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The location of Ghazali monastery away from the Nile valley within the relatively isolated environs of the Bayuda desert presents a landscape suggestive of mobility toward the monastery by those who chose to reside there as monks. To assess this potentiality, a sample of 37 individuals from the monastic cemetery (Cemetery 2) were analysed for 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O to assess residency during dental enamel formation. The data generated bring into question the nature of mobility to Ghazali monastery, particularly in regard to the potential movement of people from the Nile valley, adjacent desertic landscapes, and further afield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examines the biological sex and geographical origins of adolescents buried at the St Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, UK). The data are combined with archaeological and palaeopathological evidence to broaden the understanding of mobility and its relationship to leprosy and leprosaria in Medieval England. Materials and Methods: Nineteen individuals (~10–25 at death) with skeletal lesions diagnostic of leprosy were analyzed using standard osteological methods. Amelogenin peptides were extracted from five individuals whose biological sex could not be assessed from macroscopic methods. Enamel samples were analyzed to produce 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O values to explore mobility histories. Results: Amelogenin peptides revealed three males and two females. Tooth enamel samples provided an 87Sr/86Sr ratio range from 0.7084 to 0.7103 (mean 0.7090, ±0.0012, 2σ). δ18OP values show a wide range of 15.6‰–19.3‰ (mean 17.8 ± 1.6‰ 2σ), with corresponding δ18ODW values ranging from −9.7‰ to −4.1‰ (mean −6.3 ± 2.4‰ 2σ). Discussion: Amelogenin peptide data reveal the presence of adolescent females with bone changes of leprosy, making them the youngest confirmed females with leprosy in the archaeological record. Results also show at least 12 adolescents were local, and seven were from further afield, including outside Britain. Since St. Mary Magdalen was a leprosarium, it is possible that these people traveled there specifically for care. Archaeological and palaeopathological data support the notion that care was provided at this facility and that leprosy stigma, as we understand it today, may not have existed in this time and place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen (δ18Ocarbonate), strontium (87Sr/86Sr), and previously unpublished carbon (δ13Ccarbonate) isotope data presented herein from the Imperial Roman site of Velia (ca. 1st to 2nd c. CE) were obtained from the dental enamel of human permanent second molars (M2). In total, the permanent M2s of 20 individuals (10 male and 10 female) were sampled at the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome (formerly the Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico “L. Pigorini”) and were subsequently processed and analysed at McMaster University. A subsample of teeth (n=5) was initially subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis to assess for diagenetic alteration through calculation of crystallinity index (CI) values. Subsequently, tooth enamel was analysed for δ13Ccarbonate and δ18Ocarbonate (VPDB) using a VG OPTIMA Isocarb isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) at McMaster Research for Stable Isotopologues (MRSI), and 87Sr/86Sr was measured by dynamic multi-collection using a thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences. The dental enamel isotope data presented represent the first δ18O, δ13Ccarbonate, and 87Sr/86Sr values analysed from Imperial Roman Campania to date, providing data of use for comparative analyses of δ18O, δ13C, and 87Sr/86Sr values within the region and for assisting in documenting human mobility in archaeological contexts. Full interpretation of the δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr data presented here is provided in “Imperial Roman mobility and migration at Velia (1st to 2nd c. CE) in southern Italy” [1].

