Food Equality: Multiproxy Biomolecular Dietary Analysis Shows Unstratified Foodways Among Protohistoric E Baltic Communities

While oxidation products of unsaturated fatty acids, for example dicarboxylic acids (hereafter diacids), must form during the use of unglazed ceramic vessels for the processing of animal and plant products, such components have never been observed during studies of absorbed lipids. Their absence from the extractable lipid fraction is presumed to be the result of their loss from potsherds through groundwater leaching. Lipid oxidation products including short-chain dicarboxylic acids, ω-hydroxy acids and longer-chain hydroxy and dihydroxy acids have now been observed as components probably covalently bound into solvent insoluble residues of potsherds recovered from waterlogged deposits. These components were only revealed following alkaline treatment of the insoluble residues. A similar mixture of diacids was observed in high abundance in the free lipid fraction of vessels recovered from an exceptionally arid deposit where groundwater leaching would never have occurred. These results confirm the formation of oxidation and probable polymerization products of unsaturated fatty acids during vessel use and burial.

Iron Age settlements in the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy, 8th–6th century BC) underwent fundamental transformations in social organization, marked by the emergence of local elites through trade development and intense contacts with the Greek world. This study examines organic residue assemblages from 99 ceramic sherds from one key Iron Age site to clarify the role of locally produced ceramics—both coarse ware containers and Japigian matt-painted vessels—in commensal and beverage production practices. Chromatographic analyses identified a wide variety of animal and plant by-products, including fats, oils, waxes, and resin compounds. Integrated phytolith and starch analysis revealed evidence consistent with fermentation processes, particularly through the identification of fungal remains and damaged starch granules suggesting brewing activities in a subset of vessels. Matt-painted pottery forms—characterized by conical rims, funnel-shaped necks, bowls, and jugs—show distinctive use-alteration patterns and residue profiles associated with fermented beverage consumption and preparation in approximately 26% of the analyzed assemblage. Integrating organic residue analysis, experimental archaeology, and microfossil investigation suggests the central role of locally produced pottery in Iron Age commensal activities and status display, though alternative interpretations for some biomarker profiles cannot be excluded. This multiproxy approach demonstrates functional differentiation and consumption practices, refining interpretations of vessel use and providing new insights into food economies and social life during the Iron Age in southern Italy.

Because they hold information about cultural identity, foodways have been the focus of a variety of disciplines in archaeology. However, each approach documents different stages of culinary preparation and is constrained by the preservation specificities of each type of artefact and ecofact. Difficulties in achieving an interdisciplinary approach may explain the scarcity of such studies. In this paper, we propose a methodology that combines archaeozoological, carpological and microbotanical analysis of ecofacts retrieved in the sediment, with use-alteration, organic residue and microbotanical analysis carried out on pottery vessels, recovered during the excavation of a XXth century archaeological dump site in Lower Casamance (Senegal). The results demonstrate the strength of this multiproxy approach in reconstructing past foodways by characterising the importance of aquatic, terrestrial animals and plant products in the Diola Kassa diet. In addition, this study questions the modalities of food transformation by assessing the preparation techniques of animal and vegetal products (cutting marks, heating processes etc.) and the function of pottery vessels (transport, storage, cooking etc.). Aquatic products and rice were a significant part of the diet of the users of the dump (from archaeozoology, carpology, phytoliths and organic residue analysis) and wet cooking (boiling?), salty and acidic foods seem to have been particularly prevalent (from use-alteration). The absence of specific animal and plant parts in the archaeological record, as well as some pottery function, is also questioned. Beyond gathering the results of each approach, this study focuses on the interweaving of different research methods to depict past foodscape.

