Reconstructing northern Chinese Neolithic subsistence practices by isotopic analysis

Stable isotope signatures of both human and non-human animal bone samples indicate that Neolithic farmers of the Yellow and Wei River basins in China potentially cultivated millet for two reasons: as a staple for human consumption and as fodder for domesticated animals, specifically pigs, dogs, and perhaps chicken. Bone samples were analyzed from four Neolithic sites: Jiangzhai, Shijia, Xipo, and Kangjia, spanning the time period from 7000 to 4000 years ago. A combination of very high carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C = −7.7 ± 0.4‰) and low nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N = 7.5 ± 0.5‰) in samples of Xipo pig and dog bone suggests that these monogastric animals consumed substantial quantities of C₄ plants, almost certainly millets. In fact, the proportion of C₄ plants in animal diets appears to have been even greater than that in human diet. Stable isotope values (δ¹³C = −10.0 ± 0.8‰; δ¹⁵N = 8.3 ± 0.5‰) of human bone collagen recovered at Jiangzhai and Shijia indicate a staple role for millets, as well as the consumption of both wild and other non-C₄ domesticated plant foods. As millet agriculture and animal husbandry apparently depended on one another, a strong mutualism between them was likely established in northern China during the Neolithic. We propose that variable redistribution of agricultural products between humans and animals, depending on the availability of wild resources and annual fluctuations in agricultural output, helped ensure the stability of Neolithic human subsistence in the Yellow and Wei River basins.     

Carbon isotope fractionation between diet,breath CO2, and bioapatite in different mammals

The carbon isotope fractionation between tooth enamel bioapatite, breath CO₂, and diet was measured for voles, rabbits, pigs, and cattle on controlled diets. The measured fractionation (expressed as isotope enrichment ɛ*) between enamel and diet was 11.5 ± 0.3‰, 12.8 ± 0.7‰, 13.3 ± 0.3‰, and 14.6 ± 0.3‰ for these respective species. There is a 1:1 correlation between ɛ*_{breath–diet} and ɛ*_{enamel–diet} (r² = 0.94, p < 0.01), whereas our data do not resolve significant inter-species differences in ɛ*_{enamel–breath}. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that inter-species differences in ɛ*_{bioapatite–diet} are primarily a result of differences in digestive physiology, rather than differences in the magnitude of fractionation between mineral and body fluid.     

A rock magnetic record of Pleistocene rainfall variations at the Palaeolithic site of Attirampakkam,Southeastern India

Attirampakkam, an open-air stratified Palaeolithic site in southeastern India is the focus of ongoing studies to investigate the nature of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occupation in relation to changing Pleistocene environments. The paucity of faunal or palaeobotanical remains at the site required the use of rock magnetic properties (χ_lf, χ_fd, χ_fd %, χ_ARM, SIRM, χ_ARM/SIRM, SIRM/χ_lf, χ_ARM/χ_lf, χ_ARM/χ_fd, S-ratio, HIRM and HIRM/IRM_300mT) as proxies for deciphering the palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates of the region. Rock magnetic data from stratified deposits within excavated trenches show that the bulk of the sedimentation was intermittent with no subaerial exposure of sediments for long periods, and points to fluctuating wetter and drier climates associated with the Acheulian to Late Middle Palaeolithic levels. There is a general trend towards a wetter climate from Layer 5 upwards. Layer 7 offers evidence of bacterial magnetite (χ_ARM/χ_lf > 40 and χ_ARM/χ_fd > 1000), suggesting the onset of micro-anaerobic environments as a result of floods. Greigite is indicated in Layer 5 (SIRM/χ_lf > 30 × 10³ A m^?1), which indicates a reducing environment. Layer 2 represents an arid climate (higher proportion of haematite and a coarser magnetic grain size). Layer 1a again is indicative of an arid climate (presence of calcrete, magnetically “hard” minerals and coarser magnetic grain size). Results indicate that the southeast coast of India experienced a mostly dry tropical climate during the Pleistocene. The detected occurrence of a few notably more arid intervals did not disrupt occupation of the site by successive groups of hominins.     

