Mild heating (≤100° C, 1 h)-typical of cooking-does not lead to detectable changes in any biochem... more Mild heating (≤100° C, 1 h)-typical of cooking-does not lead to detectable changes in any biochemical parameter yet measured; consequently bones that have been cooked, but which have not reached a temperature that will induce charring go undetected. We have used a microscopy based approach to investigate changes in the organization of the bone protein, collagen, as it is heated, using bone from heating experiments, short term burials, and archaeological sites. The work has revealed that the presence of a mineral matrix stabilizes the collagen enabling the damage to accumulate, but preventing it from causing immediate gelatinization. Once the mineral is removed, the damage can be observed using appropriate visualization methods. This chapter describes the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique that has been used to detect cooked bone by visualizing minor heat-induced damage at the level of the collagen fibril.
Asara et al . (Reports, 13 April 2007, p. 280) reported sequencing of Tyrannosaurus rex proteins ... more Asara et al . (Reports, 13 April 2007, p. 280) reported sequencing of Tyrannosaurus rex proteins and used them to establish the evolutionary relationships between birds and dinosaurs. We argue that the reported T. rex peptides may represent statistical artifacts and call for complete data release to enable experimental and computational verification of their findings.
The extensive use of mollusc shell as a versatile raw material is testament to its importance in ... more The extensive use of mollusc shell as a versatile raw material is testament to its importance in prehistoric times. The consistent choice of certain species for different purposes, including the making of ornaments, is a direct representation of how humans viewed and exploited their environment. The necessary taxonomic information, however, is often impossible to obtain from objects that are small, heavily worked or degraded. Here we propose a novel biogeochemical approach to track the biological origin of prehistoric mollusc shell. We conducted an in-depth study of archaeological ornaments using microstructural, geochemical and biomolecular analyses, including ‘palaeoshellomics’, the first application of palaeoproteomics to mollusc shells (and indeed to any invertebrate calcified tissue). We reveal the consistent use of locally-sourced freshwater mother-of-pearl for the standardized manufacture of ‘double-buttons’. This craft is found throughout Europe between 4200–3800 BCE, highli...
RationaleSampling of dentine for stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in the d... more RationaleSampling of dentine for stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in the direction of tooth growth allows the study of temporal changes to the diet and physiological stress of an individual during tooth formation. Current methods of sampling permanent teeth using 1 mm increments provide temporal resolution of 6–9 months at best depending on the tooth chosen. Although this gives sufficient sample sizes for reliable analysis by mass spectrometry, sectioning the dentine across the incremental structures results in a rolling average of the isotope ratios. A novel method of incremental dentine collagen sampling has been developed to decrease the collagen increment size to 0.35 mm along the incremental structures, thus reducing averaging and improving the temporal resolution of short‐term changes within the δ13C and δ15N values.MethodsThis study presents data for a MicroMill‐assisted sampling method that allows for sampling at 0.35 mm width × 1 mm depth increments f...
Santiago de Compostela is, together with Rome and Jerusalem, one of the three main pilgrimage and... more Santiago de Compostela is, together with Rome and Jerusalem, one of the three main pilgrimage and religious centres for Catholicism. The belief that the remains of St James the Great, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, is buried there has stimulated, since their reported discovery in the 9th century AD, a significant flow of people from across the European continent and beyond. Little is known about the practical experiences of people living within the city during its rise to prominence, however. Here, for the first time, we combine multi-isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18Oap, δ13Cap and 87Sr/86Sr) and radiocarbon dating (14C) of human remains discovered at the crypt of the Cathedral of Santiago to directly study changes in diet and mobility during the first three centuries of Santiago’s emergence as an urban centre (9th–12th centuries AD). Together with assessment of the existing archaeological data, our radiocarbon chronology broadly confirms historical tradition regarding...
Early reports of DNA preservation in multimillion-year-old bones (i.e.,<i> from</i> d... more Early reports of DNA preservation in multimillion-year-old bones (i.e.,<i> from</i> dinosaurs) have been largely dismissed ( 1, 2) (table S1), but reports of protein recovery are persistent [see ( 3) for review]. Most of these studies used secondary methods of detection, but Asara<i> et al</i>. ( 2) recently reported the direct identification of protein sequences, arguably the gold standard for molecular palaeontology, from fossil bones of an extinct mastodon and<i> Tyrannosaurus rex</i>. After initial optimism gen erated by reports of dinosaur DNA, there has been increasing awareness of the problems and pitfalls that bedevil analysis of ancient samples ( 1), leading to a series of recommendations for future analysis ( 1, 4). As yet, there are no equiv alent standards for fossil protein, so here we apply the recommended tests for DNA ( 4) to the authentication of the reported mastodon and<i> T</i>.<i> rex</i> protein sequ...
