Search results for "Isotopic analysis"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Microwear and isotopic analyses on cave bear remains from Toll Cave reveal both short-term and long-term dietary habits
2019
Dietary habits of the extinct Ursus spelaeus have always been a controversial topic in paleontological studies. In this work, we investigate carbon and nitrogen values in the bone collagen and dental microwear of U. spelaeus specimens recovered in Level 4 from Toll Cave (Moia, Catalonia, NE Iberian Peninsula). These remains have been dated to > 49,000 C-14 BP. The ability of both proxies to provide data on the diet of U. spelaeus at different times in the life-history (isotopes: average diet of life; microwear: last days/weeks before death), allows us to generate high-resolution and complementary data. Our results show lower values (delta C-13 & delta N-15) in cave bears than in strict herb…
A new historical perspective regarding the baptismal font of the cathedral of Monreale (Sicily): the identification of a reused Roman labrum by an an…
2017
The Cathedral of Monreale (not far from the city of Palermo) is one of the most famous monuments of the Arab-Norman period in Sicily recently added to the World Heritage list by UNESCO. It is well known above all for its structure and the magnificence mosaic decorations inside. In the church it is also conserved a Baptismal Font made of coloured limestone and dated back to the first decade of the 17th century. The present study deals with this valuable object with the aim of obtaining information about the nature and provenance of the coloured limestone constituting the basin. Laboratory analyses were thus carried out on representative stone samples by means of polarized light microscopy as…
Natural and anthropogenic sources of total suspended particulate and their contribution to the formation of black crusts on building stone materials …
2012
Blackening and disaggregation of exposed surfaces of stone monuments are well-known effects of stone decay taking place in polluted urban environments all over the world. This paper aims to assess the contribution of natural and anthropogenic sources of total suspended particulate (TSP) causing permanent damage (black crusts) to the stone monuments of Catania (Sicily), one of the most popular ‘‘cities of art’’ of southern Italy. Atmospheric pollution of Catania, a typical Mediterranean coastal town, is mainly contributed by vehicle exhaust emissions rather than industrial ones. Episodically, the city also suffers gaseous and ash emissions (plumes) from the nearby Mount Etna volcano. Thus, t…