This chapter focuses on using strontium isotope data from neighboring Late Prehistoric sites in S... more This chapter focuses on using strontium isotope data from neighboring Late Prehistoric sites in Southwestern Portugal to find evidence of small-scale, short-distance migration and adjacent-site travel with the goal of understanding intraregional, cultural, and economic integration. The data suggests that human and domesticated animal travel to and from geographically close sites was likely common and perhaps seasonal, but permanent relocation may have been unusual. It is proposed that, based upon the gravity model of migration, the most parsimonious conclusion for each identified migrant animal and human at the examined sites is that they came from the nearest site with matching 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values.
This study provides evidence of the value of using isotopic data from faunal remains to understan... more This study provides evidence of the value of using isotopic data from faunal remains to understand human diet and mobility patterns when human remains are not available for examination. In this research, bone apatite, bone collagen, and enamel apatite from fauna recovered from recent excavations of the Dixon site (13WD8), an Oneota complex site (AD 1300–1400) in western Iowa, were analyzed for δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, and 87Sr/86Sr values. The goals of this study were to gather information about human and animal diet and mobility and faunal procurement strategies of humans in the late prehistoric period of upper midwestern North America and to contribute to the growing literature using domesticated dogs as surrogates for humans in isotopic studies of dietary patterns. The results of this study find that the people occupying the Dixon site were subsisting on agricultural products, including maize, in conjunction with the gathered wild resources and hunted fauna, which included both large an...
El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utiliz... more El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utilizada para la disposición de enterramientos secundarios en la mitad del III milenio AC. Presentamos resultados bioantropológicos, isotópicos (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C y δ18O) y 16 dataciones radiocarbónicas de los restos humanos, una descripción cuantificada de los 43 fragmentos cerámicos y de caracterización mineralógica de 6 cuentas recuperadas durante la excavación de 1989, cuatro de las cuales probablemente proceden de Palazuelo de las Cuevas (Zamora). El análisis bioantropológico indica un mínimo de 21 individuos con todos los rangos de edad y sexo. Se han detectado bajos porcentajes de patologías, mayoritariamente cálculo dental y caries, con casos puntuales de cribra orbitalia, periostosis y artrosis. La disposición de los restos sugiere que sólo los adultos recibieron un tratamiento claramente individualizado, quizás acorde con un estatus adquirido con la edad. Proponemos que el registro re...
The interdisciplinary project "Sizandro and Alcabrichel" began in 2006 to investigate a... more The interdisciplinary project "Sizandro and Alcabrichel" began in 2006 to investigate and reconstruct the development of the landscape around the Copper Age fortified settlement of Zambujal (Torres Vedras, dist. Lisbon, Portugal) during the Holocene, in close cooperation with the American project "Excavations at the Burial of Bolores". The most important results are the following: 1 – Archaeological surveys conducted along the two valleys of the Sizandro and Alcabrichel rivers show that there was, throughout later prehistory, a more dense population in the Sizandro area than in the Alcabrichel. The reason is most likely that there are more fertile soils on the Jurassic bedrock of the Sizandro, and poorer and sandier soils on the Cretaceous bedrock of the Alcabrichel valley. This result has been investigated in a soils science thesis. 2 – In 1987, a former sea bay was detected in the Sizandro valley. Additional borings along cross-sections of the valley were obtai...
Actas de la I Reunión Científica de Arqueología de Albacete, 2016, ISBN 978-84-944819-3-2, págs. 331-343, 2016
We present the data generated in the context of the latest research projects on the Bronze Age se... more We present the data generated in the context of the latest research projects on the Bronze Age settlement of El Acequión (Albacete). These have been oriented to refine its chronological sequence through new radiocarbon dates and the reconstruction of mobility patterns and nutritional models of individuals buried at the site through stable isotope analyses (13C, δ15N and 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O). They aim at providing a better knowledge on the lifestyles of the inhabitants of La Mancha during the Bronze Age.
This dissertation research is a bioarchaeological investigation of Late Neolithic through Early B... more This dissertation research is a bioarchaeological investigation of Late Neolithic through Early Bronze Age (3600-1800 BC) burial populations from the Portuguese Estremadura. In this project macroscopic and isotopic analyses of skeletal and dental materials are used to gather information pertaining to diet, health status, and inter-lifetime mobility patterns for individuals interred at different burials within a small geographic area with the goal of evaluating the level of social differentiation in the region. The archaeological record for the transition between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Portugal demonstrates clear evidence of the rise of a socially-complex, non-state society. During the Early Bronze Age, however, this region underwent a period of social 'devolution' which cumulated in widespread settlement abandonment. To date, it is unclear to what extent sociopolitical or environmental factors contributed to this social collapse. This stu...