NoThis paper introduces stable light isotope analysis as a method of investigating the homogeneit... more NoThis paper introduces stable light isotope analysis as a method of investigating the homogeneity and heterogeneity of communities inhabiting areas of the East Alpine region during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It will present a short review on the use of carbon and nitrogen light isotope values, and discuss how they provide insight into the diet and health of past populations. A pilot study of results obtained from the bone collagen of 14 individuals, from 6 sites located in modern-day Slovenia and northern Croatia, will also be presented. This small dataset provides an example of the values that will be collected throughout the ENTRANS Project, and how they can be used as a tool to investigate the lives of people in the past.HERA joint research programm
The 11,000-year old lake-edge archaeological site of Star Carr in the Vale of Pickering of North ... more The 11,000-year old lake-edge archaeological site of Star Carr in the Vale of Pickering of North Yorkshire is one of the most famous Mesolithic sites in Europe, and one of the earliest, dated to the period of climatic warming that immediately followed the final termination of the last ice age. One of the main reasons for this international importance is
Is it possible to identify cooked, rather than burnt, bone? Mild heating (≤100°C,1h) – typical of... more Is it possible to identify cooked, rather than burnt, bone? Mild heating (≤100°C,1h) – typical of cooking – does not lead to detectable changes in any biochemical parameter of bone yet measured. If it is only possible to detect charred bone, how is it possible to detect cooking in the archaeological record? In a previous paper (Koon et al., 2003, J.
The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about th... more The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about the relationships between the deceased: were they chosen on the basis of status, gender or relatedness, for example? Here, the authors present the results of aDNA and isotope analyses conducted on seven individuals from an Early Iron Age barrow at Dolge njive, south-eastern Slovenia. All seven individuals are close biological relatives. While the group composition suggests strict adherence to neither patrilineal nor matrilineal structures, the funerary tradition appears highly gendered, and family links through both the male and female lines seem important in structuring of the community. The results have implications for understanding of kinship and funerary practices in late prehistoric Europe.
Mild heating (≤100° C, 1 h)-typical of cooking-does not lead to detectable changes in any biochem... more Mild heating (≤100° C, 1 h)-typical of cooking-does not lead to detectable changes in any biochemical parameter yet measured; consequently bones that have been cooked, but which have not reached a temperature that will induce charring go undetected. We have used a microscopy based approach to investigate changes in the organization of the bone protein, collagen, as it is heated, using bone from heating experiments, short term burials, and archaeological sites. The work has revealed that the presence of a mineral matrix stabilizes the collagen enabling the damage to accumulate, but preventing it from causing immediate gelatinization. Once the mineral is removed, the damage can be observed using appropriate visualization methods. This chapter describes the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique that has been used to detect cooked bone by visualizing minor heat-induced damage at the level of the collagen fibril.
Asara et al . (Reports, 13 April 2007, p. 280) reported sequencing of Tyrannosaurus rex proteins ... more Asara et al . (Reports, 13 April 2007, p. 280) reported sequencing of Tyrannosaurus rex proteins and used them to establish the evolutionary relationships between birds and dinosaurs. We argue that the reported T. rex peptides may represent statistical artifacts and call for complete data release to enable experimental and computational verification of their findings.
The extensive use of mollusc shell as a versatile raw material is testament to its importance in ... more The extensive use of mollusc shell as a versatile raw material is testament to its importance in prehistoric times. The consistent choice of certain species for different purposes, including the making of ornaments, is a direct representation of how humans viewed and exploited their environment. The necessary taxonomic information, however, is often impossible to obtain from objects that are small, heavily worked or degraded. Here we propose a novel biogeochemical approach to track the biological origin of prehistoric mollusc shell. We conducted an in-depth study of archaeological ornaments using microstructural, geochemical and biomolecular analyses, including ‘palaeoshellomics’, the first application of palaeoproteomics to mollusc shells (and indeed to any invertebrate calcified tissue). We reveal the consistent use of locally-sourced freshwater mother-of-pearl for the standardized manufacture of ‘double-buttons’. This craft is found throughout Europe between 4200–3800 BCE, highli...
RationaleSampling of dentine for stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in the d... more RationaleSampling of dentine for stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in the direction of tooth growth allows the study of temporal changes to the diet and physiological stress of an individual during tooth formation. Current methods of sampling permanent teeth using 1 mm increments provide temporal resolution of 6–9 months at best depending on the tooth chosen. Although this gives sufficient sample sizes for reliable analysis by mass spectrometry, sectioning the dentine across the incremental structures results in a rolling average of the isotope ratios. A novel method of incremental dentine collagen sampling has been developed to decrease the collagen increment size to 0.35 mm along the incremental structures, thus reducing averaging and improving the temporal resolution of short‐term changes within the δ13C and δ15N values.MethodsThis study presents data for a MicroMill‐assisted sampling method that allows for sampling at 0.35 mm width × 1 mm depth increments f...
