| 1. |
- Linderholm, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Stable isotope analysis of a medieval skeletal sample indicative of systemic disease from Sigtuna Sweden
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0305-4403 .- 1095-9238. ; 38:4, s. 925-933
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Sigtuna, Sweden, several medieval cemeteries have been excavated, from which approximately 800 skeletons have been excavated and analysed. Archaeological finds and anthropological analyses have exposed social differences between the cemeteries. Stable isotope analyses have shown that the inhabitants of the town consumed a mixed diet. Significant differences in dietary patterns between the cemeteries may be related to social stratification. In the outskirts of a churchyard excavated in 2006, bone changes showing systemic inflammatory disease indicative of leprosy were observed in six individuals. The burial location suggests that the affected belonged to a lower social stratum. Bone samples were taken from these six individuals, 19 other human skeletons and five animals from the same cemetery for analysis of the stable isotope composition of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S). The results showed no significant differences in delta(13)C and delta(15)N values between the groups, i.e. the seemingly healthy humans and the humans affected by severe inflammatory disease appear to have had similar diets. Nor was a significant difference observed in delta(34)S data between the six affected individuals and the rest of the sample, implying that no difference in origins could be observed between the two groups studied. However, a comparison between the present study and the previous analysis resulted in significant differences in carbon values. Based on the results obtained in this investigation it is suggested that if a dietary difference existed between people in the outskirts of a cemetery (for example those suffering from leprosy) and people buried in higher ranked regions, it was not a difference in food source but rather in other parameters. Instead dietary differences and possibly social variations are demonstrated between cemeteries. The results from the present study highlight the hierarchical arrangements of social classes in the early medieval society.
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| 2. |
- Linderholm, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Increasing mobility at the Neolithic/ Bronze Age transition – sulphur isotope evidence from Öland, Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: Internet Archaeology. - : Council for British Archaeology. - 1363-5387. ; 37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this investigation is to look at the use of various aquatic, in this case marine, resources in relation to mobility during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. On the island of Öland, in the Baltic Sea, different archaeological cultures are represented in the form of material culture and skeletal remains at three sites. We have analysed δ34S values in human remains representing 36 individuals, as well as faunal remains. We investigated intra-individual patterns of mobility from childhood to adulthood, primarily focusing on a passage grave. Taking into account previously published dietary data that demonstrate a wide range of dietary practices involving aquatic resources, we applied a model to estimate the contribution of δ34S from terrestrial protein, to separate mobility from dietary changes, thereby identifying individuals who changed residence, as well as individuals with non-local origins. Evidence of mobility could be demonstrated at two sites. For the third site the consistently marine diet inhibits inferences on mobility based on δ34S analysis. Chronologically, the frequency of non-locals was highest during the Bronze Age, when the diet was very uniform and based on terrestrial resources.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Lira, Jaime, et al.
(författare)
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Ancient DNA reveals traces of Iberian Neolithic and Bronze Age lineages in modern Iberian horses
- 2010
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 19:1, s. 64-78
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multiple geographical regions have been proposed for the domestication of Equus caballus. It has been suggested, based on zooarchaeological and genetic analyses that wild horses from the Iberian Peninsula were involved in the process, and the overrepresentation of mitochondrial D1 cluster in modern Iberian horses supports this suggestion. To test this hypothesis, we analysed mitochondrial DNA from 22 ancient Iberian horse remains belonging to the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages, against previously published sequences. Only the medieval Iberian sequence appeared in the D1 group. Neolithic and Bronze Age sequences grouped in other clusters, one of which (Lusitano group C) is exclusively represented by modern horses of Iberian origin. Moreover, Bronze Age Iberian sequences displayed the lowest nucleotide diversity values when compared with modern horses, ancient wild horses and other ancient domesticates using nonparametric bootstrapping analyses. We conclude that the excessive clustering of Bronze Age horses in the Lusitano group C, the observed nucleotide diversity and the local continuity from wild Neolithic Iberian to modern Iberian horses, could be explained by the use of local wild mares during an early Iberian domestication or restocking event, whereas the D1 group probably was introduced into Iberia in later historical times.
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| 5. |
- Malmström, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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High frequency of lactose intolerance in a prehistoric hunter-gatherer population in northern Europe
- 2010
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Ingår i: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 10, s. 89-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Genes and culture are believed to interact, but it has been difficult to find direct evidence for the process. One candidate example that has been put forward is lactase persistence in adulthood, i.e. the ability to continue digesting the milk sugar lactose after childhood, facilitating the consumption of raw milk. This genetic trait is believed to have evolved within a short time period and to be related with the emergence of sedentary agriculture. Results: Here we investigate the frequency of an allele (-13910*T) associated with lactase persistence in a Neolithic Scandinavian population. From the 14 individuals originally examined, 10 yielded reliable results. We find that the T allele frequency was very low (5%) in this Middle Neolithic hunter-gatherer population, and that the frequency is dramatically different from the extant Swedish population (74%). Conclusions: We conclude that this difference in frequency could not have arisen by genetic drift and is either due to selection or, more likely, replacement of hunter-gatherer populations by sedentary agriculturalists.
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| 6. |
- Mellows, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of past climate change on genetic variation and population connectivity in the Icelandic arctic fox
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 279:1747, s. 4568-4573
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies have suggested that the presence of sea ice is an important factor in facilitating migration and determining the degree of genetic isolation among contemporary arctic fox populations. Because the extent of sea ice is dependent upon global temperatures, periods of significant cooling would have had a major impact on fox population connectivity and genetic variation. We tested this hypothesis by extracting and sequencing mitochondrial control region sequences from 17 arctic foxes excavated from two late-ninth-century to twelfth-century AD archaeological sites in northeast Iceland, both of which predate the Little Ice Age (approx. sixteenth to nineteenth century). Despite the fact that five haplotypes have been observed in modern Icelandic foxes, a single haplotype was shared among all of the ancient individuals. Results from simulations within an approximate Bayesian computation framework suggest that the rapid increase in Icelandic arctic fox haplotype diversity can only be explained by sea-ice-mediated fox immigration facilitated by the Little Ice Age.
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