| 1. |
- Boethius, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry as a tool to study archaeological and modern human mobility through strontium isotope analyses of tooth enamel
- 2022
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Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 14:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To evaluate the possibility of obtaining detailed individual mobility data from archaeological teeth, the strontium isotope ratios on 28 human teeth from three separate Early-Mid Holocene, Swedish, foraging contexts (Norje Sunnansund, Skateholm and Västerbjers) were analysed through laser ablation. The teeth/individuals have previously been analysed using traditional bulk sampled thermal ionisation mass spectrometry. To validate the conclusions regarding the archaeological teeth, a tooth from a modern man with a known background was also analysed. The result shows that all of the teeth display less than 0.4% discrepancy between the mean values of the laser ablation profiles and the previously published bulk data and 25 (89%) of the teeth display less than a 0.2% discrepancy. By calculating linear and polynomial trendlines for each ablated tooth, it was possible to illustrate a strong correlation for the transition pattern between the measurements when following a chronological sequence from the tip to the cervix. Such correlations were not reproduced when the data sequence was randomized. The analyses show that the chronologically sequenced ablation data fit with a transition between local bioavailable strontium regions, that the measurements do not fluctuate between extremes and that their values are not caused by end-member mixing. This indicates an increasing data resolution when reducing strontium isotope ratio averaging time by minimizing the sampling area. The results suggest strontium incorporation in human teeth can be measured on an ordinal scale, with a traceable chronological order to enamel mineralization when sampled from tip to cervix at an equal distance from the surface. Micro-sampling enamel is considered a valid method to assess prehistoric, but not modern, human mobility; laser ablation technology increases the amount of information obtained from a single tooth while rendering minimal damage to the studied specimen.
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| 2. |
- Boethius, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Diachronic forager mobility : untangling the Stone Age movement patterns at the sites Norje Sunnansund, Skateholm and Västerbjers through strontium isotope ratio analysis by laser ablation
- 2022
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Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 14:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Strontium isotope ratios in human teeth from the three Swedish prehistoric Stone Age hunter-fisher-gathering societies Norje Sunnansund (Maglemose), Skateholm (Ertebølle) and Västerbjers (Pitted Ware Culture) were analysed with laser ablation to produce data on both individual movement patterns and societal mobility trends. The analyses of teeth from both Skateholm and Västerbjers displayed homogeneous ratios and corresponding mobility patterns, while the data from Norje Sunnansund showed larger variances with heterogenous strontium ratios and varied inter-individual mobility patterns. Correlation with the bioavailable baseline suggests that the size of the geographical areas, where human strontium ratios could have originated, was roughly comparable for all three sites. The teeth measurements were reflected within a 50-km radius of the surrounding landscape and the 25–75% data quartile matched with distances between 3 and 30 km from the sites, suggesting limited mobility ranges among aquatically dependent foragers from southernmost Sweden. By applying ethnographic analogies and site-specific contextual inferences, the results suggest that mobility ranges at Norje Sunnansund were likely not delimited by neighbouring group territories. This changed over time and an increasing territorialisation of the landscape may have influenced movement patterns and caused restrictions to the foraging activities at both Skateholm and Västerbjers.
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| 3. |
- Boethius, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Early Holocene Scandinavian foragers on a journey to affluence: Mesolithic fish exploitation, seasonal abundance and storage investigated through strontium isotope ratios by laser ablation (LA‐MC-ICP‐MS)
- 2021
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:1, s. e0245222-e0245222
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- At Norje Sunnansund, an Early Holocene settlement in southern Sweden, the world’s earliest evidence of fermentation has been interpreted as a method of managing long-term and large-scale food surplus. While an advanced fishery is suggested by the number of recovered fish bones, until now it has not been possible to identify the origin of the fish, or whether and how their seasonal migration was exploited. We analysed strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in 16 cyprinid and 8 pike teeth, which were recovered at the site, both from within the fermentation pit and from different areas outside of it, by using laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Our investigation indicates three different regions of origin for the fish at the site. We find that the most commonly fermented fish, cyprinids (roach), were caught in the autumn during their seasonal migration from the Baltic Sea to the sheltered stream and lake next to the site. This is in contrast to the cyprinids from other areas of the site, which were caught when migrating from nearby estuaries and the Baltic Sea coast during late spring. The pikes from the fermentation pit were caught in the autumn as by-catch to the mainly targeted roach while moving from the nearby Baltic Sea coast. Lastly, the pikes from outside the fermentation pit were likely caught as they migrated from nearby waters in sedimentary bedrock areas to the south of the site, to spawn in early spring. Combined, these data suggest an advanced fishery with the ability to combine optimal use of seasonal fish abundance at different times of the year. Our results offer insights into the practice of delayed-return consumption patterns, provide a more complete view of the storage system used, and increase our understanding of Early Holocene sedentism among northern hunter-fisher-gatherers. By applying advanced strontium isotope analyses to archaeological material integrated into an ecological setting, we present a methodology that can be used elsewhere to enhance our understanding of the otherwise elusive indications of storage practices and fish exploitation patterns among ancient foraging societies.