Man and woolly mammoth at the Kraków Spadzista Street (B) – taphonomy of the site

Excavations at the Kraków Spadzista Street (B) site, Poland were conducted over 16 years in which approximately 150 m² of the site was studied. The radiocarbon dates clustered around 23–24 ky BP, placing the site in the Gravettian cultural complex. In this paper, results from a detailed taphonomic study of faunal remains are discussed in conjunction with previous analyses of stone artefacts and site structure in order to address questions regarding site formation and Gravettian occupation. Up to 1994, ∼9000 bone remains were recovered and it was possible to identify the species and skeletal element for 5860 remains. The site contained bones of seven animal species associated with Pleistocene steppe–tundra habitats. At Kraków Spadzista Street (B), 99% of the faunal remains belong to the woolly mammoth, with other large mammal taxa represented by only isolated bones and teeth. This site yielded the largest number of mammoth bones and most individuals (MNI = 86) ever found in one place in Poland. Kraków Spadzista Street (B) represents a mammoth butchering locality and probably a mammoth hunting site as well. However, it is not yet possible to distinguish the mammoths killed by Gravettian hunters from those that died naturally and then were scavenged by people.     

Ancient long-distance trade in Western North America: new AMS radiocarbon dates from Southern California

Eleven Olivella biplicata spire-lopped shell beads from six sites located 250–365 km inland from the Pacific coast of southern California produced AMS dates between 11,200 and 7860 CAL BP. Olivella shell beads were well-documented items of prestige and media of exchange in Native California, and recovery of these examples from inland contexts indicates low-level exchange between resident populations of the coast and the southwestern Great Basin by at least 10,300–10,000 CAL years BP. These findings represent some of the earliest unequivocal evidence for long-distance trade in western North America and push the antiquity of this important form of inter-group interaction back several thousand years earlier than previously thought.     

ESR and AMS-based 14C Dating of Mousterian Levels at Mujina Pećina,Dalmatia, Croatia

This paper presents the first chronometric dates for sediments that contain a Mousterian industry in Dalmatia (south Croatia). Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating was conducted on two teeth from the Mousterian level E1 at the site of Mujina Pećina. Additionally five bone and one charcoal sample from five different strata of origin at this site were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Assuming 30% moisture for both the gamma and beta dose rate calculations, the mean LU ESR age estimate is 44±5 ka for level E1, which is statistically indistinguishable from the mean EU ESR age estimate of 40±7 ka. A single, uncalibrated ¹⁴C age from the E1/E2 interface yielded an age estimate of 45,170 +2780/−2060 years bp while the mean of the five samples from overlying Mousterian levels is 39±3 ka. The true (calibrated) age of this mean is about 42 ka, which means that the entire stratigraphic profile in Mujina Pećina apparently was very rapidly deposited, and that the ESR age, regardless of uptake model is in good agreement with the calibrated ¹⁴C mean age. Temporally, Mujina Pećina overlaps with Pontinian Mousterian sites in west-central Italy and Vindija level G3 from northwestern Croatia. However, there are notable differences between the Mousterian industry from Mujina Pećina and these other sites. Collectively, the Croatian sites yield important evidence on the adaptation of European Mousterian people.     

Evaluation of radiocarbon dates from the Middle Holocene hunter-gatherer cemetery Khuzhir-Nuge XIV,Lake Baikal,Siberia

A data set of 87 radiocarbon determinations obtained for the Bronze Age Khuzhir-Nuge XIV cemetery in the Cis-Baikal region of Siberia is analyzed from the perspective of data quality and within the local archaeological context. Bone preservation, expressed in terms of collagen yields, is a very important factor affecting both the accuracy and precision of ¹⁴C dates and, therefore, publication of this information should be adopted as a required standard. According to the calibrated high-collagen dates, after a single Serovo interment the cemetery was used continuously by Glazkovo peoples for up to 700 years (∼2700–2000 BC), and 70% of all burials were interred within a relatively short peak period between approximately 2500 and 2300 BC. The extensive radiocarbon data from KN XIV allow for the re-evaluation of existing models and perspectives on the place of the Glazkovo culture within the Cis-Baikal Neolithic and Bronze Age.     