Santiago de Compostela is, together with Rome and Jerusalem, one of the three main pilgrimage and... more Santiago de Compostela is, together with Rome and Jerusalem, one of the three main pilgrimage and religious centres for Catholicism. The belief that the remains of St James the Great, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, is buried there has stimulated, since their reported discovery in the 9th century AD, a significant flow of people from across the European continent and beyond. Little is known about the practical experiences of people living within the city during its rise to prominence, however. Here, for the first time, we combine multi-isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18Oap, δ13Cap and 87Sr/86Sr) and radiocarbon dating (14C) of human remains discovered at the crypt of the Cathedral of Santiago to directly study changes in diet and mobility during the first three centuries of Santiago’s emergence as an urban centre (9th–12th centuries AD). Together with assessment of the existing archaeological data, our radiocarbon chronology broadly confirms historical tradition regarding...
Early reports of DNA preservation in multimillion-year-old bones (i.e.,<i> from</i> d... more Early reports of DNA preservation in multimillion-year-old bones (i.e.,<i> from</i> dinosaurs) have been largely dismissed ( 1, 2) (table S1), but reports of protein recovery are persistent [see ( 3) for review]. Most of these studies used secondary methods of detection, but Asara<i> et al</i>. ( 2) recently reported the direct identification of protein sequences, arguably the gold standard for molecular palaeontology, from fossil bones of an extinct mastodon and<i> Tyrannosaurus rex</i>. After initial optimism gen erated by reports of dinosaur DNA, there has been increasing awareness of the problems and pitfalls that bedevil analysis of ancient samples ( 1), leading to a series of recommendations for future analysis ( 1, 4). As yet, there are no equiv alent standards for fossil protein, so here we apply the recommended tests for DNA ( 4) to the authentication of the reported mastodon and<i> T</i>.<i> rex</i> protein sequ...
NoThis paper introduces stable light isotope analysis as a method of investigating the homogeneit... more NoThis paper introduces stable light isotope analysis as a method of investigating the homogeneity and heterogeneity of communities inhabiting areas of the East Alpine region during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It will present a short review on the use of carbon and nitrogen light isotope values, and discuss how they provide insight into the diet and health of past populations. A pilot study of results obtained from the bone collagen of 14 individuals, from 6 sites located in modern-day Slovenia and northern Croatia, will also be presented. This small dataset provides an example of the values that will be collected throughout the ENTRANS Project, and how they can be used as a tool to investigate the lives of people in the past.HERA joint research programm
The 11,000-year old lake-edge archaeological site of Star Carr in the Vale of Pickering of North ... more The 11,000-year old lake-edge archaeological site of Star Carr in the Vale of Pickering of North Yorkshire is one of the most famous Mesolithic sites in Europe, and one of the earliest, dated to the period of climatic warming that immediately followed the final termination of the last ice age. One of the main reasons for this international importance is
Is it possible to identify cooked, rather than burnt, bone? Mild heating (≤100°C,1h) – typical of... more Is it possible to identify cooked, rather than burnt, bone? Mild heating (≤100°C,1h) – typical of cooking – does not lead to detectable changes in any biochemical parameter of bone yet measured. If it is only possible to detect charred bone, how is it possible to detect cooking in the archaeological record? In a previous paper (Koon et al., 2003, J.
The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about th... more The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about the relationships between the deceased: were they chosen on the basis of status, gender or relatedness, for example? Here, the authors present the results of aDNA and isotope analyses conducted on seven individuals from an Early Iron Age barrow at Dolge njive, south-eastern Slovenia. All seven individuals are close biological relatives. While the group composition suggests strict adherence to neither patrilineal nor matrilineal structures, the funerary tradition appears highly gendered, and family links through both the male and female lines seem important in structuring of the community. The results have implications for understanding of kinship and funerary practices in late prehistoric Europe.
Cultural encounters form a dominant theme in the study of Iron Age Europe. This was particularly ... more Cultural encounters form a dominant theme in the study of Iron Age Europe. This was particularly acute in regions where urbanising Mediterranean civilisations came into contact with ‘barbarian’ worlds. This volume presents preliminary work from the ENTRANS Project, which explores the nature and impact of such encounters in south-east Europe, alongside a series of papers on analogous European regions. A range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches are offered in an effort to promote dialogue around these central issues in European protohistory.
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Papers by Hannah koon