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| 4. |
- Boethius, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Human encroachment, climate change and the loss of our archaeological organic cultural heritage : Accelerated bone deterioration at Ageröd, a revisited Scandinavian Mesolithic key-site in despair
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ancient organic remains are essential for the reconstruction of past human lifeways and environments but are only preserved under particular conditions. Recent findings indicate that such conditions are becoming rarer and that archaeological sites with previously good preservation, are deteriorating. To investigate this, we returned to the well-known Swedish Mesolithic site Agerod I. Here we present the result of the re-excavation and the osteological analyses of the bone remains from the 1940s, 1970s and 2019 excavation campaigns of the site, to document and quantify changes in bone preservation and relate them to variations in soil conditions and on-site topography. The results indicate that the bone material has suffered from accelerated deterioration during the last 75 years. This has led to heavily degraded remains in some areas and complete destruction in others. We conclude that while Agerod can still be considered an important site, it has lost much of the properties that made it unique. If no actions are taken to secure its future preservation, the site will soon lose the organic remains that before modern encroachment and climate change had been preserved for 9000 years. Finally, because Agerod has not been subjected to more or heavier encroachment than most other archaeological sites, our results also raise questions of the state of organic preservation in other areas and call for a broad examination of our most vulnerable hidden archaeological remains.
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| 5. |
- Boethius, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Quantifying archaeo-organic degradation - A multiproxy approach to understand the accelerated deterioration of the ancient organic cultural heritage at the Swedish Mesolithic site Ageröd
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite a growing body of evidence concerning accelerated organic degradation at archaeological sites, there have been few follow-up investigations to examine the status of the remaining archaeological materials in the ground. To address the question of archaeo-organic preservation, we revisited the Swedish, Mesolithic key-site Ageröd and could show that the bone material had been subjected to an accelerated deterioration during the last 75 years, which had destroyed the bones in the areas where they had previously been best preserved. To understand why this has happened and to quantify and qualify the extent of the organic degradation, we here analyse the soil chemistry, bone histology, collagen preservation and palaeobotany at the site. Our results show that the soil at Ageröd is losing, or has already lost, its preservative and buffering qualities, and that pH-values in the still wet areas of the site have dropped to levels where no bone preservation is possible. Our results suggest that this acidification process is enhanced by the release of sulphuric acid as pyrite in the bones oxidizes. While we are still able to find well-preserved palaeobotanical remains, they are also starting to corrode through re-introduced oxygen into the archaeological layers. While some areas of the site have been more protected through redeposited soil on top of the archaeological layers, all areas of Ageröd are rapidly deteriorating. Lastly, while it is still possible to perform molecular analyses on the best-preserved bones from the most protected areas, this opportunity will likely be lost within a few decades. In conclusion, we find that if we, as a society, wish to keep this valuable climatic, environmental and cultural archive, both at Ageröd and elsewhere, the time to act is now and if we wait we will soon be in a situation where this record will be irretrievably lost forever.
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| 6. |
- Damlien, Hege, et al.
(författare)
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The pioneer settlement of Scandinavia and its aftermath : New evidence from western and central Scandinavia
- 2018
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Ingår i: Technology of early settlement of Northern Europe. - Sheffield : Equinox Publishing. - 9781781795163 ; , s. 99-137
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paper is a critical analysis of the present archaeological evidence for the pioneer settlement in Scandinavia. Based on a database of lithic blade technology from 62 sites dated to the Early Mesolithic, the authors evaluate the evidence for an East European origin of the Middle Mesolithic culture. Using lithic technology as a proxy for cultural traditions it is argued that the evidence speaks for an east European origin of the Middle Mesolithic lithic tradition.
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| 7. |
- David, Éva, et al.
