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- Dury, Jack, et al.
(författare)
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Dental wiggle matching : Radiocarbon modelling of micro-sampled archaeological human dentine
- 2021
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Ingår i: Quaternary International. - : Elsevier BV. - 1040-6182 .- 1873-4553. ; 595, s. 118-127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Marine reservoir effects (MRE) have the potential to increase the dating uncertainty of humans incorporating marine resources into their diets. Here we attempt a novel dental wiggle-match model to reduce dating uncertainty of seven individuals from the Resmo megalithic tomb (Öland, Sweden) and to test whether this model can be used to calculate MRE from a single tooth. Previous stable isotope ratio studies of these individuals demonstrated that their diets changed, between more or less marine protein, during the early years of their lives. Several incremental samples of dentine from each individual were subjected to radiocarbon dating and stable isotope ratio analysis. An OxCal model was designed that makes use of the known formation sequence of human teeth to reduce overall dating uncertainty. The new dental wiggle-match model is able to reduce overall dating uncertainty in all of the sampled individuals compared to more conventional 14C calibration methods. A utility of the dental wiggle model to estimate marine reservoir effects without associated faunal material is also demonstrated, with promising results.
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- Dury, Jack, et al.
(författare)
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Species-specific reservoir effect estimates : A case study of archaeological marine samples from the Bering Strait
- 2022
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Ingår i: The Holocene. - : SAGE Publications. - 0959-6836 .- 1477-0911. ; 32:11, s. 1209-1221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to the marine reservoir effect, radiocarbon dates of marine samples require a correction. Marine reservoir effects, however, may vary among different marine species within a given body of water. Factors such as diet, feeding depth and migratory behaviour all affect the 14C date of a marine organism. Moreover, there is often significant variation within single marine species. Whilst the careful consideration of the ΔR values of a single marine species in a given location is important, so too is the full range of ΔR values within an ecosystem. This paper illustrates this point, using a sample pairing method to estimate the reservoir effects in 17 marine samples, of eight different species, from the archaeological site of Ekven (Eastern Chukotka, Siberia). An OxCal model is used to assess the strength of these estimates. The marine reservoir effects of samples passing the model range from ΔR (Marine20) = 136 ± 41–ΔR = 460 ± 40. Marine reservoir effect estimates of these samples and other published samples are used to explore variability in the wider Bering Strait region. The archaeological implications of this variability are also discussed. The calibrating of 14C dates from human bone collagen, for example, could be improved by applying a dietary relevant marine reservoir effect correction. For humans from the site of Ekven, a ΔR (Marine20) correction of 289 ± 124 years or reservoir age correction of 842 ± 123 years is suggested.
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- Harris, Alison J. T., 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Archives of human-dog relationships : Genetic and stable isotope analysis of Arctic fur clothing
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0278-4165 .- 1090-2686. ; 59
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Among Indigenous populations of the Arctic, domestic dogs (Canislupus familiaris) were social actors aiding in traction and subsistence activities. Less commonly, dogs fulfilled a fur-bearing role in both the North American and Siberian Arctic. Examples of garments featuring dog skins were collected during the 19th-20th centuries and are now curated by the National Museum of Denmark. We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of macroscopically identified dog skin garments. We conducted stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis of the dog furs and of fur samples from contemporaneous pelts of Arctic (C. lupus arctos) and grey (C. lupus) wolves. Despite the presence of biocides used to protect the fur clothing during storage, we extracted well-preserved DNA using a minimally-invasive sampling protocol. Unexpectedly, the mtDNA genomes of one-third of the samples were consistent with wild taxa, rather than domestic dogs. The strong marine component in the diets of North American dogs distinguished them from Greenland and Canadian wolves, but Siberian dogs consumed diets that were isotopically similar to wild species. We found that dog provisioning practices were variable across the Siberian and North American Arctic, but in all cases, involved considerable human labor.