Palaeogeographical reconstructions of Lake Maliq (Korça Basin,Albania) between 14,000 BP and 2000 BP

Since the early 1990s, excavations of a protohistoric lakeside settlement in the Korça basin carried out by a French–Albanian archaeological team have induced geomorphological and palynological studies about the sedimentary records of Lake Maliq. These studies allow us to distinguish a series of centennial-scale high and low lake level events between 4200 and 4000 cal BP (2899–2637 BC/2843–2416 BC) and 2600 cal BP (822–671 BC), probably due to large-scale climate changes (in the Mediterranean basin). In addition, the sediment sequence also gives evidence of a millennial-scale trend of lake level rise. It appears to be an interplay between lake level rises and falls against tectonic subsidence of the basin allowing accommodation space for sediment deposition.The variations of the lake's level and the lake's surface area influenced the development and the abandonment of the nearby lakeside settlements (like the tell of Sovjan). In order to prepare an archaeological survey around the now dried up lake, we made a 3D model of the Holocene deposit from the lake including these lake level results, geomorphological mapping, excavation data, numerous core logs, AMS ¹⁴C dating and SRTM DEM data. The GIS model allowed us to propose four palaeogeographical reconstructions of the extension of Lake Maliq: around 14,000 BP, during the Mesolithic (around 9000 BP – 8781–8542 BC), the Early/Middle Bronze Age transition (around 3800 BP – 2310–2042 BC) and the Iron Age (2600 BP – 822–671 BC). A map of the thickness of the sediments above potential archaeological layers is also proposed.     

The chronology of Neolithic dispersal in Central and Eastern Europe

We analyze statistically representative samples of radiocarbon dates from key Early Neolithic sites in Central Europe belonging to the Linear Pottery Ceramic Culture (LBK), and of pottery-bearing cultures on East European Plain (Yelshanian, Rakushechnyi Yar, Buh-Dniestrian, Serteya and boreal East European Plain). The dates from the LBK sites form a statistically homogeneous set with the probability distribution similar to a single-date Gaussian curve. This implies that the duration of the spread of the LBK is shorter than the available temporal resolution of the radiocarbon dating; therefore, the rate of spread must be larger than 4 km/yr, in agreement with earlier estimates. The East European sites exhibit a broad probability distribution of dates. We identify in these data a spatio-temporal sequence from south-east to north-west, which implies the rate of spread of the initial pottery-making of the order of 1.6 km/yr, comparable to the average rate of spread of the Neolithic in Western and Central Europe. We argue that this spatio-temporal sequence is consistent with an idea that the tradition of the initial pottery-making on East European Plain developed under an early impulse from the Eastern Steppe.     

Immunoglobulin G in 1·6 Million-year-old Fossil Bones from Venta Micena (Granada,Spain)

We studied the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in equid fossil bones from Venta Micena (Granada, Spain), dated at 1·6 Myr old, and from Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) (0·12 Myr), and in ostensibly hominid fossils VM1960 and VM3691 (1·6 Myr) from Venta Micena and CV1 and CV2 (1·4 Myr) from Cueva Victoria (Murcia, Spain). Samples taken from the specimens were crushed to a fine powder and their mineral structure was dissolved in an ethylenediaminetetracetic acid (EDTA) solution. Fossil extracts were tested with antibodies against human IgG and against horse IgG with two independent immunological methods: dot-blotting (DB) and a modification of this latter method: quantitative dot-blotting (QDB). IgG was detected by DB and was quantifiable by QDB in some of the fossils tested. Equid fossils from Atapuerca and Venta Micena gave stronger reactions with the antibodies against horse IgG than with the antibodies against human IgG. Fossils VM3691 and VM1960 reacted more strongly with the antibodies against human IgG than with antibodies against horse IgG, whereas no IgG was detected in fossils CV1 and CV2. These findings show that species-specific IgG can be detected in fossils as old as 1·6 Myr. The immunological analysis of fossil proteins may help to solve palaeontological controversies.     

The Study of Attic Black Gloss Sherds using Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction

We have studied the mineral composition of the gloss and the ceramic body of three pieces of Attic Greek pottery by applying the technique of high-resolution powder diffraction using synchroton X-rays. The measurements were performed on Stations 2·3 and 9·1 at the Synchrotron Radiation Source, Daresbury Laboratory. High quality powder patterns from the bulk of the ceramics and from the gloss surfaces have been obtained. The diffraction results show interesting variations of mineral composition between the gloss of the different sherds as well as variations between the bulk and the gloss. This makes phase identification and comparison between different fabrics less ambiguous. Spinel minerals are present in the gloss which are absent in the main body of the ceramics. Diffraction lines from one surface match the patterns of hematite, magnetite/maghemite and hercynite, while solid solutions of spinel structures appear to be present in the gloss layer of another sample. Crystallite particle sizes and lattice parameters of the minerals in the gloss layer have been accurately determined. Supplementary scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the gloss thickness to be approximately 20 μm but with variations down to 5 μm. Analysis of the diffraction profile for the hematite component reveals a particle size in the order of 0·027 μm.     

