Manuring and stable nitrogen isotope ratios in cereals and pulses: towards a new archaeobotanical approach to the inference of land use and dietary practices

This paper explores the impact of animal manure application on the δ¹⁵N values of a broad range of crops (cereals and pulses), under a range of manuring levels/regimes and at a series of locations extending from northwest Europe to the eastern Mediterranean. We included both agricultural field experiments and areas where ‘traditional’ farming is practised. Our aim is to ground-truth interpretation of δ¹⁵N values in archaeobotanical crop remains as evidence of past growing conditions and husbandry practices. The results confirm the potentially radical impact of manuring on δ¹⁵N values in cereals, depending on manuring level, but indicate only a slight effect on pulses, which can fix atmospheric nitrogen. The expected geographical trend towards greater δ¹⁵N with increasing climatic aridity is not apparent, probably because the growing conditions for crops are ‘buffered’ through crop management. Each of these observations has fundamental implications for archaeobotanical interpretation of δ¹⁵N values as evidence of land use practices and (together with analysis of bone collagen/tooth enamel in potential consumers) palaeodiet.     

Impact of charring on cereal grain characteristics: linking prehistoric manuring practice to δN signatures in archaeobotanical material

Systematic use of animal manure has been demonstrated to be detectable in the plant δ¹⁵N value but evidence of manure affecting isotopic composition is mainly based on studies of fresh plant material. These findings can potentially be applied to archaeobotanical assemblages and thus provide information about prehistoric manuring practice. Prehistoric grains are generally found in a charred state of which the exact charring conditions are unknown but most likely often multifarious. In this study we examined the influence of grain weight and a range of charring conditions with regards duration, temperature, oxygen availability, and manuring. The charring was applied to emmer, spelt and naked barley with assessment of weight loss, N concentration and δ¹⁵N. There were only small and non-systematic variations in δ¹⁵N in relation to grain weight class. We also found that charring did not distort δ¹⁵N in either a systematic or substantial way and conclude that manuring most likely will be detectable in archaeobotanical charred grains. As certain within-grain variability in δ¹⁵N existed, especially in the intensively manured grains, the resolution of this kind of information should be carefully considered. However, despite attempts to deliberately tamper and distort the grain δ¹⁵N signature, the changes observed in this study were too small to be of any consequences for the archaeobotanical applicability of the method. Thus the isotope method offers unique evidence about prehistoric manuring practice.     

“…according to thy Righteousness”: The Righteousness of God as Motivation in the Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation

ABSTRACT

When urging God to act, the Old Testament psalms of lamenta-tion often appeal to divine qualities. Among these qualities is the righteous-ness of God. This paper will accentuate the active, salvific, theocentric char-acter of this righteousness, opposed to a reactive, distributive view, well known from several interpreters.     

Reviews

Troels Fink, Estruptidens politiske historic 1875–1894, I‐II (The Political History of the Estrup Era 1875–1894, vol. 1: The Struggle Between the Two Chambers 1875–85; vol. 2: The Period of Decree Legislation 1885–94) (Odense, 1986), 621 pp., ISBN 87 7492 581 4.

Poul Thestrup, Nærbutik og Næringslov‐omgåelse. En unders?gelse of brugsforeningerne og deres placering i innovationsprocessen i Danmark mellem 1850 og 1919 (The Consumer Co‐operatives in the Innovation Process in Denmark 1850–1919), Odense University Studies in History and Social Sciences, vol. 95 (Odense Universitetsforlag), 549 pp., ISBN 87 7492 595 4, DKK 240+moms.

Tuomo Polvinen, Valtakunta ja raijamaa. N. I. Bobrikov Suomen kenraalikuvemöörind 1898–1904 (The Empire and a Borderland. N. I. Bobrikov as Governor General of Finland 1898–1904) (Helsinki, 1984), 432 pp., ISBN 951 0 12660 8.

Danske Handelskompagnier 1616–1843. Oktrojer og interne Ledelsesregler (Charters and By‐Laws of Danish Trading Companies, 1616–1843), edited by Ole Feldbæk, Selskabet for Udgivelse af Kilder til Dansk Historie (Copenhagen, 1986), 779 pp., ISBN 87 7500 159 4, DanKr 300.

Kalle Bäck, Harald Gustafsson, Jon Herstad, Jens Holmgaard, Markku Kuisma, Maud Molander, Illka Mäntylä, Øjstein Rian and Gustav Grunde Sætra. Skog och Brännvin. Studier i näringspolitiskt beslutsfattande i Norden på 1700‐talet (Wood and Spirits. Studies in Economic Policy‐Making in the Nordic Countries in the Eighteenth Century), Nordic Research Project on Central Power and Local Communities ‐ Decision‐making in the 1700s (Det nordiska forskningsprojektet Centralmakt och lokal‐samhalle ‐ beslutsprocess på 1700‐talet), publication 3 (Oslo University Press, 1984), ISBN 82 00 07053 0 (English summary).

Karl‐Gustaf Anderson, Inger Diibeck, Birgitta Ericsson, Gfsli Agust Gunnlaugsson, Per‐Arne Karlsson, Markku Kuisma, Anne‐Hilde Nagel, Oscar Nilula and Gustav Grunde Sa;tra, Industri og Bjergvarksdrift. Privilegering i Norden i det 18. arhundrede (Industry and Mining. Studies in the Granting of “Privilegia” to Industrial Enterprises in the Nordic Countries in the Eighteenth Century). Nordic Research Project on Central Power and Local Communities ‐ Decision‐making in the 1700s, publication 5 (Oslo University Press, 1985), ISBN 82 00 07694 6 (English summary).

Christian Wichmann Matthiesen, Danske Byers Vaekst (Urban Growth in Denmark). Det Kgl. Geografiske Selskab, Atlas over Denmark, Serie II, vol. 3 (C. A. Reitzels Forlag, K?benhavn, 1985), 142 pp., 245 Dkr. (English summary).

I?rn Pi?, Nye veje til Folkevisen (New Approaches to the Ballad) (Copenhagen, 1985), 344 pp., ISBN 87 00 93582 4 (English summary).