El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utiliz... more El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utilizada para la disposición de enterramientos secundarios en la mitad del III milenio AC. Presentamos resultados bioantropológicos, isotópicos (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C y δ18O) y 16 dataciones radiocarbónicas de los restos humanos, una descripción cuantificada de los 43 fragmentos cerámicos y de caracterización mineralógica de 6 cuentas recuperadas durante la excavación de 1989, cuatro de las cuales probablemente proceden de Palazuelo de las Cuevas (Zamora). El análisis bioantropológico indica un mínimo de 21 individuos con todos los rangos de edad y sexo. Se han detectado bajos porcentajes de patologías, mayoritariamente cálculo dental y caries, con casos puntuales de cribra orbitalia, periostosis y artrosis. La disposición de los restos sugiere que sólo los adultos recibieron un tratamiento claramente individualizado, quizás acorde con un estatus adquirido con la edad. Proponemos que el registro re...
Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about t... more Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focused on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we...
This paper details the results of a comparison of stable isotopic data from bone samples acquired... more This paper details the results of a comparison of stable isotopic data from bone samples acquired from 31 individuals from two Late Neolithic-Copper Age (3500-2000 BC) burial sites in the Estremadura region of Portugal. The chosen sites of Feteira II and Paimogo I are geographically close and temporally overlapping but represent distinctive types of burial structures, one being a natural cave and the other a tholos. Because stable isotope analyses can quantify individual dietary intake, it can be useful in distinguishing patterns of food consumption within and between populations. The goal of this research was to ascertain if there are dietary differences that would indicate that socially-differentiated populations were interred in these burial spaces. The results of this study indicate diets based primarily on C3 plants and terrestrial animals for both sampled populations. Although several individuals do exhibit dietary signatures that suggest they were consuming some fish, marine ...
... COBRE Y BRONCE EN EL SUR PENINSULAR A TRAVÉS DE LOS ANÁLISIS DE ISÓTOPOS ESTABLES DE 87/86 SR... more ... COBRE Y BRONCE EN EL SUR PENINSULAR A TRAVÉS DE LOS ANÁLISIS DE ISÓTOPOS ESTABLES DE 87/86 SR Y 18 O Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla 1 y Anna J. Waterman 2 1Department of Archaeology, Durham University 2 Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa ...
This chapter focuses on using strontium isotope data from neighboring Late Prehistoric sites in S... more This chapter focuses on using strontium isotope data from neighboring Late Prehistoric sites in Southwestern Portugal to find evidence of small-scale, short-distance migration and adjacent-site travel with the goal of understanding intraregional, cultural, and economic integration. The data suggests that human and domesticated animal travel to and from geographically close sites was likely common and perhaps seasonal, but permanent relocation may have been unusual. It is proposed that, based upon the gravity model of migration, the most parsimonious conclusion for each identified migrant animal and human at the examined sites is that they came from the nearest site with matching 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values.
This study provides evidence of the value of using isotopic data from faunal remains to understan... more This study provides evidence of the value of using isotopic data from faunal remains to understand human diet and mobility patterns when human remains are not available for examination. In this research, bone apatite, bone collagen, and enamel apatite from fauna recovered from recent excavations of the Dixon site (13WD8), an Oneota complex site (AD 1300–1400) in western Iowa, were analyzed for δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, and 87Sr/86Sr values. The goals of this study were to gather information about human and animal diet and mobility and faunal procurement strategies of humans in the late prehistoric period of upper midwestern North America and to contribute to the growing literature using domesticated dogs as surrogates for humans in isotopic studies of dietary patterns. The results of this study find that the people occupying the Dixon site were subsisting on agricultural products, including maize, in conjunction with the gathered wild resources and hunted fauna, which included both large an...
El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utiliz... more El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utilizada para la disposición de enterramientos secundarios en la mitad del III milenio AC. Presentamos resultados bioantropológicos, isotópicos (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C y δ18O) y 16 dataciones radiocarbónicas de los restos humanos, una descripción cuantificada de los 43 fragmentos cerámicos y de caracterización mineralógica de 6 cuentas recuperadas durante la excavación de 1989, cuatro de las cuales probablemente proceden de Palazuelo de las Cuevas (Zamora). El análisis bioantropológico indica un mínimo de 21 individuos con todos los rangos de edad y sexo. Se han detectado bajos porcentajes de patologías, mayoritariamente cálculo dental y caries, con casos puntuales de cribra orbitalia, periostosis y artrosis. La disposición de los restos sugiere que sólo los adultos recibieron un tratamiento claramente individualizado, quizás acorde con un estatus adquirido con la edad. Proponemos que el registro re...
