| 1. |
- Meyer, Anja, et al.
(författare)
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A reassessment of archaeological human remains recovered from rock shelters in Cathkin Peak, South Africa
- 2021
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Ingår i: Azania. - : Routledge. - 0067-270X .- 1945-5534. ; 56:4, s. 508-538
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Various skeletons from the uThukela region of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa were excavated from rock shelters there during the early part of the twentieth century, with limited accompanying data or analysis. This paper analyses and reports on nine such graves (eight of which contained human remains), excavated during 1931 near Cathkin Peak. The remains are currently housed in the Raymond A. Dart Archaeological Human Remains Collection, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Most of the skeletons were radiocarbon-dated to between the fourteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries, but one is older and dates to between the seventh and ninth centuries AD. Remains recovered from the various shelters included those of both adults and children, males and females, indicating that these rock shelters were used for the burials of, and were possibly occupied by, a wide variety of individuals over a long period of time. Skeletal analyses revealed several signs of disease and trauma, attesting to some hardships living in this region of South Africa. Stable isotope analyses of carbon and nitrogen indicate a predominantly plant-based diet. Originally it was thought that these individuals’ remains represented those of the historic amaZizi people, however, radiocarbon dates indicate that they are contemporaneous with the Moor Park phase of the Blackburn branch, which predates the amaZizi by several decades. Of interest is the fact that one individual predates the Moor Park phase. This is significant and sheds some light on the movement of people from KwaZulu-Natal into the interior. Future ancient DNA analysis will provide more information on the origin and genetic relationship of these individuals.
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| 2. |
- Steyn, Maryna, et al.
(författare)
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African Farmers, Not Stone Age Foragers : Reassessment of Human Remains from the Mumbwa Caves, Zambia
- 2023
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Ingår i: African Archaeological Review. - : Springer Nature. - 0263-0338 .- 1572-9842. ; 40:1, s. 53-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article, we reassess the human remains from the Mumbwa Caves housed in the Raymond A. Dart Archaeological Human Remains Collection at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Based on new radiocarbon dates from human bone collagen and stable isotope analysis, our results revealed that the poorly preserved remains, comprising mostly crania and teeth, represent at least 16 individuals. Some of them have culturally modified anterior teeth. Enamel hypoplastic lesions were seen in a few individuals, which indicates disease and malnutrition during childhood. Radiocarbon dating revealed that all the individuals were buried at Mumbwa sometime between the late tenth and early twentieth century CE, with most dates clustering between the early sixteenth and the late nineteenth century. With the exception of a single individual who seems to have had a hunter-gatherer/forager diet, the carbon and nitrogen isotope values of others are consistent with what would be expected from a low-trophic farmer diet based on foodplants with C4 photosynthetic pathways. It is, therefore, our contention that, rather than being associated with the Stone Age as previously suggested, these individuals lived in more recent agricultural communities around the Mumbwa Caves.
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| 3. |
- Cubas, Miriam, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term dietary change in Atlantic and Mediterranean Iberia with the introduction of agriculture : a stable isotope perspective
- 2019
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Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 11:8, s. 3825-3836
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Neolithic expansion in the Iberian Peninsula is marked by the introduction of livestock and domesticated crops which modified subsistence strategies in an unprecedented manner. Bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis has been essential to track these changes, which have largely been discussed in relation to particular geographic areas or single case studies. This paper reviews the available isotope literature to provide a regional, long-term synthesis of dietary changes associated with the expansion of the Neolithic and the establishment of farming economy in the Iberian Peninsula. Bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of 763 human individuals and 283 faunal remains from the Mesolithic to the Late Neolithic period in Iberia (ca. 8000–3000 cal BC) were collated and analysed using a Bayesian mixing model. The results show that Mesolithic diets were isotopically diverse in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions of the Iberian Peninsula, and that a significant decrease in variability happened with the Neolithisation, culminating with the establishment of farming economies and reliance on terrestrial resources in the Late Neolithic.
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| 4. |
- Diniz, Mariana, et al.
