body ended in the bog.
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Strontium Isotope signals in cremated petrous portions as indicator for childhood origin
PLoS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Lise Harvig, Karin Margarita Frei, T. Douglas Price, Niels LynnerupAbstract:Dental enamel is currently of high informative value in studies concerning childhood origin and human mobility because the Strontium Isotope ratio in human dental enamel is indicative of geographical origin. However, many prehistoric burials involve cremation and although Strontium retains its original biological isotopic composition, even when exposed to very high temperatures, intact dental enamel is rarely preserved in cremated or burned human remains. When preserved, fragments of dental enamel may be difficult to recognize and identify. Finding a substitute material for Strontium Isotope analysis of burned human remains, reflecting childhood values, is hence of high priority. This is the first study comparing Strontium Isotope ratios from cremated and non-cremated petrous portions with enamel as indicator for childhood origin. We show how Strontium Isotope ratios in the otic capsule of the petrous portion of the inner ear are highly correlated with Strontium Isotope ratios in dental enamel from the same individual, whether inhumed or cremated. This implies that Strontium Isotope ratios in the petrous bone, which practically always survives cremation, are indicative of childhood origin for human skeletal remains. Hence, the petrous bone is ideal as a substitute material for Strontium Isotope analysis of burned human remains.
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Exploring the potential of the Strontium Isotope tracing system in Denmark
Danish Journal of Archaeology, 2012Co-Authors: Karin Margarita FreiAbstract:Migration and trade are issues important to the understanding of ancient cultures. There are many ways in which these topics can be investigated. This article provides an overview of a method based on an archaeological scientific methodology developed to address human and animal mobility in prehistory, the so-called Strontium Isotope tracing system. Recently, new research has enabled this methodology to be further developed so as to be able to apply it to archaeological textile remains and thus to address issues of textile trade.In the following section, a brief introduction to Strontium Isotopes in archaeology is presented followed by a state-of-the-art summary of the construction of a baseline to characterize Denmark’s bioavailable Strontium Isotope range. The creation of such baselines is a prerequisite to the application of the Strontium Isotope system for provenance studies, as they define the local range and thus provide the necessary background to potentially identify individuals originating from e...