The interdisciplinary project "Sizandro and Alcabrichel" began in 2006 to investigate a... more The interdisciplinary project "Sizandro and Alcabrichel" began in 2006 to investigate and reconstruct the development of the landscape around the Copper Age fortified settlement of Zambujal (Torres Vedras, dist. Lisbon, Portugal) during the Holocene, in close cooperation with the American project "Excavations at the Burial of Bolores". The most important results are the following: 1 – Archaeological surveys conducted along the two valleys of the Sizandro and Alcabrichel rivers show that there was, throughout later prehistory, a more dense population in the Sizandro area than in the Alcabrichel. The reason is most likely that there are more fertile soils on the Jurassic bedrock of the Sizandro, and poorer and sandier soils on the Cretaceous bedrock of the Alcabrichel valley. This result has been investigated in a soils science thesis. 2 – In 1987, a former sea bay was detected in the Sizandro valley. Additional borings along cross-sections of the valley were obtai...
Actas de la I Reunión Científica de Arqueología de Albacete, 2016, ISBN 978-84-944819-3-2, págs. 331-343, 2016
We present the data generated in the context of the latest research projects on the Bronze Age se... more We present the data generated in the context of the latest research projects on the Bronze Age settlement of El Acequión (Albacete). These have been oriented to refine its chronological sequence through new radiocarbon dates and the reconstruction of mobility patterns and nutritional models of individuals buried at the site through stable isotope analyses (13C, δ15N and 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O). They aim at providing a better knowledge on the lifestyles of the inhabitants of La Mancha during the Bronze Age.
This dissertation research is a bioarchaeological investigation of Late Neolithic through Early B... more This dissertation research is a bioarchaeological investigation of Late Neolithic through Early Bronze Age (3600-1800 BC) burial populations from the Portuguese Estremadura. In this project macroscopic and isotopic analyses of skeletal and dental materials are used to gather information pertaining to diet, health status, and inter-lifetime mobility patterns for individuals interred at different burials within a small geographic area with the goal of evaluating the level of social differentiation in the region. The archaeological record for the transition between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Portugal demonstrates clear evidence of the rise of a socially-complex, non-state society. During the Early Bronze Age, however, this region underwent a period of social 'devolution' which cumulated in widespread settlement abandonment. To date, it is unclear to what extent sociopolitical or environmental factors contributed to this social collapse. This stu...
El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utiliz... more El Rebollosillo es una pequeña cueva kárstica situada en el centro de la Península Ibérica utilizada para la disposición de enterramientos secundarios en la mitad del III milenio AC. Presentamos resultados bioantropológicos, isotópicos (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C y δ18O) y 16 dataciones radiocarbónicas de los restos humanos, una descripción cuantificada de los 43 fragmentos cerámicos y de caracterización mineralógica de 6 cuentas recuperadas durante la excavación de 1989, cuatro de las cuales probablemente proceden de Palazuelo de las Cuevas (Zamora). El análisis bioantropológico indica un mínimo de 21 individuos con todos los rangos de edad y sexo. Se han detectado bajos porcentajes de patologías, mayoritariamente cálculo dental y caries, con casos puntuales de cribra orbitalia, periostosis y artrosis. La disposición de los restos sugiere que sólo los adultos recibieron un tratamiento claramente individualizado, quizás acorde con un estatus adquirido con la edad. Proponemos que el registro re...
Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about t... more Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focused on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we...
This paper details the results of a comparison of stable isotopic data from bone samples acquired... more This paper details the results of a comparison of stable isotopic data from bone samples acquired from 31 individuals from two Late Neolithic-Copper Age (3500-2000 BC) burial sites in the Estremadura region of Portugal. The chosen sites of Feteira II and Paimogo I are geographically close and temporally overlapping but represent distinctive types of burial structures, one being a natural cave and the other a tholos. Because stable isotope analyses can quantify individual dietary intake, it can be useful in distinguishing patterns of food consumption within and between populations. The goal of this research was to ascertain if there are dietary differences that would indicate that socially-differentiated populations were interred in these burial spaces. The results of this study indicate diets based primarily on C3 plants and terrestrial animals for both sampled populations. Although several individuals do exhibit dietary signatures that suggest they were consuming some fish, marine ...
... COBRE Y BRONCE EN EL SUR PENINSULAR A TRAVÉS DE LOS ANÁLISIS DE ISÓTOPOS ESTABLES DE 87/86 SR... more ... COBRE Y BRONCE EN EL SUR PENINSULAR A TRAVÉS DE LOS ANÁLISIS DE ISÓTOPOS ESTABLES DE 87/86 SR Y 18 O Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla 1 y Anna J. Waterman 2 1Department of Archaeology, Durham University 2 Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa ...