Stable Isotope Analysis Reveals Variations in Human Diet at the Poundbury Camp Cemetery Site

ARCHAEOLOGY: USES OF CHROMATOGRAPHY IN

The late Iron Age (150–80 BC) proto-urban site of Basel-Gasfabrik, Switzerland, yielded numerous human skeletal remains, with individuals of all ages and both sexes being found in two cemeteries and in various features of the settlement itself. About 200 inhumations and two cremation burials as well as isolated skulls and bones attest to complex mortuary practices. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of 90 human, 48 faunal, and seven cereal samples provide a rich database for dietary reconstruction. The results point to a diet that was largely based on C3 plants with a limited contribution of herbivore or pig meat and/or dairy products. Divergent isotope ratios can be attributed to the consumption of chicken meat/eggs or seasonally available salmon. Moreover, the contribution of C4 plants, supposedly millet, to human diets is well documented at Basel as well as at other central European Iron Age sites. We found no significant dietary distinctions between males and females. In children, indications for breastfeeding terminate between 1.5 and about 4 years of age, with isotopic differences emerging with regard to the investigated skeletal elements. The stable isotope data from different burial contexts, forms of mortuary practice, and presence or type of funerary objects overlap widely, providing only tentative indications for dietary differentiation within the living population. These findings distinguish Basel-Gasfabrik from other Iron Age sites and call for further integrative studies for deciphering the complex mechanisms behind the highly differentiated mortuary practices in the late Iron Age.

This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary study of the building V 4, 6-8, at Pompeii.The building was previously interpreted as a wine production installation (Brun and Neyme, 2008).Later, it was further investigated by a team from Ca' Foscari University of Venice.Archaeological excavations and further studies revealed that this building underwent a series of changes through time, being gradually converted into a space dedicated to food processing and serving.The organic residue analyses carried out by the University of Barcelona using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) confirm that this building was used for the production of wine.The identification of other residues (compatible with plant oil and animal products) can be related to the re-use of some of the dolia, reinforcing the evidence of different types of food and beverages being sold in the last phase of life of the building, when it appears to have functioned as a caupona.

The Iron Age of Britain was a dynamic period on the cusp of history and prehistory, c. 750 BC to AD 43 (Brown 2009: 4; Cunliffe 2004: 32; Haselgrove et al. 2001). It can be further separated into three phases: Early Iron Age, c. 750 BC to 400 BC; Middle Iron Age, c. 400 BC to 100 BC; and Late Iron Age, c. 100 BC to first century AD (Cunliffe 2004: 32; Brown 2009: 4). The study of violence during this period has had the opposite historical trajectory to most other anthropological studies of violence. Rather than a peaceful egalitarian period, it was initially described as an era of endemic violence. Violence here is defined as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation” (World Health Organization 2012). Enclosed settlements were identified as defensive structures and elaborate weapons were assumed to be tools of war. As post-processual theories developed, sites and weapons were reinterpreted as ritual symbols, effectively pacifying the Iron Age of Britain. This led to a dearth of thorough treatments of violence in the literature (for discussion of these shifts in interpretation see Armit 2007, 2011: 502; James 2007). Recently, however, there has been a growing body of literature addressing the topic of violence and warfare during the Iron Age (e.g. Aldhouse-Green 2004, 2005; Armit 2007, 2011; Craig et al. 2005; Finney 2006; Giles 2008; Redfern 2006, 2008a, 2009). Although multiple lines of evidence exist for studying violence during the Iron Age, thesettlement, architecture and artefact data are often ambiguous. The presence of swords, spears, shields, and slave chains suggest that objects of violence were produced during the Iron Age. However, whether the weapons were used in active combat or remained symbolic representations with complex connotations remains a debate. Some of the weapons found within graves and in votive deposits appear to be highly stylized and, especially with regard to the shields, not functionally sufficient for combat (Fitzpatrick 2007). Due to the often ambiguous nature of the material culture, the skeletal evidence from thisperiod may provide the best way of addressing the subject of violence. When the skeletal data are coupled with mortuary behaviour indicated by the burial context, grave goods, and taphonomic processes, the social/cultural contexts of warfare and violence can be studied. Ultimately, it is the community that decides the role of the combatant or victim and theproper way to deal with their deaths (Vencl 1984: 127). It is the surviving community that buries the dead and creates the burial record unearthed by archaeologists. It is from this perspective that this chapter approaches the topic of Iron Age violence andseeks to contextualize the skeletal evidence through mortuary ritual. By comparing evidence from two distinct regions (East Yorkshire and Hampshire), this work illustrates not only differences in these areas, but also the intriguing similarities. In particular, the analysis of two cemetery contexts (Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire and Suddern Farm, Hampshire) provides a contrast to other types of mortuary context that appear in Hampshire and central southern Britain during this time. When all of the evidence is taken together, it suggests a connection between violence and special burial contexts.

