A strontium isotope analysis on the relationship between ritual tooth ablation and migration among the Jomon people in Japan

Distinct patterns can be discerned in the extensive ritual tooth ablation found among the human skeletal remains of the Late–Final Jomon period (ca. 3200–2800 cal BP) in Japan. Based on comparative observations of sex and grave patterns in the skeletal remains, two major patterns in ritual tooth ablation, termed type 4I and type 2C, have been assigned to locals and immigrants, respectively. In order to test this hypothesis, strontium (Sr) isotope (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) analyses were performed on human skeletal remains from the Yoshigo shell mound in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. Plants in the surrounding area were also examined to illustrate the geographic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr distribution. The Sr isotopic variation in human tooth enamel (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70868–0.71028) was greater than that in human bones (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70871–0.70943). Individuals with higher Sr isotope ratios in their tooth enamel than seawater Sr values of 0.7092 can be identified as immigrants (36% of population). The presence of these isotopically identified immigrants between both type 2C and type 4I individuals does not support the previous hypothesis. The intra-population ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr distribution of tooth enamel of type 2C individuals showed a significantly higher mean ratio than that of type 4I individuals, suggesting a higher proportion of immigrants among the former.     

A pilot study of “black chert” sourcing and implications for assessing hunter-gatherer mobility strategies in Northern England

Mesolithic hunter-gatherer logistic strategies and raw material procurement locales have been topics of considerable interest in northern England, accelerated by the early discoveries at Star Carr. Here we present the results of a pilot study investigating the potential for geochemically sourcing “black chert”, a material with similar qualities to flint but of inland limestone origin, using ICP-AES, ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS. Several geological sources of black chert are known, and it is commonly present at upland Mesolithic sites along the Pennine chain. Four geological sources were sampled and analysed, along with a small sample of black chert artefacts from two upland Pennine archaeological sites. The results demonstrate that the four sampled sources can be easily differentiated from one another chemically. This research reveals the potential to apply this approach at a larger scale; the archaeological sample together with the source results indicate that additional sources will need to be identified and sampled before such data can be applied to address current questions of the Mesolithic of northern England.