(författare)
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Transmission of crafting traditions in the Mesolithic : A study of worked material from Norje Sunnansund, Sweden
- 2018
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Ingår i: Technology of early settlement in Northern Europe. - Sheffield : Equinox Publishing. - 9781781795163 - 9781781796047 ; , s. 231-276
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The newly discovered site of Norje Sunnansund, located in south-eastern Sweden, presents great potential for analysing the origin of technological change in postglacial Europe based on transmission patterns through the technological analysis of Mesolithic material production and how manufacturing techniques and implements were distributed chronologically and geographically. Vertical transmission is displayed in the way that most of the cultural equipment—specifically, hunting weapons—was traditionally produced. In the framework of this research, horizontal transmission is indicated by the unexpected geographical distribution of particular artefact types—slotted gear and pendants—that were technically shaped and adorned in a specific style. The study concerns the material from Norje Sunnansund, compared to other contemporary archaeological assemblages in the region. While on the one hand, Early Holocene sites in Europe contain lithic and bone assemblages that are suitable for characterizing the material cultures of prehistoric human groups, on the other hand, some of these industrial products are also adorned, so that a technological study can reveal the techniques used not only in the manufacture of bone and lithic items but also in art. The site of Norje Sunnansund is geographically situated in a border zone between the region with a Maglemosian tradition stricto sensu, located in Denmark, and the region with a north-eastern tradition, around the eastern side of the Baltic Sea (the Kunda-Butovo-Oka-Volga or Post-Swiderian related technocomplex). An overview of similarities and differences in the material from Norje Sunnansund in comparison with its neighbourhood, where aspects of the two Mesolithic traditions seem to interact, thus yields an interesting methodological framework for deciphering sociocultural transmission through postglacial records in the region of southern Scandinavia. The study shows that material from the site was manufactured according to the north-eastern tradition but also displays a newly characterized Norje Sunnansund style, relating to the shape of certain weapons and the art they bear in the form of specific engraved motifs (tiny zigzag lines and scores). The distribution of specific items exhibiting the Norje Sunnansund style on contemporary Maglemosian sites, where no such examples are otherwise recorded, suggests a relationship between Maglemosian (Phase 2) and north-eastern groups. This coincides with the introduction of new knapping techniques in southern Scandinavia from c. 7500 cal BC onward, suggesting that direct contact might have occurred between specific social groups, probably craftsmen/hunter-gatherers with distinct cultural traditions.
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| 8. |
- Kjällquist, Mathilda, 1971-
(författare)
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Kulturkontakter i Sydskandinavien under mesolitikum : Hantverkstraditioner, råmaterialval och mobilitet för 9000 år sedan, med utgångspunkt från Norje Sunnansund i Blekinge
- 2020
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to investigate different scales of mobility and social networks in Southern Scandinavia around 7000 BC. An essential basis for this work is the hypothesis that the conical core pressure blade technology, a specific method for producing lithic blades, reached Scandinavia from the east. The process has been discussed and verified in several earlier studies.The study is based on investigations of lithic material and bone tools, as well as human skeletal remains; a multidisciplinary strategy has been applied, which combines technological analyzes of archaeological material with isotope analyzes of human teeth. Materials and data have been collected from a total of 111 sites located mainly in Scandinavia, but also in Finland, the Baltic countries and Russia. The Mesolithic site Norje Sunnansund in Blekinge, southern Sweden is in focus.Analyzes of the chaîne opératoire of lithic and osseous production make it possible to study technological processes as the transmission of culturally conditioned patterns; these patterns underlie the formative principles of each technology complex. By identifying specific traditional knowledge built into the material process, it becomes possible to define prehistoric human traditions and thereby study human interactions and migrations between geographical regions. The analyzes of strontium isotopes in human teeth from Norje Sunnansund enables an additional individual provenancing since the isotopes reflect a geographical-geological variation.The study provides a higher resolution of the arrival and spreading of the pressure blade technology from the northeast. It also strengthens the picture of a Mesolithic society in Southern Scandinavia based on geographically extensive social networks. An increased regionalization and territorialization has previously been proposed for western Scandinavia around 8800-7500 BC. The study confirms that during this period the population seem to consist of several subgroups related to specific territories, but with close and regular contact within a more extensive social network. This fits well with the picture of a group that may have inhabited Norje Sunnansund for extended periods, while social contacts were maintained over longer distances.
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| 9. |
- Kjällquist, Mathilda, et al.
(författare)
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Mesolithic mobility and social contact networks in south Scandinavia around 7000 BCE : Lithic raw materials and isotopic proveniencing of human remains from Norje Sunnansund, Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0278-4165 .- 1090-2686. ; 53, s. 186-201
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent research provides new perspectives on large-scale Early Holocene human interaction within Eurasia, based on ancient DNA or lithic technology. But the extent of regional human mobility is not well known. In this study, we combined two different approaches to investigate regional mobility and social networks in southern Scandinavia. We analyzed strontium isotopes in human teeth and regional lithic raw material use and technology from a Mesolithic site, Norje Sunnansund in southern Sweden (7000 BCE). The lithic raw material composition at the site, and previous archaeological studies, indicated that the inhabitants mainly had utilized an area stretching 30 km southward. The isotopic analysis indicated that at least half of the analyzed individuals had a non-local origin, based on the local isotope signature, but that possibly only a few individuals originated outside the area defined by lithic acquisition. Those few isotopic values and the presence of lithic material as non-local flint and East Swedish microblade-cores in quartz, suggested that people also traveled far, but probably more sporadically. The combined analyzes revealed the complexity of late Boreal hunter-gatherers in South Scandinavia - although some groups appear to have had a limited geographical mobility, contact networks seem to have stretched over long distances.
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| 11. |
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