Growing interest in bioarchaeology and its ability to address complex questions tied to social and biological identities in the past has led to the development of nuanced methods for evaluating mobility and migration using human skeletal remains. Improving our ability to identify both short- and long-term migration through observations of body modification, analyses of biological distance, and applications of biogeochemical and aDNA techniques has enabled us to move beyond the simple dichotomous classification of past individuals as either local or nonlocal. These approaches have elucidated the complexity of migration processes while also revealing the heterogeneous ways in which individual agents and social groups incorporate, instigate, experience, and adapt to movement. These data have likewise demonstrated the potential of bioarchaeology to reveal broader patterns of social organization, social and ethnic identities, fictive kinship, postmarital residence, gender roles and relations, detailed life courses, responses to climate stress, and pathways of disease transmission. As bioarchaeology continues to contribute to mobility and migration studies, human skeletal data should be further contextualized by the archaeological record and linked to anthropological, archaeological, and bioarchaeological theoretical frameworks as part of more holistic attempts to explain the diversity and dynamics of human movement, interaction, and identity construction among communities in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leprosy is one of the most notorious diseases in history, widely associated with social stigma and exclusion. This study builds on previous work to reevaluate the medicohistorical evidence for social stigma in relation to leprosy. This is achieved by isotopic and palaeopathological analyses of adolescent skeletons (10–25 years old) from the Anglo‐Scandinavian (10th–11th centuries AD) parish cemetery of St. John at the Castle Gate in Norwich (Eastern England/East Anglia). Core enamel samples from premolar and molar teeth from 10 young individuals with diagnostic lesions for leprosy were selected for radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotope analyses. Isotope data did not exclude anyone from the regional range. Palaeopathological data and archaeological contexts suggest that those with visible signs of leprosy were buried with their local community and in a normative manner, thus challenging the notion of social exclusion experienced by people with leprosy throughout the Medieval Period. This study underscores the importance of bioarchaeological data in challenging broad medicohistorical and archaeological narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of dental caries on the deciduous dentition can be a source of information about changes in diet, which can be correlated with the time of eruption of the deciduous and permanent teeth. In this respect, the moment of transition from the maternal diet (mother's milk) to solid food is particularly interesting. The aim of this study was to assess changes in the diet of children who inhabited Radom, Poland, in the late Medieval/early Modern (LMP, 14th–17th c.) and Modern (MP, 18th–19th c.) periods by applying odontological and physicochemical methods. We analyzed the dental remains of 104 nonadult individuals (1.0–2.5 years, 3.0–5.5 years, and 6.0–8.0 years), with a total of 1044 deciduous and 108 permanent teeth. The concentration of stable δ15N isotopes in collagen isolated from the femur bones was assessed in 63 individuals (27 children, 36 adults). The diagnosis of dental caries was carried out through visual, radiographic, and fluorescent techniques. Dental caries were recorded in 30% (68/224) of the deciduous teeth in the LMP and 39% (321/820) of the deciduous teeth in the MP. Dental caries were found more often in the two earliest age groups of children in the MP than in the LMP. Early childhood caries (ECC) were diagnosed in 18% of the deciduous dentition of children from the MP. Isotopic analyses showed that the start of weaning occurred in the MP group almost 4 months earlier than in the LMP group (1.1 years in LMP vs. 0.7 years in MP). The final weaning of children from maternal milk in the LMP group took place at 2.5 years of age, whereas in the MP group it took place at 3.2 years of age. The study shows that the period of feeding children exclusively with the mother's milk in the MP was shorter. This means a faster introduction of solid food products to the diet. This could explain the increase in dental caries in primary teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess changes in the diet of individuals from Radom (Poland) by applying odontological and physicochemical methods. We evaluated the intensity of dental caries and quality of diet through isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N). Three consecutive time periods were selected: the early Medieval (EMP, 11th to 12th c.), late Medieval/early Modern (LMP, 14th to 17th c.) and Modern (MP, 18th to19th c.) periods. The dental remains of 247 adult individuals comprising a total of 