Harbour porpoises and white-beaked dolphins are the most common small cetaceans in the North Sea and Dutch coastal waters. The distribution and relative abundance of harbour porpoises and white-beaked dolphins from the Dutch coastal waters has changed significantly over the past decades. This thesis describes the past and present feeding ecology of these two species in Dutch coastal waters and investigates whether changes in abundance and relative distribution of porpoises reflect changes in their foodbase. For porpoises, three techniques for dietary analyses were combined, including stomach contents-, stable isotope- and fatty acid analysis, providing the most detailed description of their diet in time and space, elucidating differences between their short- and longer term diet. Stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) were carried out in bone and muscle samples collected from porpoises stranded along the Dutch coast. Muscle δ15N values revealed that neonatal enrichment occurred and that larger porpoises, in particular males, seem to feed on lower trophic level species, compared to smaller individuals. Also bone δ15N values show that larger animals had fed on lower trophic levels in distant times. Seasonal variation in bone δ15N and δ13C values revealed two distinct groups of porpoises along the Dutch coast, a winter group (mainly males) that migrated from neighbouring regions and a Dutch subpopulation in summer (Chapter 2). To assess the contribution of prey species to the porpoises' diet, stable isotope analysis in both porpoise muscle and prey were carried out. With the use of a mixing model (Stable Isotope Analysis in R, SIAR), we revealed that 70-83% of the diet of porpoises consisted mainly of poor cod, mackerel, greater sandeel lesser sandeel, sprat and gobies. This highlights a higher importance of pelagic, schooling species in the porpoises' diet compared to stomach contents, where 90.5% of the diet consisted of gobies, whiting, lesser sandeel, herring, cod and sprat. Porpoises thus also feed offshore on pelagic, schooling species, while they feed closer to shore on more benthic and demersal species shortly before they strand. This could be due to the distribution of prey species as well as differences in behaviour of porpoises and their prey between the coastal zone and offshore waters (Chapter 3). The use of Quantitative Fatty Acid Analysis (QFASA) showed that the diet of porpoises consisted mainly of gobies, mackerel, smelt, herring and dragonet, pointing towards profound differences between the diet as estimated by QFASA and as deduced from stomach contents. This study revealed that the longer term diet of porpoises in Dutch coastal waters consists both of coastal species (e.g. gobies, smelt and dragonet) and also pelagic, schooling species (e.g. mackerel and herring). The results also brought to dawn possible methodological problems in using QFASA for porpoise diet estimation, emphasizing the importance of applying different dietary analysis techniques when studying marine mammal diets and the need for controlled feeding experiments in order to improve the interpretation of dietary analysis results (Chapter 5). Besides new insights in the feeding ecology of porpoises, stable isotope analysis also elicited a non-food related conservation ecology issue. Distinct δ13C values in muscle of porpoises stranded in the Eastern Scheldt revealed that these porpoises foraged there for a longer period. This distinct δ13C signature of animals from the Eastern Scheldt was not observed in bone tissue, which suggests a relatively recent shift in habitat use rather than life-long residency of porpoises within the Eastern Scheldt. The high number of strandings within the Eastern Scheldt revealed a higher mortality rate compared to the Dutch coastal zone, indicating that along with other changes in the physical environment, the building of the storm surge barrier may play an important role in determining the residency of porpoises in the Eastern Scheldt, and that the area might act as an ecological trap for porpoises entering it. This is an example of the impact on marine species due to protection structures that emerge and respectively increase worldwide in response to the effects of global warming and climate change. It highlights that even semi-open structures, which are meant to ameliorate habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, may still affect the abundance and distribution of migratory marine mammal species (Chapter 4). The analysis of stomach contents of white-beaked dolphins showed that their diet was dominated by Gadidae. All other prey species combined contributed little to the diet by weight. The two most important prey species based in weight were whiting and cod. In numbers, gobies were most common, but these contributed little to the diet by weight. The overall diet showed a lasting predominance of whiting and cod, without clear changes over time (35 years) or differences between sexes or size-classes of dolphins and revealed that white-beaked dolphins in the south-eastern North Sea are specialist feeders, with a strong preference for whiting and cod (Chapter 6). Stomach contents of juvenile white-beaked dolphins in our study revealed that at the age of about 1.5 years old, they had started feeding on solid food by taking a variety of small fish and invertebrate prey, mostly shrimp and squid. Immatures in our study, estimated to be 2-4 years old, still take small prey, including small gadoids, but also take larger gadoids. Calves apparently gradually learn to eat big fish by taking prey that is much smaller than those normally taken by their mothers. This study illustrates novel techniques for diet estimation to reconstruct sizes of shrimp and whiting from tail flaps and eye lenses, respectively (Chapter 7). Most dietary studies on porpoises and white-beaked dolphins are deduced from stomach contents. This thesis has demonstrated that using indirect methods for studying the feeding ecology of marine mammals is a valuable addition to the more direct approach using stomach contents. It supports the need for multi-method approaches because by using only one technique, key prey species in the predator-prey relation may be missed or underestimated. Future ecological and fishery impact assessment studies and management decisions for the conservation of porpoises and white-beaked dolphins should acknowledge a difference between their long- and short-term diet. Large improvement in the interpretation of the results from diet analyses can be established either by controlled feeding experiments with animals in captivity or by studies that help to understand the common principals in dietary analyses (e.g. digestion rates, turnover rates of tissues, tissue-dependent isotopic fractionation between predator and prey and lipid metabolism within the animal) and variation of these between species.

