| 1. |
- Álvarez-Fernández, Noemi, et al.
(författare)
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Approaching mercury distribution in burial environment using PLS-R modelling
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mercury environmental cycle and toxicology have been widely researched. Given the long history of mercury pollution, researching mercury trends in the past can help to understand its behaviour in the present. Archaeological skeletons have been found to be useful sources of information regarding mercury loads in the past. In our study we applied a soil multi-sampling approach in two burials dated to the 5th to 6th centuries AD. PLRS modelling was used to elucidate the factors controlling mercury distribution. The model explains 72% of mercury variance and suggests that mercury accumulation in the burial soils is the result of complex interactions. The decomposition of the bodies not only was the primary source of mercury to the soil but also responsible for the pedogenetic transformation of the sediments and the formation of soil components with the ability to retain mercury. The amount of soft tissues and bone mass also resulted in differences between burials, indicating that the skeletons were a primary/secondary source of mercury to the soil (i.e. temporary sink). Within burial variability seems to depend on the proximity of the soil to the thoracic area, where the main mercury target organs were located. We also conclude that, in coarse textured soils, as the ones studied in this investigation, the finer fraction (i.e. silt + clay) should be analysed, as it is the most reactive and the one with the higher potential to provide information on metal cycling and incipient soil processes. Finally, our study stresses the need to characterise the burial soil environment in order to fully understand the role of the interactions between soil and skeleton in mercury cycling in burial contexts.
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| 2. |
- García-López, Zaira, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding Necrosol pedogenetical processes in post-Roman burials developed on dunes sands
- 2022
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Archaeology much emphasis is dedicated to bone preservation, but less attention is paid to the burial soil (i.e., Necrosol), despite its crucial role in governing the geochemical environment. The interaction between human remains and sediments starts after inhumation, leading to bidirectional physico-chemical changes. To approach these complex, bidirectional processes, we sampled at high resolution (n = 46) two post-Roman wooden coffin burials (one single and another double), and the coeval paleosol (n = 20; nearby pedo-sedimentary sequence). The samples were analysed for physical (grain size, colour) and chemical (pH; LOI; elemental composition: FTIR-ATR, XRF, C, N) properties. Principal component analysis enabled to identify five main pedogenetical processes: decalcification, melanization, acidification, neoformation of secondary minerals (i.e., clays) and enrichment in phosphorus. Melanization, acidification and phosphorous enrichment seem to be convergent processes in Necrosols—irrespective of the parent material. Decalcification may be restricted to carbonate containing soil/sediments. Despite not mentioned in previous research, clay formation might also be an overall process. Compared to the local, coeval paleosol, pedogenesis in the studied burial soils was low (double burial) to moderate (single burial). Our results also emphasize the need to study the finer soil fractions, as they provide clues both on soil formation and bone diagenesis.
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| 3. |
- Mighall, Tim M., et al.
(författare)
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Climate Change, Fire and Human Activity Drive Vegetation Change during the Last Eight Millennia in the Xistral Mountains of NW Iberia
- 2023
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Ingår i: Quaternary. - : MDPI AG. - 2571-550X. ; 6:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An 8500-year record of high-resolution pollen, non-pollen palynomorph, microscopic charcoal and selected geochemical data (Ti, Zr and Pb) is presented from an ombrotrophic mire from the Xistral Mountains, Galicia, North-West Iberia. The results suggest that vegetation changes over the last eight millennia are primarily the result of human disturbance, fire and climate change. Climate and fire were the main factors influencing vegetation development during the early to mid-Holocene, including a short-lived decline in forest cover c. 8.2 cal. ka BP. Changes associated with the 4.2 and 2.8 cal. Ka BP events are less well defined. Human impact on vegetation became more pronounced by the late Holocene with major periods of forest disturbance from c. 3.1 cal. ka BP onwards: during the end of Metal Ages, Roman period and culminating in the permanent decline of deciduous forests in the post-Roman period, as agriculture and metallurgy intensified, leading to the creation of a cultural landscape. Climate change appears to become less influential as human activity dominates during the Late Holocene.
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| 4. |
- Sarkic, Natasa, et al.