3,850 permanent teeth were analysed. The intensity of dental caries increased in subsequent historical periods (EMP 38%, LMP 47% and MP 47%). The lowest proportion of terrestrial C3 diet was noted in the oldest EMP population. The LMP and MP were similar in terms of the type of diet. The proportion of the terrestrial C3 component of the diet was 82% and 79% for LMP and MP, respectively. It can be supposed that the EMP population had such a varied diet that cariogenic products (e.g., cereals) were not the basic source of food, thus slowing down the development of dental caries. Later, there was a clear increase in the cariogenic factor(s) between the EMP and LMP, and this may have been related to the intensification of agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasing globalisation and ongoing introduction of alien species specifically regarding European freshwater ecosystems, native and already present alien species will be confronted with competitors with unknown outcomes. One such case is the situation of the European catfish Silurus glanis introduced in the Arno River (Central Italy), a species sought after by anglers, which is facing competition from the later introduced alien North American channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Large catfish species are highly valued among anglers, but their interspecific interactions and potential ecosystem‐level impacts are still poorly known. We used stomach contents and stable isotope analyses to study niche partitioning between these two alien catfish species, coexisting in the Arno River. The results suggest partial niche segregation, with immature S. glanis showing a narrower dietary and isotopic niche and a slightly higher trophic position than I. punctatus. Monitoring the catfish population sizes, trophic niches and effects on lower trophic levels are essential for future management and mitigation of their potential impacts on invaded freshwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a previously unidentified paleoenvironmental record found in sand dunes of the Atacama Desert, Chile. Long-term aeolian deflation by prevailing onshore winds has resulted in the deposition of sand on the irregular surface of a Miocene-aged anhydrite outcrop. Two deposits ~25 km apart, along the prevailing wind trajectory, were hand excavated then analyzed for vertical (and temporal) changes in physical and chemical composition. Radiocarbon ages of organic matter embedded within the deposits show that rapid accumulation of sediment began at the last glacial maximum and slowed considerably after the Pacific Ocean attained its present post-glacial level. Over this time period, grain sizes are seen to increase while accumulation rates simultaneously decrease, suggesting greater wind speeds and/or a change or decrease in sediment supply. Changes in δ34S values of sulfate in the sediment beginning ~10 ka indicate an increase in marine sources. Similarly, δ2H values from palmitic acid show a steady increase at ~10 ka, likely resulting from aridification of the region during the Holocene. Due to the extreme aridity in the region, these sand dunes retain a well-preserved chemical record that reflects changes in elevation and coastal proximity after the last glacial maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Datings of sheep and dog bone samples from a so-called 'Sámi circular offering site' at Bealjalgnai in Karasjok Municipality, Finnmark, Norway, show that they were deposited in the Middle Ages. They are among the earliest dated bones from such structures, and the sheep is the oldest known example from this part of inland Finnmark. Isotope analyses show that the dog lived primarily on aquatic foodstuffs, with a substantial marine intake. The sheep's nitrogen and carbon values indicate that it had eaten protein from animals quite high up in the food chain, mainly from freshwater and terrestrial sources, though with a certain intake of marine fodder as well. Two methods were employed to establish the amount of different nutrients eaten by these individuals and the potential marine and freshwater reservoir effects on their datings. Despite several potential sources of error, the results raise intriguing questions about mobility patterns and husbandry among medieval inland North Sámi groups. The cultural historical context of the finds is discussed, suggesting some possible scenarios that may have led to the surprising isotope analysis results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioarchaeological investigations at Actun Uayazba Kab (AUK), in west-central Belize, sought to characterize the nature of the site’s mortuary use by reconstructing aspects of social identity. Skeletal analyses provided data related to the age, sex, health, diet, and geographic origins of individuals buried within the rockshelter-like entrance to AUK. Changes in the site’s ritual use were contextualized with current archaeological data from the surrounding region, demonstrating that burial activity was initiated in the Late Preclassic and was likely by a local kin group. Cessation of primary burial