Arts and Humanities Council. The British Federation of Women Graduates (the Eila Campbell scholar... more Arts and Humanities Council. The British Federation of Women Graduates (the Eila Campbell scholarship). The British Association for Biological, Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (the Jane Moore prize).
Here we present a novel method which allows the measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbo... more Here we present a novel method which allows the measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) from much smaller samples of dentine than previously possible without affecting the quality parameters. The reconstruction of the diet of past populations using isotopic analysis of bone collagen is a well-established tool. However, because of remodelling of bone throughout life, this gives a blurred picture of the diet. The analysis of δ13C and δ15N from tiny increments of dentine utilizes tissue that does not remodel and permits comparison, at the same age, of those who survived infancy with those who did not at high temporal resolution. This new method has been tested on archaeological teeth from two sites: three molar teeth from the 19th Century Kilkenny Union Workhouse Famine cemetery, Ireland; and three from the Anglian (5-7th centuries AD) cemetery at West Heslerton, Yorkshire, England, selected on the basis of their varied preservation. The methods of...
Early life is associated with high vulnerability to morbidity and mortality – risks which can be ... more Early life is associated with high vulnerability to morbidity and mortality – risks which can be reduced in infancy and early childhood through strategically high levels of parental or alloparental investment, particularly through maternal breastfeeding. Recent evidence has supported links between early life health and care patterns and long-term population health. This growing body of research regarding the broader impacts of infant-parent interactions transcends a traditional partitioning of research into discrete life stages. It also highlights implications of childhood data for our understanding of population health and behaviour. Skeletal and environmental data indicate that the fifth- to seventh-century cemeteries at Littleport and Edix Hill (Barrington A), Cambridgeshire, represent populations of similar material culture but contrasting environments and health. The high prevalence of skeletal stress markers at Littleport indicates a community coping with unusual levels of bio...
Objetivo: Estudiar el cambio de dieta asociado al ingreso en el monasterio de San Millan de la Co... more Objetivo: Estudiar el cambio de dieta asociado al ingreso en el monasterio de San Millan de la Cogolla Yuso (La Rioja), asi como el nivel socioeconomico de los monjes durante su ninez. Material y metodos: Se analizaron isotopos estables de carbono y nitrogeno de muestras de dientes y costillas de 10 individuos. El metodo “incremental dentine analisis” permitio la obtencion de informacion sobre patrones de alimentacion durante la infancia, mientras que las muestras provenientes de colageno de las costillas revelaron la composicion de su alimentacion [m1] durante los ultimos anos de vida. Resultados: Se observan tres patrones diferentes entre los monjes: ninos oblatos cuyos valores de δ 13 C y δ 15 N [m2] de dentina comienzan a acercarse a los adultos alrededor de los siete anos de edad, los ninos de alto estatus socioeconomico cuyos valores durante la infancia y la adultez son muy similares, y los individuos de bajo status cuyos valores e n estas dos etapasfueron muy diferentes [m3] ...
The study presents results of the investigations of diet based on carbon and nitrogen stable isot... more The study presents results of the investigations of diet based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) of the bone collagen of individuals buried in medieval elite chamber graves from the territory of the state of the first Piasts, Poland (the second half of the 10th and the first half of the 11th century). The aim of the research was to determine the diet of individuals buried in such funerary structures, to compare this with commoners buried in ordinary graves, and investigate any sex-related patterns. Rib bone samples were taken from individuals buried in chamber graves at Bodzia, Dziekanowice, Pień and Sowinki. Results indicate that the elite male diet was based on C 3 plants with possible contribution of some C 4 plants (millet) and substantial consumption of animal proteins including fish. The bone collagen δ 13 C and δ 15 N of male chamber burials suggested consumption of higher trophic level foodstuffs (meat and fish) whilst the female diet, and that...
After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers w... more After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers were imprisoned in Durham and many hundreds died there within a few weeks. The partial skeletal remains of 28 of these men were discovered in 2013. Building on previous osteological work, here we report wide-ranging scientific studies of the remains to address the following questions: Did they have comparable diet, health and disease throughout their lives? Did they have common histories of movement (or lack of movement) during their childhoods? Can we create a collective biography of these men? Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel investigated childhood movement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of incrementally sampled dentine addressed childhood diet and nutrition. Metaproteomic analysis of dental calculus investigated oral microbiomes and food residues; this was complemented by microscopic analysis of debris in calculus from ingested materials. Selected individual...
Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society , 2021
The Iron Age Durotriges community, whose main territory included the county of Dorset, were one o... more The Iron Age Durotriges community, whose main territory included the county of Dorset, were one of the few British groups to practice a recoverable burial rite. Their life course and gender roles shaped funerary practice and, for a few, reflect specialised/elite roles. We applied an osteobiographical approach to the lives of seven elite individuals, to unite mobility and dietary isotope data with other archaeological evidence for exchange/connections during the 1st century BC to AD 1st century. Incremental dentine analysis showed that weaning was completed by the age of 4 years old, but childhood dietary patterns were not consistent across the group. Mobility data identified at least two individuals who may have originated further north and east, an area for which there is no archaeological evidence for exchange. The results support earlier hypotheses for combatant mobility reflecting their training and martial activities, and the movement of individuals earlier in life for the acquisition of knowledge. Importantly, the results show that non-local individuals were afforded Durotrigian funerary rites, potentially revealing the role of kinship networks in southern Britain.
Arts and Humanities Council. The British Federation of Women Graduates (the Eila Campbell scholar... more Arts and Humanities Council. The British Federation of Women Graduates (the Eila Campbell scholarship). The British Association for Biological, Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (the Jane Moore prize).
Here we present a novel method which allows the measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbo... more Here we present a novel method which allows the measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) from much smaller samples of dentine than previously possible without affecting the quality parameters. The reconstruction of the diet of past populations using isotopic analysis of bone collagen is a well-established tool. However, because of remodelling of bone throughout life, this gives a blurred picture of the diet. The analysis of δ13C and δ15N from tiny increments of dentine utilizes tissue that does not remodel and permits comparison, at the same age, of those who survived infancy with those who did not at high temporal resolution. This new method has been tested on archaeological teeth from two sites: three molar teeth from the 19th Century Kilkenny Union Workhouse Famine cemetery, Ireland; and three from the Anglian (5-7th centuries AD) cemetery at West Heslerton, Yorkshire, England, selected on the basis of their varied preservation. The methods of...
Early life is associated with high vulnerability to morbidity and mortality – risks which can be ... more Early life is associated with high vulnerability to morbidity and mortality – risks which can be reduced in infancy and early childhood through strategically high levels of parental or alloparental investment, particularly through maternal breastfeeding. Recent evidence has supported links between early life health and care patterns and long-term population health. This growing body of research regarding the broader impacts of infant-parent interactions transcends a traditional partitioning of research into discrete life stages. It also highlights implications of childhood data for our understanding of population health and behaviour. Skeletal and environmental data indicate that the fifth- to seventh-century cemeteries at Littleport and Edix Hill (Barrington A), Cambridgeshire, represent populations of similar material culture but contrasting environments and health. The high prevalence of skeletal stress markers at Littleport indicates a community coping with unusual levels of bio...
Objetivo: Estudiar el cambio de dieta asociado al ingreso en el monasterio de San Millan de la Co... more Objetivo: Estudiar el cambio de dieta asociado al ingreso en el monasterio de San Millan de la Cogolla Yuso (La Rioja), asi como el nivel socioeconomico de los monjes durante su ninez. Material y metodos: Se analizaron isotopos estables de carbono y nitrogeno de muestras de dientes y costillas de 10 individuos. El metodo “incremental dentine analisis” permitio la obtencion de informacion sobre patrones de alimentacion durante la infancia, mientras que las muestras provenientes de colageno de las costillas revelaron la composicion de su alimentacion [m1] durante los ultimos anos de vida. Resultados: Se observan tres patrones diferentes entre los monjes: ninos oblatos cuyos valores de δ 13 C y δ 15 N [m2] de dentina comienzan a acercarse a los adultos alrededor de los siete anos de edad, los ninos de alto estatus socioeconomico cuyos valores durante la infancia y la adultez son muy similares, y los individuos de bajo status cuyos valores e n estas dos etapasfueron muy diferentes [m3] ...
The study presents results of the investigations of diet based on carbon and nitrogen stable isot... more The study presents results of the investigations of diet based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) of the bone collagen of individuals buried in medieval elite chamber graves from the territory of the state of the first Piasts, Poland (the second half of the 10th and the first half of the 11th century). The aim of the research was to determine the diet of individuals buried in such funerary structures, to compare this with commoners buried in ordinary graves, and investigate any sex-related patterns. Rib bone samples were taken from individuals buried in chamber graves at Bodzia, Dziekanowice, Pień and Sowinki. Results indicate that the elite male diet was based on C 3 plants with possible contribution of some C 4 plants (millet) and substantial consumption of animal proteins including fish. The bone collagen δ 13 C and δ 15 N of male chamber burials suggested consumption of higher trophic level foodstuffs (meat and fish) whilst the female diet, and that...
