Search results for "Biological"
showing 10 items of 12574 documents
Biological and microclimatic monitoring for conservation of cultural heritage: a case study at the De Rossi room of the Palatina library in Parma
2019
Biological particles in heritage-related indoor environments (museums, libraries, archives) represent a hazard to artifacts (biodeteriogenic action), operators and visitors’ health. The aim of the study was to evaluate environmental biological contamination and microclimate conditions in different periods of the year in De Rossi room of the historical Palatina Library in Parma. Microclimatic measurements were recorded continuously for a period ranging from 11 to 17 days in: January–February, May and September 2017. Monitoring of bacterial and fungal contamination was performed for air by active and passive sampling and by nitrocellulose membranes on shelves and manuscripts. Microorganisms w…
Ancient DNA from European early neolithic farmers reveals their near eastern affinities.
2010
The first farmers from Central Europe reveal a genetic affinity to modern-day populations from the Near East and Anatolia, which suggests a significant demographic input from this area during the early Neolithic.
Quantifying the evolution of animal dairy intake in humans using calcium isotopes
2021
International audience; The contribution of dairy products to modern human diets has a debated role in the expansion of Neolithic economies and the dynamics of demographic transitions. While current methods allow discussing dairy production and processing, no approach allows reconstructing quantitatively its effective consumption. Calcium isotopes (δ44/42Ca) potentially represent such a marker due to the abundance of isotopically fractionated Ca in dairy products. Here, we test Ca isotope sensitivity to dietary intake of dairy product: we first used a dietary model based on a compilation of available data of dietary Ca sources; we then compared the modelled outputs to available and newly ac…
Isotopic Anthropology of Rural German Medieval Diet: Intra- and Inter-population Variability
2016
This study investigates the diet of an eleventh century CE parish community located in northwestern Germany. We assessed the isotopic compositions of human (n = 24) and faunal (n = 17) bone collagen (δ 13Ccol, δ 15Ncol) and human structural carbonate (δ 13Csc) using skeletal material recovered from the Dalheim cemetery. Traditional interpretation of the isotopic data indicates that Dalheim residents likely relied on a C3 plant-based diet and consumed some terrestrial animal products without evidence of marine resource input in the diet. Bivariate and multivariate models used as an additional means to assess diet indicate minor consumption of C4 plant foods in this community. The multivariat…
A multi-isotope analysis of Neolithic human groups in the Yonne valley, Northern France: insights into dietary patterns and social structure
2019
With the arrival of the Neolithic to Europe, new ways of life and new subsistence strategies emerged. In the Paris Basin (northern France), the appearance of some monumental funerary structures during the Middle Neolithic highlights in particular the increasing complexity of the social organisation. At the same time, several sites, such as open-air cemeteries, do not display any evidence of such arrangement. In the southeast of this area, the two primary routes of neolithisation meet. Several funerary parameters attest to the diverse influence received from other surrounding cultures. In order to assess potential differences in diet, and therefore on purported social distinctions at the int…
The influence of religious identity and socio-economic status on diet over time, an example from medieval France
2019
International audience; In Southern France as in other parts of Europe, significant changes occurred in settlement patterns between the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Small communities gathered to form, by the tenth century, villages organized around a church. This development was the result of a new social and agrarian organization. Its impact on lifestyles and, more precisely, on diet is still poorly understood. The analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen from the inhabitants of the well-preserved medieval rural site Missignac-Saint Gilles le Vieux (fifth to thirteenth centuries, Gard, France) provides insight into their dietary practices and enab…
Sierra del Colmenar 1A, a new late Messinian (Late Miocene) locality in the Bajo Segura Basin (SE Spain): biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental im…
2017
In this paper, we have studied a new micromammal site from the Sierra del Colmenar section (Elche, SE Spain), named Sierra del Colmenar 1A (SCO-1A), representing the uppermost levels of Messinian age of the Bajo Segura Basin. The sedimentary context of this locality corresponds to a costal lagoon with marine influence. The fossil site has yielded remains of Apodemus aff. gorafensis, Paraethomys meini, Apocricetus alberti, Occitanomys alcalai, Ruscinomys sp., Eliomys cf. truci, Muscardinus sp., Parasorex ibericus, Prolagus michauxi and Soricidae indet. Based on this assemblage, we propose a Late Miocene age (MN13) for the locality SCO-1A, matching the previously inferred age for the stratigr…
Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration s…
2012
(87)Sr/(86)Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries ("Thuringians", 5-6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize (87)Sr/(86)Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context t…
A new species ofPlesiodimylus(Dimylidae, Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Spain
2017
AbstractWe report a new dimylid species, Plesiodimylus ilercavonicus sp. nov., from the Early Miocene locality of Mas d’Antolino B-5 (Ribesalbes-Alcora, Castello, Spain). This new species of Plesiodimylus is an amblyodont form of the genus and exhibits some primitive characters. The phylogenetic and palaeoenvironmental implications of this southern occurrence of Plesiodimylus in Lower Miocene sediments are discussed.urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EB5435A4-EECE-4B88-B5AC-4B77E2E13029
Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope fractionation during food cooking: Implications for the interpretation of the fossil human record.
2017
13 pages; International audience; ObjectivesStable isotope data provide insight into the reconstruction of ancient human diet. However, cooking may alter the original stable isotope compositions of food due to losses and modifications of biochemical and water components.MethodsTo address this issue, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios were measured on meat aliquots sampled from various animals such as pork, beef, duck and chicken, and also from the flesh of fishes such as salmon, European seabass, European pilchard, sole, gilt-head bream, and tuna. For each specimen, three pieces were cooked according to the three most commonly-known cooking practices: boiling, frying and roasting on…