Search results for "CELL"

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…

Land use change, soil erosion and alluvial dynamic in the lower Doubs Valley over the 1st millenium AD (Neublans, Jura, France)

2003

International audience; Geochemical and particle size analyses, surface scanning magnetic susceptibility, microscopic charcoal counting and pollen analysis, have been carried out on two cores from the lower Doubs valley in order to reconstruct the land use history. The interpretation of anthropogenic pollen indicators and micro-charcoal deposits is discussed in relation to the lithological variation of sedimentary accumulation and evolution of the settlement. The environmental changes which occurred during the 1st and the 6th century AD reflect the impact of human activities on the landscape in the immediate surroundings of the site. Multiproxy indicators indicate that soil erosion as a con…

Late Glacial Landscape Dynamics Based on Macrobotanical Data: Evidence From Ifri El Baroud (NE Morocco)

2018

The site of Ifri El Baroud has one of the longest sequences excavated in recent times in NE Morocco, covering a chronology of ca. 23–13 ka cal BP. The sequence includes Early and Late Iberomaurusia...

Neolithic fish remains from the freshwater shell midden Riņņukalns in northern Latvia

2016

The Neolithic site Riņņukalns in the Lake Burtnieks/River Salaca area in northern Latvia is the only freshwater shell midden in the eastern Baltic Sea area. An excavation carried out in 2011 revealed an intact stratigraphy with alternating layers of unburnt and burnt mussel shells and yielded various kinds of archaeological finds, among them several thousand fish remains. To gain an understanding of the fish species and specimens caught by the Neolithic settlers, and to discern any temporal development in the fish species composition, we analysed fish remains from different sections and layers. Results from both the archaeozoological and stable isotope data, give evidence for a change in th…

Earliest salt working in the world: From excavation to microscopy at the prehistoric sites of Ţolici and Lunca (Romania)

2018

Abstract Since the Early Neolithic, salt has played an important role in the social and economic development of populations. Consequently, the study and comprehension of salt management strategies have become a significant component of current archaeological research. This study is part of an interdisciplinary research program consisting of excavations and detailed analyses on two Early Neolithic salt working sites situated in the sub-Carpathian region of Romania, Lunca and Ţolici (county Neamţ). These remarkably well-preserved sites are characterised by stratified deposits several meters thick. Detailed stratigraphic descriptions were followed by optical microscopy analysis (soil micromorp…

A technological crossroads: Exploring diversity in the pressure blade technology of Mesolithic Latvia

2018

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…

Evidence for “Celtic migrations”? Strontium isotope analysis at the early La Tène (LT B) cemeteries of Nebringen (Germany) and Monte Bibele (Italy)

2013

Abstract Strontium isotope analysis on human remains from the Iron Age (4th/3rd century BC) cemeteries of Nebringen, Germany and Monte Bibele, Italy were carried out to investigate the role of residential changes during the period of the historic “Celtic migrations”. From an archaeological perspective, the location of the cemeteries in the Celtic core (Nebringen) and expansion area (Monte Bibele), and the distinctive development of their material culture, suggest that the buried populations had differing mobility rates. On the contrary, the strontium results indicate that only few individuals were mobile or non-local. There is, however, a difference in variation of strontium isotope ratios …

The Sicilian Countryside in the Early Middle Ages: Human–Environment Interactions at Contrada Castro

2021

Within the project ‘Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani Landscapes’, this paper aims to reconstruct human–environment interactions in the inland areas of Western Sicily during the Early Middle Ages through a comparative analysis of environmental archaeological data. We analyse carpological and anthracological finds and faunal remains originating from different layers of the rural settlement of Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo), excavated in 2017–2019. The site was mainly occupied between the Byzantine and Islamic periods (late 8th to 11th c. AD). The examination of wood charcoal enabled the identification of plant species selected and exploited in the landscape of…

Tracing the Alkinoos Harbor of ancient Kerkyra, Greece, and reconstructing its paleotsunami history

2017

International audience