After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers w... more After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers were imprisoned in Durham and many hundreds died there within a few weeks. The partial skeletal remains of 28 of these men were discovered in 2013. Building on previous osteological work, here we report wide-ranging scientific studies of the remains to address the following questions: Did they have comparable diet, health and disease throughout their lives? Did they have common histories of movement (or lack of movement) during their childhoods? Can we create a collective biography of these men? Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel investigated childhood movement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of incrementally sampled dentine addressed childhood diet and nutrition. Metaproteomic analysis of dental calculus investigated oral microbiomes and food residues; this was complemented by microscopic analysis of debris in calculus from ingested materials. Selected individual...
Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society , 2021
The Iron Age Durotriges community, whose main territory included the county of Dorset, were one o... more The Iron Age Durotriges community, whose main territory included the county of Dorset, were one of the few British groups to practice a recoverable burial rite. Their life course and gender roles shaped funerary practice and, for a few, reflect specialised/elite roles. We applied an osteobiographical approach to the lives of seven elite individuals, to unite mobility and dietary isotope data with other archaeological evidence for exchange/connections during the 1st century BC to AD 1st century. Incremental dentine analysis showed that weaning was completed by the age of 4 years old, but childhood dietary patterns were not consistent across the group. Mobility data identified at least two individuals who may have originated further north and east, an area for which there is no archaeological evidence for exchange. The results support earlier hypotheses for combatant mobility reflecting their training and martial activities, and the movement of individuals earlier in life for the acquisition of knowledge. Importantly, the results show that non-local individuals were afforded Durotrigian funerary rites, potentially revealing the role of kinship networks in southern Britain.
This workshop will bring together world-leading, international scholars with the aim of developin... more This workshop will bring together world-leading, international scholars with the aim of developing new theoretical perspectives for studying the mother-infant nexus in anthropology. The themes covered will explore biocultural understandings and embodied practices relating to maternal, fetal and infant bodies and the significance for early life development and overall population well-being. This is particularly topical because there is a burgeoning awareness within anthropology regarding the centrality of mother-infant interactions for understanding the evolution of our species, infant and maternal health and care strategies, epigenetic change, and biological and social development. Over the past few decades the anthropology and archaeology of childhood has developed apace, however, infancy, the pregnant body and motherhood continue to be marginalised. The aim of this workshop is to develop new theoretical directions within anthropology and set future research agendas regarding the unique mother-infant relationship. We will achieve this aim through two inter-related objectives: 1) Our targeted invitation of participants who are leaders in different sub-disciplines of anthropology and beyond, whose research is breaking new methodological and theoretical ground in investigating mother-infant relationships and; 2) To assess a series of inter-related research topics/themes through multiple anthropological approaches in order to develop a holistic biocultural understanding of the mother-infant relationship and broader implications for population well-being. Outputs will include an edited volume, 'The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology: Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes' with Springer, a collaborative Major Article for Current Anthropology, and dissemination via major forms of social media.
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Papers by Julia Beaumont
osteobiographical approach to the lives of seven elite individuals, to unite mobility and dietary isotope data with other archaeological evidence for exchange/connections during the 1st century BC to AD 1st century. Incremental dentine analysis showed that weaning was completed
by the age of 4 years old, but childhood dietary patterns were not consistent across the group.
Mobility data identified at least two individuals who may have originated further north and east, an area for which there is no archaeological evidence for exchange. The results support earlier hypotheses for combatant mobility reflecting their training and martial activities, and the
movement of individuals earlier in life for the acquisition of knowledge. Importantly, the results show that non-local individuals were afforded Durotrigian funerary rites, potentially revealing the role of kinship networks in southern Britain.
osteobiographical approach to the lives of seven elite individuals, to unite mobility and dietary isotope data with other archaeological evidence for exchange/connections during the 1st century BC to AD 1st century. Incremental dentine analysis showed that weaning was completed
by the age of 4 years old, but childhood dietary patterns were not consistent across the group.
Mobility data identified at least two individuals who may have originated further north and east, an area for which there is no archaeological evidence for exchange. The results support earlier hypotheses for combatant mobility reflecting their training and martial activities, and the
movement of individuals earlier in life for the acquisition of knowledge. Importantly, the results show that non-local individuals were afforded Durotrigian funerary rites, potentially revealing the role of kinship networks in southern Britain.
through two inter-related objectives: 1) Our targeted invitation of participants who are leaders in different sub-disciplines of
anthropology and beyond, whose research is breaking new methodological and theoretical ground in investigating mother-infant
relationships and; 2) To assess a series of inter-related research topics/themes through multiple anthropological approaches in order to develop a holistic biocultural understanding of the mother-infant relationship and broader implications for population well-being. Outputs will include an edited volume, 'The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology:
Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes' with Springer, a collaborative Major Article for Current Anthropology, and dissemination via major forms of social media.