sometime around the 3 rd century AD generally coincides with the construction of monumental civic-ceremonial architecture in the area, after which activity at the site appears to have shifted to rituals pertaining to the propitiation of rain. While small cave and rockshelter sites typically receive little research attention in Mesoamerica, the data from AUK illustrate how ritual activities at small, non-elite sites are indeed dynamic and can inform broader models of social and political organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective mitigation of the risks posed by environmental contaminants for ecosystem integrity and human health requires knowing their sources and spatio-temporal distribution. We analysed the exposure to lead (Pb) in griffon vulture Gyps fulvus-an apex species valuable as biomonitoring sentinel. We determined vultures' lead exposure and its main sources by combining isotope signatures and modelling analyses of 691 bird blood samples collected over 5 years. We made yearlong spatially explicit predictions of the species risk of lead exposure. Our results highlight elevated lead exposure of griffon vultures (i.e. 44.9% of the studied population, approximately 15% of the European, showed lead blood levels more than 200 ng ml21) partly owing to environmental lead (e.g. geological sources). These exposures to environmental lead of geological sources increased in those vultures exposed to point sources (e.g. lead-based ammunition). These spatial models and pollutant risk maps are powerful tools that identify areas of wildlife exposure to potentially harmful sources of lead that could affect ecosystem and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variations of environmental conditions (T °C, pH, δ13C, δ18O, Mg/Ca, and Sr/Ca) for two ostracod species (Psychrodromus olivaceus, Potamocypris similis) were analyzed and compared to identify the controls of environmental parameters on the chemical and isotopic composition of their valves. The specimens were collected from Karapınar Spring (Bolu, Turkey) between October 2009 and November 2010. The species were observed throughout the year. Psychrodromus olivaceus showed relatively constant Mg/Ca ratios during the study period, whereas those of P. similis showed more variability. The ratio was also significantly different (P < 0.05) between the two species. We did not find significant correlation between water temperature and either of the species' Mg/Ca ratios. The stable isotope record for P. similis was very patchy, showing a small range of values consistent with the groundwater source, similar to the behavior of Sr/Ca. The Sr/Ca ratio displayed little variation throughout the year, suggesting hydrochemical stability over time, most likely in response to the groundwater source. The stable isotope data displayed pronounced variability for P. similis but little for P. olivaceus, suggesting that the former may be responding to seasonality, whereas the latter responds to groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium oxalate patinas have been sampled on architectural elements of two ancient churches located on Torcello Island (Venetian Lagoon) and subsequently analyzed. The site had been selected presenting patinas of exceptional amount and thickness, elsewhere generally found as thin alteration layers covering stone surfaces or within black crusts on monuments in urban environments. Optical and mineralogical analyses suggest that these patinas are not the result of a simple deposition process, but originate as surface “transformations” of the substrate, and are mainly composed of dihydrate calcium oxalate (weddellite) and gypsum. Among the experimental techniques, isotope analyses (C and S) have been specifically carried out aiming at achieving a better understanding of their origin and possible causes of formation. The observed carbon isotopic fingerprint reveals in fact a strong biological fractionation recorded in the oxalate patina (δ13C ranging from −22.3‰ to −28.0‰), almost exclusively attributable to C3 pathway photosynthesis processes. Slightly negative sulfur isotope ratio values seem to be inversely correlated with patina exposure to atmospheric agents and pollutants. The results obtained prove that calcium oxalate originates from a biomineralization process induced by lichen colonization in specific environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article we present first information on results of analyses of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) graveyard of Kleinhadersdorf carried out in recent years. First, we briefly present the excavations and main characteristics of the burials. Analyses of C-, N- and Sr- isotopes, executed with- in a large-scale international project, showed that most of the people were born and lived in the area and gathered food nearby. Only three individuals came from a geologically different region, i.e. the gneiss-granite zone of the Bohemian massif. Adzes and some quern stones were also obtained in this area, while flint raw materials and Spondylus shells for ornaments were procured from other regions.