Prehistoric animal use on the Great Hungarian Plain: A synthesis of isotope and residue analyses from the Neolithic and Copper Age

The archaeological record of Eastern Hungary indicates that settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, ceramic style, trade patterns and mortuary customs changed from the Late Neolithic to the Copper Age (5000–2700 cal BC). Despite a rich archaeological tradition, questions remain regarding the management and use of domesticated animals and the role animal husbandry played in social change during this transition. Some researchers have hypothesized that these changes reflect a shift towards an economy that intensified its focus on primary and perhaps secondary animal products. Here we synthesize isotope data from human and animal remains and residue analysis from pottery sherds from Neolithic and Copper Age assemblages. Results indicate that the consumption and use of animal protein and fat was relatively high for both periods, with an increase in animal fats in ceramic vessels during the Middle Copper Age; however, milk products do not appear to have played an important dietary role. We conclude that livestock management remained small-scale during the Neolithic and Copper Age and that dairy use was minimal. It is proposed that the cultural changes that occurred at this time were associated with the emergence of smaller, independent farmsteads and perhaps the innovative use of secondary products like manure.     

Palaeodiet of Mesolithic and Neolithic populations of Meuse Basin (Belgium): evidence from stable isotopes

The human diet was investigated using the carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of 93 Mesolithic and Neolithic specimens (∼10,000–2000 BC) from the Meuse Basin (Belgium). During the Ancient Mesolithic period (∼9300–8000 BC), the environment was generally open and the main dietary protein was provided by hunted terrestrial mammals, with the possible addition of freshwater resources. Human remains are not available in the Meuse Basin from around 8000 BC to 4300 BC, thus preventing the study of the Mesolithic-Neolithic dietary transition in this region. Throughout the Middle Neolithic (∼4300–3000 BC), hunting was more difficult and less productive due to a densely forested environment. The contribution of freshwater resources to the diet increased, with the remaining proteins provided by terrestrial wild and/or domestic mammals, indicating that non-agricultural resources were not eliminated in this region during the Middle Neolithic period. The contribution of freshwater resources seems negligible in the Middle/Late and Late Neolithic periods (∼3300–1700 BC), with isotopic results revealing a diet composed of agricultural products. The δ¹⁵N values of infants are compatible with a weaning age at around 2 years. This study documents the dietary changes that occurred in Belgium during the first part of the Holocene, and reveals the subtle dietary distinction between wild and domestic terrestrial resources and freshwater resources.     

Meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry

Identifying spatial and temporal variation in animal exploitation patterns is essential for building our understanding of the transition from hunting to stock-keeping. Quantitative analysis of the published records of over 400,000 animal bones recovered from 114 archaeological sites from SW Asia and SE Europe from c12 ka to c7.5 ka cal BP (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) demonstrates significant spatiotemporal variability in faunal exploitation patterns. Sites in the Euphrates region show adoption of domestic taxa by c10.5 ka cal BP, although on average these taxa contribute less than 10% to total assemblage size. This rises to a median of about 40% by c9.5 ka cal BP, and then to about 45% of total NISP by c8.5 ka cal BP. By c10.5 ka in the Tigris and Zagros region domesticates contribute less than 5% to faunal assemblages, but then rise to a median of about 20% by c9.5 ka and 40% by c8.4 ka cal BP. In contrast, Levantine sites have low numbers of domestic taxa (<1%) until c8.8 ka cal BP, when the proportion dramatically increases to a median of about 35%. This apparent delayed-adoption pattern also holds true for the southern Levant, which shows, on average, low levels (<1%) of domestic taxa until 8.8 ka cal BP, at which point domesticates contribute a median of about 10% to assemblages. In the northern parts of SW Asia, the mid- to late-10th millennium cal BP is pivotal, as proportions of domestic taxa show a dramatic increase in frequency during this time, and the ‘package’ of domestic sheep, goat, cattle and pig becomes more firmly established. This sets the trend for sites of the 9th millennium and the appearance of Neolithic communities in SE Europe from the 8th millennium cal BP onwards, from which point domestic animals are ubiquitous in faunal assemblages.     

