Postclassic political conflict and isotope analysis in the central Peten lakes area, Guatemala

European Bronze Age societies are generally characterised by increased mobility and the application of isotopic methods to archaeology has allowed the rate and range of human travels to be quantified. However, little is known about the mobility of the people inhabiting East-Central Europe in the late Early and Middle Bronze Age (1950–1250 BC) whose primary subsistence strategy was herding supported by crop cultivation. This paper presents the results of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope analyses in the enamel of people buried in collective graves at the cemeteries in Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne. These sites are located in Kujawy and the Nida Basin, a lowland and an upland region with clearly different environmental conditions, respectively. Both sites are classified as belonging to the Trzciniec cultural circle and were used between 16th and 13th centuries BC. Among the 34 examined individuals only an adult female from Gustorzyn can be assessed as non-local based on both 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O signatures in her first molar. This may indicate the practice of exogamy in the studied population but more generally corresponds with the hypothesis of limited mobility within these societies, as has previously been inferred from archaeological evidence, anthropological analysis, and stable isotope-based diet reconstruction. New and existing data evaluated in this paper show that the 87Sr/86Sr variability in the natural environment of both regions is relatively high, allowing the tracking of short-range human mobility. A series of oxygen isotope analyses (conducted for all but one individuals studied with strontium isotopes) indicates that δ18O ratios measured in phosphate are in agreement with the predicted modern oxygen isotope precipitation values, and that this method is useful in detecting travels over larger distances. The challenges of using both 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O isotopic systems in provenance studies in the glacial landscapes of temperate Europe are also discussed.

The dissolution of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of Early Medieval kingdoms during the fifth and sixth century AD were accompanied by profound social, economic, and cultural changes. While several studies focus on the investigation of the reasons explaining the underlying cause of this transition based on written and archeological evidence, it is still unclear in how far this major political turnover affected communities on a regional and local level. Here, we conduct strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope analyses of human tooth enamel from 95 individuals from two Early Medieval cemeteries located in the northern Upper Rhine region in order to investigate population dynamics during a period of political upheaval. The strontium isotopic analysis has revealed that a high number of individuals born outside the Upper Rhine region, but relative few individuals indigenous to the area, were interred in cemeteries newly founded at the end of the fifth century AD. During the sixth century AD, the cemeteries are dominated by individuals local to the Upper Rhine region. However, the presence of individuals with strontium isotope values below the biologically available strontium isotopic range indicates the arrival of newcomers from different regions compared to earlier periods which may reflect a change of contacts and relationships in the course of the sixth century AD. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the change of human mobility patterns in this region is a reaction to the socio-political dynamics of the transformation period between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

Mobile (after-)lifeways: People at pre- and protopalatial Sissi (Crete)