From 2015 to 2018 the joint research project “BEFIM” conducted interdisciplinary research to achieve a better understanding of the “Meanings and functions of Mediterranean imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe” for which it was supported by a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Within the project, large-scale organic residue analyses on pottery from important Early Iron Age settlements were performed, focusing on two key Late Hallstatt sites: the Heuneburg and the Mont Lassois. For the Mont Lassois, the results were based on the analyses of 99 ceramic vessels of both local and Mediterranean origin. We observed not only different consumption practices in the several settlement areas of the Mont Lassois, but also a complex translation process with regard to the appropriation of Mediterranean food (such as grape wine and olive oil) and consumption practices, that also showed a spatial differentiation. For many years, scholars supposed an imitation of the Mediterranean (especially Greek style) symposium by the “Early Celts”. The new results from the organic residue analyses force us to rethink this. Apart from new insights into Early Iron Age eating and drinking practices, we gained new information on the preparation of food and on storage practices at the Mont Lassois. Furthermore, the detection of locally available goods such as bee products, millet, and a bacterial fermentation product (a beverage?) led to an enhancement of our knowledge of the extent of exploitation of these natural resources at the Mont Lassois during the Early Iron Age.

<p>This paper discusses the analysis and occurrence of organic residues in Iron Age II pottery sherds excavated at the site of Jneneh. Gas chromatography – mass spectrometry was used for separation and identification of organic constituents. Conventional solvent extraction and alkaline hydrolysis (saponification) were used for the extraction of residues preserved in their fabrics. Three sherds among six unwashed and unhandled sherds showed significant preservation of organic constituents derived from natural materials. The results provide data on the occurrence of beeswax that could have been intentionally added on the internal surface of a collared-rim jar for storing liquid substances or dry goods. Unintentional occurrence of beeswax as a result of storing honey including beeswax fragments of the honeycomb is also possible. In addition, biomarkers of plant oil were detected in a medium jug and a small jar that might have been used for daily needs, such as food preparation. The absence of significant organic constituents in the other three vessels could be attributed to the degradation overtime during burial.</p>

Organic residues analysis is an important tool in archaeological research because it sheds light on aspects of the daily life of the past. In particular, it allows us to obtain information on food production, consumption and trade. In this paper we present the results of residue analysis performed on ceramic vessels from the archaeological site of Placa Major-Horts de Can Torras (Castellar del Valles, Barcelona, Spain), a long lasting site, of which we studied the Late Antique occupation. The site is a rural settlement located in the northeast of Catalonia and it was characterized by structures made of perishable material and by the presence of silos, above which probably the living structures were placed. Analyses were carried out on twelve cooking and storage ceramic forms that were the most representative of the Late Antique phase. In particular pots, jugs, pans and dolia were analyzed, in order to investigate the food consumed at the site. Analyses were conducted by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show the cooking of animal and vegetal products in the cooking vessels (pots and pan) and the storage of wine in the dolia . Pinaceae products are particularly abundant in some vessels, which suggests the use of this substance at the site. In general, the analyses carried out provide the first case study of residue analysis of ceramic material of this period in Catalonia and allowed us to recover information both on food habits and on the use of different ceramic forms during Late Antiquity in this area.