Sources of Archaeological Obsidian on Sakhalin Island (Russian Far East)

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was performed on 79 obsidian tools and flakes from 35 sites on Sakhalin Island dating from Upper Paleolithic (c. 19,000 bp ) to Early Iron Age (c. 2000–800 bp ). Due to the absence of volcanic glass on Sakhalin Island, raw materials from the nearest obsidian sources on Hokkaido Island, such as Oketo, Shirataki, Tokachi-Mitsumata, and Akaigawa, were also analysed. A strong correlation between the chemical compositions of obsidian artefacts from Sakhalin and volcanic glass sources from Hokkaido was discovered. In particular, the Oketo and Shirataki sources were used for tool manufacturing throughout all of Sakhalin Island's prehistory. The distances between sources and archaeological sites range from 200–1000 km. The intensive exchange of raw materials continued and even intensified after the appearance of the La Pérouse (Soya) Strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin about 10,000–8000 bp. The Sakhalin Island populations were deeply involved in the obsidian exchange network centered on Hokkaido.     

Infra-red Photoacoustic and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Measurements of Obsidian Hydration Rims

A procedure has been developed for measuring obsidian hydration rim thicknesses on archaeological artefacts using infra-red photoacoustic spectroscopy (IR-PAS). Calibration of the IR-PAS values with depth was completed using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and optical microscopy to relate the quantity of diffused water to the measured thickness of the hydration layer. By monitoring the absorbance intensity at 1630 cm⁻¹wavenumbers, hydration rims between approximately 1 μm and 12 μm may be accurately measured and used for chronometric age estimates. SIMS depth profiling has the ability to measure layers less than 1 μm thick, extending the age calibration to samples of less than 100 years in age.     

Strontium isotope analysis to reveal migration in relation to climate change and ritual tooth ablation of Jomon skeletal remains from western Japan

A gradual population increase accompanying climate cooling has been evinced as having occurred in western Japan during the Middle (ca. 5000–4000 years BP) to Late-Final Jomon period (ca. 4000–2300 years BP). We test the hypothesis that this population change paralleled increasing human migration. We also test the archaeological hypothesis that types of ritual tooth ablation can be used to distinguish between locals and immigrants during the Late-Final Jomon period. We measured strontium isotope ratios in human skeletal remains from the Middle Jomon Ota and the Late-Final Jomon Tsukumo sites located in the Sanyo region of western Japan. Tooth enamel and bone were analyzed, and modern plant samples were collected in the areas surrounding the two sites to make a map of environmental strontium isotope ratios. The biosphere strontium isotope ratios correlated well with the underlying geology, enabling us to put forth a hypothesis of immigrants’ origins. There were no migration pattern differences between the Middle and Late-Final Jomon groups, indicating that the gradual population increase was caused by an increase in the indigenous population. All the Tsukumo individuals are locals, and this finding indicates that types of tooth ablation did not distinguish between locals and immigrants. Alternative hypotheses for the presence of different tooth ablation types in the Jomon society should be explored.     

Luminescence Dating in Less Than Ideal Conditions: Case Studies from Klasies River Main Site and Duinefontein,South Africa

Luminescence dating results are reported for two South African archaeological sites where changes in the dose rate through time are apparent. A subtraction procedure involving analysis of both quartz and potassium-feldspar extracts is applied to detect and correct for these changes. At the Middle Stone Age site of Klasies River, the dose rate changes inferred from geologic evidence for shell dissolution turn out not to be significant, having occurred rapidly after deposition. The dates here range from 50–115 ka, in broad agreement with other evidence. The important Howiesons Poort component here appears to date somewhat later (about 55–60 ka) than at several other sites in South Africa. At the Acheulian site of Duinefontein, the dose rate changes, also thought to be caused by shell dissolution, are, on the other hand, very significant. The subtraction ages here (125–300 ka) agree with independent chronological assessments.