(författare)
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Eating in silence : isotopic approaches to nuns' diet at the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (Belmonte, Spain) from the sixteenth to the twentieth century
- 2019
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Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 11:8, s. 3895-3911
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Advances in geochemical and physical anthropological studies have provided new tools to reconstruct ancient lifestyles, especially of those minorities not commonly mentioned in historical texts. In comparison to males, little is known about everyday life in female monastic communities, and how it has changed over time. In this paper, we present a paleodietary (delta C-13 and delta N-15 in bone collagen) study of human (n = 58) and animal (n = 13) remains recovered from the former Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Belmonte (Cuenca, central Spain). Two funerary areas used by Dominican nuns were sampled: one dated to the sixteenth (n = 34) and the seventeenth (n = 15) centuries, and the other dated in the nineteenth and twentieth (n = 9) centuries. The isotopic values for sheep (n = 7) suggest the animals consumed at the convent came from diverse ecosystems or were raised under a range of management strategies. The human samples reflect a terrestrial diet, and those from the nineteenth to twentieth century, in some cases, reveal the presence of C-4 plants (millet, corn or sugar cane). Due to their religious practice, the consumption of terrestrial animal protein was restricted, and although they were allowed to eat fish, the isotopic signatures show little evidence of this. The individuals from the sixteenth and seventeenth century show a continuous shift in delta N-15 (9.7-12.7 parts per thousand), with few significant differences in relation to the period, age, or pathologies (osteoporosis, periostitis, and brucellosis). The nineteenth- to twentieth-century samples can be divided into two groups: (a) one that fits the trend of previous centuries, albeit with a higher delta N-15, possibly related to extensive access to animal protein; and (b) a second group with elevated delta C-13 values (up to - 15.7 parts per thousand). Different customs in the assumed homogeneous monastic life are discussed as possible sources of isotopic variation, including access to luxury products such as animal protein or sugar, or the practice of periods of food abstinence, which were especially popular with these communities, according to historical records.
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| 5. |
- Álvarez-Fernández, Noemi, et al.
(författare)
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Atmospheric mercury pollution deciphered through archaeological bones
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0305-4403 .- 1095-9238. ; 119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mercury is a major environmental pollutant extensively used by humans, whose pollution dates back at least to c. 3250 BCE (South Iberian Peninsula). As it happens today, past populations were mostly affected by low dose chronic mercury exposure, with levels that varied with the intensity of some anthropogenic activities (mining and metallurgy in particular). Despite its toxic nature, mercury impact in humans themselves has been hardly addressed by Archaeology. The aim of this research is to increase our knowledge on mercury levels in past populations by 1) analysing human (cortical) bone from skeletons recovered in a necropolis from NW Iberia covering contrasting periods of atmospheric pollution: Roman, AD 1st to 4th centuries, and post-Roman, AD 5th to 7th centuries; 2) considering bone type variability; 3) contextualizing our findings with previous works. Samples from 3 types of bone (n = 143) as well as soils/sediments associated to the burials (n = 34) were analysed. Mercury concentrations in soil were below 5 ng g(-1), while the average in bone was 36 +/- 52 ng g(-1), making post-depositional incorporation unlikely. We found significant differences between the two periods (Romans: 54 +/- 60 ng g(-1), post-Romans: 21 +/- 23 ng g(-1)), but no effect of type of bone, sex, age, social status or diet of the individuals. Our results agree with the chronology of mercury pollution reconstructed from a local peatland, which suggests a predominant atmospheric source. This fact contrasts with previous research in which high mercury concentrations were mainly related to post-mortem burial customs and pre-mortem medical treatment and poisoning. Thus, mercury distribution in past communities was possibly more complex than previously thought, with different pre- and post-mortem sources interacting. Furthermore, our research also supports the use of archaeological bone as environmental archive of metal pollution, when metal cultural exposure is low.
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| 6. |
- Álvarez-Fernández, Noemi, et al.
(författare)
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Structural equation modelling of mercury intra-skeletal variability on archaeological human remains
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 851, part 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Archaeological burial environments are useful archives to investigate the long-term trends and the behaviour of mercury. In order to understand the relationship between mercury, skeletons and soil, we applied Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to a detailed, multisampling (n = 73 bone samples +37 soil samples) design of two archaeological graves dating to the 6th to 7th centuries CE (A Lanzada site, NW Spain). Mercury content was assessed using a DMA-80, and data about bone structure and the grave soil/sediments were obtained using FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The theoretical model is supported by proxies of bone structure, grave soil/sediments, and location of the bone within the skeleton. The general model explained 61 % of mercury variance. Additionally, Partial Least Square – Prediction Oriented Segmentation (PLS-POS) was also used to check for segmentation in the dataset. POS revealed two group of samples depending on the bone phase (hydroxyapatite or collagen) controlling the Hg content, and the corresponding models explained 86 % and 76 % of Hg variance, respectively. The results suggest that mercury behaviour in the graves is complex, and that mercury concentrations were influenced by i) the ante-mortem status of the bone matrix, related to the weight of each bone phase; ii) post-mortem evolution of bone crystallinity, where bone loses mercury with increasing alteration; and iii) the proximity of the skeletal pieces to mercury target organs, as decomposition and collapse of the thoracic and abdominal soft tissues causes a secondary mercury enrichment in bones from the body trunk during early post-mortem. Skeletons provide a source of mercury to the soil whereas soil/sediments contribute little to skeletal mercury content.
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| 7. |
- Fjellström, Markus, et al.