(författare)
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Debating Neolithization from a Mesolithic point of view : The Sado Valley (Portugal) experience
- 2021
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Ingår i: Foraging Assemblages. - : The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America. - 9788680094151 ; , s. 713-719
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we discuss how the Late Mesolithic Sado Valley hunter-gatherers interacted with the first agropastoralist societies settled in southern Portugal in the course of the second half of the sixth millennium cal BC. The archaeological record available during this period in southern Portugal reflects the presence of two distinct cultural groups. Differences can be detected not only on an economic level but also in settlement patterns, material culture, and symbolic behaviour. By the end of the first quarter of the fifth millennium cal BC, the Sado shell middens seem to have been abandoned, raising the question of how and why these last hunter-gatherers left their traditional territory, since no environmental change is recorded in the area that could explain it. Using chronological information and some Neolithic elements found in the area of the shell middens, we will debate the Neolithization process from a Mesolithic point of view.
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| 5. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-
(författare)
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Arqueotanatologia e coleções museológicas : Estratégias e desafios para o estudo das práticas funerárias do passado
- 2017
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Ingår i: Arqueologia em Portugal. - Lisbon. - 9789729451713 ; , s. 447-459
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Archaeothanatology is a method based on the knowledge of human anatomy and taphonomic theory, developed to analyse archaeological contexts with human remains. The method emerged in the context of field archaeology and its application to museum colections can be problematic. In this paper, I present the principles of archaeothanatology and show its flexibility for the study of archaeological documentation in archive.Through the presentation of a case study I aim to demonstrate the potential of the method for the reconstructionof the chaîne operátoire of funerary gestures, which remains were documented in archaeological excavations several decades ago.
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| 6. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-
(författare)
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Buried side by side : The last hunter-gatherers of the south-western Iberian Peninsula through the lens of their mortuary practices
- 2021
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Ingår i: Foraging Assemblages. - : The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America. - 9788680094151 ; , s. 629-636
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper summarizes the results of my research (Peyroteo-Stjerna 2016a) focusing on burial activities of the last hunter-gatherers of the south-western Iberian Peninsula. Human burials were investigated in terms of time and practice based on the application of three methods: radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis to define the chronological framework of the burial activity at each site and valley; stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen aimed at defining the burial populations by the identification of dietary choices; and archaeothanatology to reconstruct and define central practices in the treatment of the dead. This research provides new perspectives on the role and relevance of the shell middens in the Tagus and Sado Valleys. Death rituals played a central role in the life of these hunter-gatherers in developing a sense of community, as well as for maintaining social ties in both life and death.
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| 7. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-
(författare)
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Chronology of the burial activity of the last hunter-gatherers in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, Portugal
- 2021
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Ingår i: Radiocarbon. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0033-8222 .- 1945-5755. ; 63:1, s. 265-299
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For most of human history, funerary burial has been unusual. Archaeology shows a shift in funerary practices in postglacial hunter-gatherers, in parts of Europe during the Late Mesolithic. This is documented by the burial grounds in the Tagus and Sado valleys in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, Portugal, where ca. 376 burials were excavated. This study presents a chronology for the burial activity in these sites and contextualizes the start and end activity phases within regional environmental changes and cultural developments. The dataset consists of 76 14C dates on human bone (19 new, 57 published) including new dates from contexts in Portugal outside these valleys. Bayesian chronological models were defined in OxCal, and protein carbon contributions of marine foods were estimated by the Bayesian mixing model FRUITS. The results indicate a broader timeframe for the Late Mesolithic in Portugal, than previously suggested, starting during a period of significant environmental changes, ca. 8500–8300 cal BP, and ending ca. 7000 cal BP. The burial activity decreased during the establishment of Neolithic farmers in southwestern Iberia from ca. 7450 cal BP, however, these burial grounds continued to be used by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, showing that diverse social structures and worldviews coexisted for several generations.