ABSTRACTBioarchaeology and biogeochemistry can elucidate aspects of individual life histories that are often lost in the archaeological record. Here, we use stable and radiogenic isotope analyses of enamel, bone and hair to reconstruct paleodiet and paleomobility in an adult male interred along a pre‐Columbian route connecting the northern Chilean coast to the inland Loa River Valley. Although this well‐preserved burial included mortuary goods typical of coastal cultures, it was discovered in a vast, uninhabited part of northern Chile's hyper‐arid Atacama Desert.Variation in carbon and nitrogen isotopes reflects dietary differences, while strontium and oxygen isotopes vary geologically and geographically. We use these data to examine paleodiet and paleomobility and to assess whether this was a coastal traveller seeking provisions from the interior orvice versa. Enamel stable isotope analysis is consistent with the consumption of a mixture of terrestrial and marine resources during the first years of life. Bone stable isotope analyses indicate habitual consumption of marine foodstuffs over the last 10–30 years of this individual's life. Interestingly, stable isotope analysis of hair samples provides more fine‐grained information on this individual, suggesting movements between the coast and highlands in the months before his death. Radiogenic strontium isotope data are consistent with residence on the coast or in the Atacama Desert, but are lower than strontium isotope values from higher altitudes. These dietary and geological patterns are reconcilable with coastal residency; the isotopic data are consistent with foodstuffs and textiles found with the burial. Therefore, we argue that this individual was regularly moving from the coast to inland areas, crossing the hyper‐arid Atacama Desert by following strategic interzonal routes that provided access to particular resources. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ObjectivesIsotopic analyses using human dental enamel provide information on the mobility and diet of individuals in forensic and archeological studies. Thus far, no study has systematically examined intraindividual coupled strontium (Sr), oxygen (O), and carbon (C) isotope variation in human enamel or the effect that caries have on the isotopic integrity of the enamel. The inadequate quantification of isotopic variation affects interpretations and may constrain sample selection of elements affected by caries. This study aims to quantify the intraindividual isotopic variation and provides recommendations for enamel sampling methods.Material and MethodsThis study presents the first systematic results on intraindividual variation in Sr–O–C isotope composition and Sr concentration in modern human dental enamel of third molars (affected and unaffected by caries). A multiloci sampling approach (n = 6–20) was used to analyze surface and inner enamel, employing thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Third molars were analyzed from 47 individuals from the Netherlands, Iceland, the United States, the Caribbean, Colombia, Somalia, and South Africa.ResultsIntradental isotopic variation in modern Dutch dental elements was recorded for Sr, O, and C and exceeded the variation introduced by the analytical error. Single loci and bulk sampling approaches of third molars established that a single analysis is only representative of the bulk Sr isotope composition in 60% of the elements analyzed. Dental elements affected by caries showed twice the variation seen in unaffected dental elements. Caries did not consistently incorporate the isotopic composition of the geographical environment in which they developed.DiscussionThe isotopic variability recorded in unaffected inner enamel indicates that variations greater than 0.000200 for 87Sr/86Sr and larger than 2‰ for δ18O and δ13C are required to demonstrate changes in modern Dutch human diet or geographic location.

High mobility among Scythian populations is often cited as the driving force behind pan‐regional interactions and the spread of new material culture c.700–200 bce, when burgeoning socioeconomic interactions between the Greeks, Scythian steppe pastoralists and the agro‐pastoral tribes of the forest‐steppe played out across the region. While interregional mobility central to warrior lifestyles is assumed to have been a defining feature of Scythian populations, strikingly few studies have investigated human mobility among communities located along the steppe and forest‐steppe boundary zone. Here, we document movement and dietary intake of individuals interred at Bel'sk, a large urban settlement in Ukraine, through strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of human tooth enamel. The results provide direct evidence for limited mobility among populations from Bel'sk, demonstrating the movement into, and out of, urban complexes. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal that groups at Bel'sk remained local to the urban complex. Dietary intake, reflected in carbon isotopes, was based on domesticated crops and livestock herding. The combination of low mobility alongside dietary evidence suggests local groups engaged in sedentary agro‐pastoral subsistence strategies that contrast sharply with the picture of highly mobile Scythian herders dependent on livestock portrayed in historical sources.