Plains bison Bison bison bison were extirpated from most of their historical range in the late nineteenth century, and few studies have examined the interactions of bison with gray wolves Canis lupus . The Sturgeon River plains bison (SRPB) population in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan is one of only a few populations of plains bison in their historical range in Canada and have declined around 50% since 2005. This study examined the inter‐ and intra‐annual variation in wolf diet using stable isotope analysis (SIA), to assess the importance of bison and other ungulates to wolf diet relative to the decline of the SRPB. We used wolf hair (n = 35) and blood (n = 29) collected from 30 individuals from 2011 to 2017 to estimate the diet of two packs for summer and winter, and visited potential wolf kill sites (n = 270) during the winter from 2013 to 2017 to collect prey samples. We used wolf scats (n = 465) collected in the winter and summer of 2012–2013 as priors for our Bayesian stable isotope mixing models. We found the percentage of bison (median range: 26–39%), deer/elk (21–24%) and moose (16–33%) consumed in the summer was consistently high, compared to winter when white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus comprised the highest percentage of wolf diet (40–49%). We observed small inter‐annual variation in wolf diet. We examined differences between packs and found that wolves that had greater overlap with the SRPB had more bison in their diet, particularly in winter (26–40%). Results from SIA were consistent with percentages of prey found at wolf kill sites. Overall, bison constitute a lower proportion of wolf diet compared to other wild ungulates, and our findings support the assumption that wolf predation is not the main contributing factor to SRPB population decline.

This paper details the results of a large-scale multi-disciplinary analysis of Iron Age pottery from a settlement in the core of the Phoenician homeland. The research presented is centred upon a large corpus of Phoenician carinated-shoulder amphorae (CSA) from the later Iron Age II and Persian period contexts at the coastal site of Tell el-Burak. Traditional typological investigations are combined with a focused archaeometric approach including a new quantitative method for the morphometric analysis of amphorae, thin-section petrography, geochemistry and organic residue analyses, aimed at gaining a more detailed understanding of the organization of the Phoenician economy. Despite gradual, but marked typological changes, very little change in the fabrics of these amphorae was noted over the 400-year Iron Age occupation of the site. The research, thus, demonstrates that the production of Iron Age amphorae from Tell el-Burak was highly organized, and was undertaken by long-lived, sustained and centralized modes. The establishment of Tell el-Burak and this new pottery industry coincides with the proliferation of the world’s first great imperial powers, the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian and Persian empires; the outcomes of this research provide new insights into socio-economic strategies adopted in the Phoenician homeland during this pivotal time.

The introduction of pottery vessels to Europe has long been seen as closely linked with the spread of agriculture and pastoralism from the Near East. The adoption of pottery technology by hunter–gatherers in Northern and Eastern Europe does not fit this paradigm, and its role within these communities is so far unresolved. To investigate the motivations for hunter–gatherer pottery use, here, we present the systematic analysis of the contents of 528 early vessels from the Baltic Sea region, mostly dating to the late 6th-5th millennium cal BC, using molecular and isotopic characterization techniques. The results demonstrate clear sub-regional trends in the use of ceramics by hunter–gatherers; aquatic resources in the eastern Baltic, non-ruminant animal fats in the southeastern Baltic, and a more variable use, including ruminant animal products, in the western Baltic, potentially including dairy. We found surprisingly little evidence for the use of ceramics for non-culinary activities, such as the production of resins. We attribute the emergence of these sub-regional cuisines to the diffusion of new culinary ideas afforded by the adoption of pottery, e.g. cooking and combining foods, but culturally contextualized and influenced by traditional practices.