(författare)
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Food, Mobility, and Health in a 17th and 18th Century Arctic Mining Population in Silbojokk, Swedish Sapmi
- 2021
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Ingår i: Arctic. - : The Arctic Institute of North America. - 0004-0843 .- 1923-1245. ; 74:2, s. 113-238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Established in 1635, the silver mine of Nasafjall and the smeltery site in Silbojokk in Swedish Sapmi were used during several phases until the late 19th century. Excavations in Silbojokk, c. 40 km from Nasafjall, have revealed buildings such as a smeltery, living houses, a bakery, and a church with a churchyard. From the beginning, both local and non-local individuals worked at the mine and the smeltery. Non-locals were recruited to work in the mine and at the smeltery, and the local Semi population was recruited to transport the silver down to the Swedish coast. Females, males, and children of different ages were represented among the individuals buried at the churchyard in Silbojokk, which was used between c. 1635 and 1770. Here we study diet, mobility, and exposure to lead (Pb) in the smeltery workers, the miners, and the local population. By employing isotopic analysis, delta C-13, delta N-15, delta S-34, Sr-87/Sr-86 and elemental analysis, we demonstrate that individuals in Silbojokk had a homogenous diet, except for two individuals. In addition, both local and non-local individuals were all exposed to Pb, which in some cases could have been harmful to their health.
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| 8. |
- Fjellström, Markus, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Food, mobility and health in an Arctic 17th-18th century mining population
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Ingår i: Arctic. - 0004-0843 .- 1923-1245.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The silver mine of Nasafjäll and the smeltery site in Silbojokk in Swedish Sápmi were established in 1635 and was used during several phases until the late 19th century. Excavations in Silbojokk, c. 40 km from Nasafjäll have revealed buildings, such as a smeltery, living houses, a bakery, a church with a churchyard. Already at the start, both local and non-local individuals worked at the mine and the smel-tery. Non-locals were recruited to work in the mine and at the smel-tery, and the local Sámi population was recruited to transport the sil-ver down to the Swedish coast. Females, males and children of differ-ent ages were represented among the individuals buried at the church-yard in Silbojokk, used between c. 1635 and 1770. Here we study diet, mobility and exposure to lead in the smeltery workers, the miners and the local population. By employing isotopic analysis, δ13C, δ15N, δ34S, 87/86Sr and elemental composition, we have demonstrated that individ-uals in Silbojokk had a homogenous diet, except for two individuals. In addition, there were local and non-local individuals, and all of them were exposed to lead, that in some cases could have caused death. The environment at Nasafjäll and Silbojokk is still highly toxic.
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| 9. |
- García-Moreno, Carlos D., et al.
(författare)
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A Stable Isotope Approach to Roman Diet and Its Legacy in Late Antiquity in Hispania and the Western Empire
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Archaeology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1461-4103 .- 1749-6314.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whether a Roman diet existed is a constant issue in Classical archaeology, as it is also its persistence in late Antiquity. Here, we review the isotopic composition (δ13Ccol and δ15Ncol ) of 15 (n = 384) necropolis dating to the 1st to 8th centuries AD from Hispania. We worked with human and animal raw data and calculated the human enrichment regarding herbivoreś average. Although diet was not homogeneous, intra-site variability was greater than inter-site variability. The results show a diet characterised by consumption of C3 plants with some intake of meat/eggs/dairy products from terrestrial herbivores fed on C3 plants, with no clear differences between periods. NW Hispanic sites show an exceptional consumption of C4 plants (millet) and marine resources. There is a slight correlation between δ15N and distance from the sea, but marine resource consumption seems to have been mostly absent or low. Most sites studied were rural or located at the coast and this may result in some bias in the interpretation. Therefore, more effort in analysing inland urban sites is needed. The comparison with sites from France, Britain and Italy indicates a slightly higher dependence on millets in Hispania, which can be traced back to the Iron Age. The data suggest the existence of a certain homogeneity in diet that persisted in later centuries while displaying specificities and local adaptations.
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| 10. |
- García-Moreno, Carlos D., et al.
(författare)
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La necrópolis de la ampliación del Museo Nacional de Arte Romano (Mérida, Badajoz) : estudio antropológico y contexto funerario [The necropolis of “la ampliación del Museo Nacional de Arte Romano” (Mérida, Badajoz): anthropological study and funerary context]
- 2023
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Ingår i: SAGVNTVM. Papeles del Laboratorio de Arqueología de Valencia. - 0210-3729 .- 2174-517X. ; 55, s. 215-234
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the study of the skeletons found on the site of La ampliacion del Museo Nacional de Arte Romano (Merida, Badajoz). We address palaeodemography (by estimating sex and age), chronology (by means of C-14 dating in bone) and taphonomy, with special attention to preservation, comparing it with the funerary context. The total number of individuals identified is at least 118. The high number of non-adults (n=41) suggests a high infant mortality rate, coinciding with other nearby contemporary necropolises. The remains are relatively well preserved, with no differential distribution by sex/age. The predominant orientation is SW-NE and a single supine grave. Thirteen burials contained nails, either due to the presence of a wooden box or small boxes as grave goods. Radiocarbon dating of two tombs provided a Low-Imperial-Tard-Ancient chronology (3(rd)-6(th) centuries AD). Similarities can be observed between all the funerary areas of Augusta Emerita, showing a possible pattern of funerary context.
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