Abstract: In 1986–1987, three human remains were unearthed from macro-unit II of San Bernardino Cave (Berici Hills, Veneto, Italy), a deposit containing a late Mousterian lithic assemblage. The human remains (a distal phalanx, a lower right third molar and a lower right second deciduous incisor) do not show diagnostic morphological features that could be used to determine whether they were from Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens. Despite being of small size, and thus more similar to recent H. sapiens, the specimens were attributed to Neandertals, primarily because they were found in Mousterian layers. We carried out a taxonomic reassessment of the lower right third molar (LRM3; San Bernardino 4) using digital morphometric analysis of the root, ancient DNA analysis, carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses, and direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of dentine collagen. Mitochondrial DNA analysis and root morphology show that the molar belongs to a modern human and not to a Neandertal. Carbon 14 (14C) dating of the molar attributes it to the end of the Middle Ages (1420–1480 cal AD, 2 sigma). Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses suggest that the individual in question had a diet similar to that of Medieval Italians. These results show that the molar, as well as the other two human remains, belong to recent H. sapiens and were introduced in the Mousterian levels post-depositionally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research addresses issue of inter-regional trade for the world''s first colonial trading system, the economic expansion of state societies from southern Mesopotamia into southwest Iran and southeast Anatolia, through the use of stable carbon and deuterium isotope analyses of bitumen artifacts. The key goal of the project was to get beyond simply the identification of trade (Schwartz, M., Hollander, D., Stein, G., 1999. Paléorient 25 (1), 67–82) and examine broad regional patterns in the exchange system. To this end, the methodological approach of this research was focused on the reconstruction of general exchange patterns using a large sample set. The results of these analyses suggest the utility of bulk isotopic analyses in the identification of broad regional patterns, serving as a complement to detailed isotopic and molecular work on asphaltene extractions of bitumen (Connan, J., Nishiaki, Y., 2003. Vol. II: Chalcolithic Technology and Subsistence. The University Museum – The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, pp. 283–306). Some of the data indicate changes in the organization of trade at the site of Hacinebi in southeast Turkey and suggest large economic changes in Anatolia associated with the Uruk expansion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Benthic Ostracoda were recovered from 19 box core samples collected during the cruise SO 136 of the German R/V SONNE in the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean (SW Pacific sector). The detailed taxonomic study of more than 10.000 specimens recovered from eleven box-corer samples from circumpolar deep water of the Emerald Basin (Southern Ocean) and the S Tasman Rise (Tasman Sea) led to the recognition of 34 genera and 63 species, of which 9 new to science. Additionally, ten key cosmopolitan and endemic taxa were re-studied and re-illustrated from type material from the Natural History Museum (London), the Utrecht Micropaleontological Collection, the Senckenberg Museum (Frankfurt) and the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). Oxygen and carbon isotopic values were measured on specimens from 17 samples from the Campbell Plateau and the S Tasman Rise. In particular, four podocopid ostracod genera were analysed: the in-faunal Krithe and die epifaunal Fallacihowella, Poseidonamicus and Bradleya. The stable isotopes proxies provided useful indications about the microhabitats, the diets and the temperature sensitivity of each tax-on. Additionally, different calcification rates and different microhabitats were claimed to explain the different isotopic signature of adults and juveniles of Krithe. Statistical analyses were performed on the relative abundance in percentages of 73 species identified in 19 sediment samples. Both species (R-mode) and samples (Q-mode) were grouped by cluster analyses and detrended correspondence analyses (DCA) using the software package PAST (ver. 0.94). Q-mode cluster analyses partially supported the observations made by previous authors that the ostracod specific thresholds are controlled by the water mass characteristics. Q- and R-mode detrended correspondence analyses, on the contrary, indicated that distribution patterns must be driven by factors other than the water mass characteristics. Seven assemblages are recognised and the characteristic or most abundant species are discussed for their ecological demands. Bottom topography, sediment type, CaC0 content, and flux of organic carbon interplay with the water mass characteristics creating a complex network of ecological gradients. Within each of the identified assemblages the species specific thresholds are not identical and often the range of the ecological gradients of the most abundant species do not include that of the characteristic species. Most likely, dynamics of co-occurring species take place which could involve Ostracoda and other benthic animals belonging to the same trophic groupings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]