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| 8. |
- Peyroteo-Stjerna, Rita, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Multidisciplinary investigation reveals an individual of West African origin buried in a Portuguese Mesolithic shell midden four centuries ago
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier. - 2352-409X .- 2352-4103. ; 42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cabeço da Amoreira is a well-studied shell midden with a robust chronology based on a large number ofradiocarbon dates on Mesolithic human burials. Surprisingly, we discovered one individual that lived about 400years ago buried in this site. We employed a multidisciplinary approach integrating archaeology, historical records,genetics, radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis to investigate the biogeographic origins of thisindividual and burial circumstances. We could determine that this was a man of West African origin, probablyfrom Senegambia, arriving in Portugal via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Our study provides new insights intoaspects of the life and death of a first-generation African individual in Portugal during the Trans-Atlantic SlaveTrade period and highlights the power of multidisciplinary research to unravel unwritten history.
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| 9. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Mummification in the Mesolithic : New Approaches to Old Photo Documentation Reveal Previously Unknown Mortuary Practices in the Sado Valley, Portugal
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Archaeology. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1461-9571 .- 1741-2722. ; 25:3, s. 309-330
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently rediscovered photographs of the remains of thirteen individuals buried in the Sado Valley Mesolithic shell middens of Poças de S. Bento and Arapouco, excavated in 1960 and 1962, show the potential of revisiting excavation archives with new methods. The analysis, which applies the principles of archaeothanatology and is enriched by experimental taphonomic research, confirmed details concerning the treatment of the dead body and provided new insights into the use of burial spaces. Some bodies may have been mummified prior to burial, a phenomenon possibly linked to their curation and transport, highlighting the significance of both the body and the burial place in Mesolithic south-western Portugal.
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| 10. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-
(författare)
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On Death in the Mesolithic : Or the Mortuary Practices of the Last Hunter-Gatherers of the South-Western Iberian Peninsula, 7th–6th Millennium BCE
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The history of death is entangled with the history of changing social values, meaning that a shift in attitudes to death will be consistent with changes in a society’s world view.Late Mesolithic shell middens in the Tagus and Sado valleys, Portugal, constitute some of the largest and earliest burial grounds known, arranged and maintained by people with a hunting, fishing, and foraging lifestyle, c 6000–5000 cal BCE. These sites have been interpreted in the light of economic and environmental processes as territorial claims to establish control over limited resources. This approach does not explain the significance of the frequent disposal of the dead in neighbouring burial grounds, and how these places were meaningful and socially recognized. The aim of this dissertation is to answer these questions through the detailed analysis of museum collections of human burials from these sites, excavated between the late nineteenth century and the 1960s.I examine the burial activity of the last hunter-gatherers of the south-western Iberian Peninsula from an archaeological perspective, and explain the burial phenomenon through the lens of historical and humanist approaches to death and hunter-gatherers, on the basis of theoretical concepts of social memory, place, mortuary ritual practice, and historical processes. Human burials are investigated in terms of time and practice based on the application of three methods: radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis to define the chronological framework of the burial activity at each site and valley; stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen aimed at defining the burial populations by the identification of dietary choices; and archaeothanatology to reconstruct and define central practices in the treatment of the dead.This dissertation provides new perspectives on the role and relevance of the shell middens in the Tagus and Sado valleys. Hunter-gatherers frequenting these sites were bound by shared social practices, which included the formation and maintenance of burial grounds, as a primary means of history making. Death rituals played a central role in the life of these hunter-gatherers in developing a sense of community, as well as maintaining social ties in both life and death.
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| 11. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-
(författare)
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Places of shared narratives : The Mesolithic burial grounds in the Tagus and Sado valleys, Portugal
- 2023
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Ingår i: Stones. - Uppsala : Uppsala University. ; , s. 100-107
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Places with burial grounds reveal a commitment of the living to the dead, expressed by continued depositional eventsreproduced over a more or less long period of time. Mortuary practices required bodily performances which were centralin processes of remembering. To understand the mortuary practices of the last hunter-gatherers of the south-westernIberian Peninsula through the archaeological material from the shell middens in the Tagus and Sado valleys, I work in theframework of social memory, concepts of place, mortuary practices, and historical processes. !ese theoretical principlesallow me to discuss the central questions of this paper, enquiring about the relevance of the formation and maintenanceof burial grounds, and the signi"cance of mortuary practices and formal places for the dead in the lives of these huntergatherers.In this paper I discuss the long-term history of the cultural production of these places by examining the signi"canceof mortuary practices during the formation, maintenance and development of these shell middens.