Isotopic compositions of carbonate cements are used to infer the compositions of historical pore fluids of Sites 891 and 892 (Oregon transect) of Ocean Drilling Program Leg 146 (Cascadia Margin). Site 891 was drilled through the frontal thrust region, and Site 892 penetrated an out-of-sequen ce thrust farther upslope. Carbonate content in the non-concretionary samples analyzed from Site 891 ranges from 0% to 14%. Calcite and magnesian calcite are the dominant diagenetic carbonate phases, and dolomite is present in many samples. Generally carbonate contents and compositions do not correlate well with related dissolved constituents (alkalinity, Mg2+, Ca2+) in modern pore-water chemistry. δ 13 C PDB values of samples from this site range from -4.4‰ to -0.8%c; oxygen isotope values from the same samples range from δ' 8 O PDB = -16.5‰ to -6.2%c, and are substantially out of equilibrium with the oxygen isotopic composition of the pore waters. Both stable isotopes show a relatively smooth variation with depth. Strontium isotopes of six samples range from 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70990 to 0.71155 and are substantially more radiogenic than modern seawater ( 0.7092). Carbonate content in the non-concretionary samples analyzed from Site 892 are higher and range from 0% to 25%. Calcite and magnesian calcite are the dominant diagenetic carbonate, but dolomite is common in the upper part of the section. The amount of carbonate correlates better with pore-water alkalinity profiles, and dolomite tends to occur where Mg/Ca ratios in pore water are highest, but there is not a strict correlation between carbonate occurrence and pore water profiles. Twenty-seven samples have a large range of carbon isotope values (δ 13 C PDB = -30%c to +26%c); oxygen isotope values from the same samples range from δ' 8 O PDB = -14%o to +1 \%c. Most of the oxygen isotopes are substantially out of equilibrium with oxygen isotope composition of the pore waters; on the other hand, carbon isotopes measured on dissolved total CO2 are high and may explain some of the high δ13C values of the diagenetic carbonates. Both stable isotopes show large fluctuations in their profiles with depth. Strontium isotopes of eight samples range from 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70576 and 0.70885 and are substantially less radiogenic than modern seawater; one sample has a ratio of 0.71140. Most of these values are not in the range of the pore water strontium isotope composition. The oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotope characteristics of Site 891 diagenetic carbonates suggest that deep fluids have migrated from the decollement and other fluid conduits up through most of the stratigraphic section. Isotope-depth patterns of Site 892 diagenetic cements are more complex, reflecting greater deformation, a longer history of fluid flow, and a greater influence of shallow fluid reservoirs involving organic-rich sediments.

Triple oxygen (16O, 17O, 18O) and carbon (12C, 13C) isotope variations in bioapatite of small mammals – new insights concerning the reconstruction of palaeo‐CO2 concentrations and palaeotemperatures

The formation of extensive dolomite across ancient carbonate platform is widely attributed to the replacement of the calcium-carbonate so-called dolomitization. However, it is still unclear whether the extensive dolomite formation is controlled by one single or multiple mechanisms, as whether the mineralogical, petrological, and geochemical records of dolomite preserve the pristine signature or diagenetic effect is still under debate. In this study, we integrate carbon, oxygen, strontium and magnesium isotopes to provide new insights into ancient dolomite origin interpretation. Dolomite in the Upper Jurassic Arab Formation on the Arabian Plate has widely been studied due to the complete carbonate-evaporite cycle and relevance to oil reservoirs. Sabkha and seepage reflux dolomitization models have been proposed despite the high temperatures inferred from clumped isotopes and fluid inclusions, as well as some geochemical data such as oxygen and strontium isotopes, are inconsistent with near-surface dolomitization conditions. Here we performed integrated isotope study of the Upper Jurassic Arab Formation, and found that (1) Mg isotope data range from -2.25 ‰ to -1.78 ‰, suggesting the Mg cations for Arab dolomite formation were delivered from Late Jurassic seawater, which is consistent with the idea that dolomite is a valid archive of seawater Mg isotope composition through geological times; (2) in each cycle, more depleted Mg isotope signatures in dolomite formed at shallower depth than that formed at deeper depth, indicating top-down dolomitization process which is controlled by percolation of dense and saline fluids, suggesting the advective flow model and related seepage reflux dolomitization; (3) parts of Sr isotopic ratios are out of Late Jurassic seawater range, revealing hydrothermal or burial dolomitization probably altered the dolomite formed from near-surface conditions, which can also be verified by depleted oxygen isotopic values. This study indicates that ancient carbonate platform with massive dolomite distribution are probably generated by multi-mechanism dolomitization processes and it is necessary to integrate Mg isotope with traditional isotope methods to unravel the dolomite problem.