This volume presents the results of archaeological research conducted at the Late Neolithic-Early... more This volume presents the results of archaeological research conducted at the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age burial site of Bolores between 2007 and 2012, which built on work carried out in 1986. Bolores is a small site (5 x 3 m), yet the analysis of its structure and associated materials have yielded a rich and nuanced picture of a small population of people who lived, and died, in the third and second millennia BC in the Portuguese Estremadura. Although our research focused on the small-scale, it also attempted to bridge this perspective with the larger social and cultural dynamics at play during the time. It advocates, in its own way, for greater attention to the micro-scale: small sites, small objects, bone fragments, and details in ritual practice. In a time when Big Data, Big History, and global phenomena loom large in public and scholarly imagination, we think it is also important to understand the variegated texture of local, small-scale social practices, which, after all, are linked to broader sociocultural phenomena and hold the key to understanding resistance and social change.
Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about t... more Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focused on the maternal genetic make-up of the Neolithic (~ 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, middle Ebro Valley, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher and varies regionally, being most pronounced in the inland middle Ebro Valley and in southwest Iberia. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, parallel to an increase of hunter-gatherer genetic ancestry. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.
El Rebollosillo is a small karstic cave located in the
center of Iberia used for the disposition ... more El Rebollosillo is a small karstic cave located in the center of Iberia used for the disposition of secondary burials during the mid third millennium BC. We present bioanthropological, isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ 13C y δ 18O) analyses and 16 radiocarbon dates on human remains, as well as mineralogical characterization of 6 beads (4 of them variscite from Palazuelo de las Cuevas, Zamora), and a quantitative analysis of 43 pottery fragments recovered during the 1989 excavations. A minimum of 21 individu-als have been identified, covering all age ranges and sex. Low percentages of pathologies have been detected, mainly dental calculus and caries, with specific cases of cribra orbitalia, periostosis and arthritis. Only adults received a clearly individualized treatment, suggestive of achieved status. We interpret the evidence as a multi-staged mortuary program, the last phase of which is documented at the site, with previous stages perhaps carried out elsewhere, and we evaluate these results in the context of the regional funerary record.
We present the data generated in the context of the latest research projects on the Bronze Age se... more We present the data generated in the context of the latest research projects on the Bronze Age settlement of El Acequión (Albacete). These have been oriented to refine its chronological sequence through new radiocarbon dates and the reconstruction of mobility patterns and nutritional models of individuals buried at the site through stable isotope analyses (13C, δ15N and 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O). They aim at providing a better knowledge on the lifestyles of the inhabitants of La Mancha during the Bronze Age.
This paper can be found at http://rdcu.be/p5EC
This study examines strontium, oxygen, and carbon... more This paper can be found at http://rdcu.be/p5EC
This study examines strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C) in dental enamel and bone apatite from 82 individuals interred at Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age burial sites near Madrid, Spain, to discern variations in dietary patterns and identify possible migrants. Questions about mobility patterns and subsistence practices have played a central role in the scholarship of Late Prehistoric central Iberia in the last 20 years, but the archaeological record has still not been able to provide clear answers. This study adds valuable data to this line of research. The results of this study suggest that migration from regions with different geologic landscapes was uncommon in these communities. For the identified migrants, based upon the 87Sr/86Sr values, 5% of the identified non-local individuals originate from regions with substantially older lithological features and possible places of origin are being investigated.
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center of Iberia used for the disposition of secondary
burials during the mid third millennium BC. We present
bioanthropological, isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ 13C y δ 18O)
analyses and 16 radiocarbon dates on human remains,
as well as mineralogical characterization of 6 beads (4 of
them variscite from Palazuelo de las Cuevas, Zamora), and
a quantitative analysis of 43 pottery fragments recovered
during the 1989 excavations. A minimum of 21 individu-als
have been identified, covering all age ranges and sex. Low
percentages of pathologies have been detected, mainly
dental calculus and caries, with specific cases of cribra
orbitalia, periostosis and arthritis. Only adults received
a clearly individualized treatment, suggestive of achieved
status. We interpret the evidence as a multi-staged mortuary
program, the last phase of which is documented at the site,
with previous stages perhaps carried out elsewhere, and
we evaluate these results in the context of the regional
funerary record.
This study examines strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C) in dental enamel and bone apatite from 82 individuals interred at Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age burial sites near Madrid, Spain, to discern variations in dietary patterns and identify possible migrants. Questions about mobility patterns and subsistence practices have played a central role in
the scholarship of Late Prehistoric central Iberia in the last 20 years, but the archaeological record has still not been able to provide clear answers. This study adds valuable data to this line of research. The results of this study suggest that migration from regions with different geologic landscapes was uncommon in these communities. For the identified migrants, based upon the 87Sr/86Sr values, 5% of the identified non-local individuals originate from regions with substantially older lithological features and possible places of origin are being investigated.