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- Harris, Alison J. T., 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Diversity in Labrador Inuit sled dog diets : Insights from δ13C and δ15N analysis of dog bone and dentine collagen
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-409X .- 2352-4103. ; 32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sled dogs were an integral part of Labrador Inuit life from the initial expansion and settlement of northeastern Canada to the present day. Tasked with pulling sleds and assisting people with other subsistence activities in the winter, dogs required regular provisioning with protein and fat. In this paper, we conduct stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis of the skeletal remains of dogs (n=35) and wild fauna (n=68) from sites located on the north and south coasts of Labrador to characterize dog provisioning between the 15th to early 19th centuries. In addition, we analyse bone (n=20) and dentine (n=4) collagen from dogs from Double Mer Point, a communal house site in Hamilton Inlet to investigate how dog diets intersected with Inuit subsistence and trade activities at a local level. We find that dog diets were largely composed of marine mammal protein, but that dogs on the north coast consumed more caribou and fish relative to dogs from the central and south coast sites. The diets of dogs from Double Mer Point were the most heterogenous of any site, suggesting long-distance movement of people and/or animals along the coast.
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7. |
- Harris, Alison J.T, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Stable Isotope Studies of North American Arctic Populations : A Review
- 2019
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Ingår i: Open Quaternary. - : Ubiquity Press, Ltd.. - 2055-298X. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review the major stable carbon and nitrogen isotope studies conducted on human remains in the North American Arctic (NAA) and discuss the findings with respect to two major research themes: diachronic subsistence, and the development of food cultures across the NAA. The interpretation of stable isotope data from human bone collagen and hair keratin is complicated by issues of equifinality in addition to uncertainty arising from the high fat/high protein diets of Arctic hunter gatherers. We suggest future lines of inquiry which may help to alleviate some of these challenges. Our review of Arctic stable isotope studies shows the ongoing potential of stable isotope analysis of Arctic hunter-gatherers and faunal populations, but we include the caveat that regardless of how cutting-edge or refined the analytical method, future stable isotope studies must be contextualized with other lines of evidence from well-excavated sites, and would profoundly benefit from the incorporation of indigenous perspectives and research priorities.
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8. |
- Harris, Alison, 1982-
(författare)
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Palaeodiet and Infant Feeding in Coastal Arctic Settlements : Insights from stable isotope analysis of bone and dentine collagen and amino acids
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation investigates the day-to-day activities that sustained human societies in the arctic and subarctic environments of North America and Siberia over the past 1500 years. Maintenance activities, such as food preparation, childcare, and the care of domestic animals, are commonly inflected by social identity and can provide insight into the experience of gender among archaeological and historical populations. This PhD combined stable isotope analysis of bulk bone collagen and single amino acids, with ethnographic research and ancient DNA analysis to answer a number of research questions, such as, how can the effects of destructive biomolecular sampling protocols be minimized?; how were sled dogs provisioned across the Arctic?; how can palaeodietary research inform our understanding of social relationships between humans and dogs?; how long were human infants breastfed among Bering Sea hunter-gatherers?The dissertation is comprised of five studies: a review of stable isotope studies of late Holocene Arctic populations; a methodological paper presenting a best practice for the pre-treatment of humic-contaminated bone samples, and three bioarchaeological applications that variously employ stable isotope analysis of bulk bone collagen, DNA analysis of dog furs, and isotopic analysis of amino acids. The isotopic evidence for dog diets largely corresponds to zooarchaeological and ethnographic evidence for local subsistence practices. Dog bones dating to between the 15th and 19th centuries, from coastal Labrador, Canada, carried a strong marine isotope signature as did dog furs collected during the early 20th century in Greenland, coastal Labrador, and Alaska. Dogs living among reindeer herders in early 20th century Siberia consumed terrestrial protein sources, while those on the Kamchatka Peninsula consumed terrestrial protein supplemented by limited quantities of salmon. Dog provisioning required considerable human labour and was an important structuring component of daily life in the Arctic. The final study presents the first analysis of infant feeding practices among prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the Bering Sea coast. This study uses stable isotope analysis of bulk collagen from dentine increments to show that breastfeeding and weaning practices varied considerably across the sampled group. The novel isotopic analysis of amino acids from dentine suggests those amino acids, such as lysine, that are routed directly from diet to collagen, show promise for distinguishing between the dual influences of diet and systemic stress on the nitrogen isotope values of human proteins.In the thesis summary, I also include a discussion of the ethics of bioarchaeological practice. Indigneous Arctic cultures are frequently the focus of archaeological study in Canada, Scandinavia, the United States, and Russia, but among these regions, the legislation designed to protect Indigenous cultural heritage differs dramatically. In light of the increasing number of bioarchaeological studies conducted in Siberia, I review regional differences in the codes of bioarchaeological practice and, drawing on bioarchaeological research in other international contexts, suggest some possible solutions for future work.
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