Investigating the presence of foreigners and pig husbandry in ancient Bali: Stable isotopes in human and domestic animal tooth enamel

Oxygen isotope analysis of archaeological human dental enamel is widely used as a proxy for the drinking water composition (δ(18)O(DW)) of the individual and thus can be used as an indicator of their childhood place of origin. In this paper we demonstrate the robustness of structural carbonate oxygen isotope values (δ(18)O(C)) in bioapatite to preserve the life signal of human tooth enamel by comparing it with phosphate oxygen isotope values (δ(18)O(P)) derived from the same archaeological human tooth enamel samples. δ(18)O(C) analysis was undertaken on 51 archaeological tooth enamel samples previously analysed for δ(18)O(P) values and strontium isotopes. δ(18)O(C) values were determined on a GV IsoPrime dual inlet mass spectrometer, following a series of methodological tests to assess: (1) The reaction time needed to ensure complete release of CO(2) from structural carbonate in the enamel; (2) The effect of an early pre-treatment with dilute acetic acid to remove diagenetic carbonate; (3) Analytical error; (4) Intra-tooth variation; and (5) Diagenetic alteration. This study establishes a direct relationship between δ(18)O(C) and δ(18)O(P) values from human tooth enamel (δ(18)O(P) = 1.0322 × δ(18)O(C) - 9.6849). We have combined this equation with the drinking water equation of Daux et al. (J. Hum. Evol. 2008, 55, 1138) to allow direct calculation of δ(18)O(DW) values from human bioapatite δ(18)O(C) (δ(18)O(DW) = 1.590 × δ(18)O(C) - 48.634). This is the first comprehensive study of the relationship between the ionic forms of oxygen (phosphate oxygen and structural carbonate) in archaeological human dental enamel. The new equation will allow direct comparison of data produced by the different methods and allow drinking water values to be calculated from structural carbonate data with confidence.

Geographic origins of a War of 1812 skeletal sample integrating oxygen and strontium isotopes with GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation analysis

Carbon, oxygen and strontium isotopes in Paleozoic carbonate components: an evaluation of original seawater-chemistry proxies

Strontium isotope ratios are widely used in archaeology to differentiate between local and non-local populations. Herein, strontium isotope ratios of 36 human tooth enamels from seven archaeological sites spanning the Early to Late Neolithic of northern Greece (7th–5th millennia B.C.E.) were analysed with the aim of providing new information relating to the movement of humans across the region. Local bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr signals were established using tooth enamel from 26 domestic animals from the same Neolithic sites. 87Sr/86Sr values of faunal enamel correlate well with predicted strontium isotope ratios of the local geology. This is consistent with animal management occurring at a local level, although at Late Neolithic sites strontium isotope values became more varied, potentially indicating changing herding practices. The strontium isotope analysis of human tooth enamel likewise suggests limited population movement within the Neolithic of northern Greece. Almost all individuals sampled exhibited 87Sr/86Sr values consistent with having spent their early life (during the period of tooth mineralisation) in the local area, although movement could have occurred between isotopically homogeneous areas. The strontium isotope ratios of only three individuals lay outside of the local bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr range and these individuals are interpreted as having spent their early lives in a region with a more radiogenic biologically available 87Sr/86Sr. Mobility patterns determined using Sr isotope analysis supports the current evidence for movement and exchange observed through studies of pottery circulation. Suggesting limited movement in the Early and Middle Neolithic and greater movement in the Late Neolithic.

Isotopes of strontium, carbon, and oxygen were analyzed in human tooth enamel from the Bronze Age site of Ban Lum Khao (c. 1400 B.C. –500 B.C. ) in Thailand. The strontium and oxygen isotopes, which generally reflect place of origin, delimit discrete groups among the individuals. Among the females, different groups determined through isotopic signatures were buried with distinctive pottery types. This suggests that social identity, drawn from village of origin, was conveyed by material culture, at least in burial. Although Ban Lum Khao was probably an egalitarian community, this isotopic and archaeological evidence suggests that different social identities were associated with place of childhood origin in this Bronze Age community.