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| 12. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-
(författare)
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Roots of Death : origins of human burial and the research on early Holocene mortuary practices in the Iberian Peninsula
- 2016
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Ingår i: Mesolithic burials. - 9783944507439 ; , s. 629-643
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the context of postglacial environmental changes, the new form of settlement known to exist in the Late Mesolithic seems to be followed by a different relationship to death. In the archaeological record, this is well observed in the shell midden sites known in both the Tagus and Sado valleys in Portugal, with ca. 374 human burials of both sexes and ages, mostly individual primary depositions. This concentration of human remains and the regular practice of funerary burial are in apparent contrast with the archaeological record for previous phases, at least in the Iberian Peninsula.Here, I present a review of the archaeological data available for the mortuary practices of the Early Holocene, i.e. Early Mesolithic, in the Iberian Peninsula, prior to these Late Mesolithic cemeteries in the Tagus and Sado valleys, and attempt to trace back in time the possible origins of this behaviour in the hunter-gatherer mortuary tradition.
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| 13. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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The dead at Escoural Cave (Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal) : Early farmer's interactions in south-western Iberian Peninsula
- 2018
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Ingår i: De Gibraltar aos Pirenéus. - Nelas. - 9789899816350 ; , s. 65-83
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The arrival of farmers to the south-western Iberian Peninsula was followed by a period of complex human interaction after 5500 BCE. This marked the arrival of new technologies and subsistence practices such as pottery, husbandry and domestication of plants, but also the co-existence of diverse social structures and world-views in a territory populated by hunter-gatherers. Biological and sociocultural interactions between local and migrant groups at the onset and establishment of the Neolithic in Atlantic Europe are poorly understood. The Neolithic funerary context in the Escoural cave, Montemor-o-Novo,Portugal, offers a research opportunity to examine these processes because it is uniquely well preserved and its use intersects key periods to understand multilayered human interaction. In this paper we present a synthesis of what is known about the Neolithic use ofthe cave complemented by new observations in the scope of a multidisciplinary project centred on the Escoural Cave started in 2018.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Peyroteo Stjerna, Rita, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Working in an Ancient DNA Lab - short video (Swedish)
- 2021
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Annan publikation (film/video) (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Antikt DNA är en ny forskningsdisciplin som kan lära oss mer om människans historia, evolution och populationsgenetik. Genom forskning på DNA som finns i förhistoriska ben från arkeologiska utgrävningar kan man berätta om människans utveckling och historia. I den här videon kommer vi att visa er hur det är att jobba med förhistoriskt DNA i ett laboratorium.
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| 17. |
- Simões, Luciana G., et al.
(författare)
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Genomic ancestry and social dynamics of the last hunter-gatherers of Atlantic France
- 2024
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 121:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the early Holocene, western and central Europe was inhabited by a genetically distinct group of Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHGs). This group was eventually replaced and assimilated by the incoming Neolithic farmers. The western Atlantic façade was home to some of the last Mesolithic sites of mainland Europe, represented by the iconic open-air sites at Hoedic and Téviec in southern Brittany, France. These sites are known for the unusually well-preserved and rich burials. Genomic studies of Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers have been limited to single or a few individuals per site and our understanding of the social dynamics of the last Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Europe and their interactions with incoming farmers is limited. We sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of 10 individuals from the Late Mesolithic sites of Hoedic, Téviec, and Champigny, in France, four of which sequenced to between 23- and 8-times genome coverage. The analysis of genomic, chronological and dietary data revealed that the Late Mesolithic populations in Brittany maintained distinct social units within a network of exchanging mates. This resulted in low intra-group biological relatedness that prevented consanguineous mating, despite the small population size of the Late Mesolithic groups. We found no genetic ancestry from Neolithic farmers in the analyzed hunter-gatherers, even though some of them may have coexisted with the first farming groups in neighboring regions. Hence, contrary to previous conclusions based on stable isotope data from the same sites, the Late Mesolithic forager community was limited in mate-exchange to neighboring hunter-gatherer groups, to the exclusion of Neolithic farmers.
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