DOCSLIB.ORG

Chapter 12 Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (Zooms) Collagen Fingerprinting for the Species Identification of Archaeological Bone Fragments

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chapter 12 Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (Zooms) Collagen Fingerprinting for the Species Identification of Archaeological Bone Fragments Chapter 12 Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) Collagen Fingerprinting for the Species Identification of Archaeological Bone Fragments Michael Buckley 12.1 Introduction Bone is the most abundant organic tissue found typically to survive on archaeological sites, and in many cases can represent one of the most common types of find. Nonetheless, due to taphonomic and/or anthropologic factors, bone is more often than not fragmented beyond amenability to morphological identification. As a result, vast proportions of archaeological assemblages collected are often not uti- lized, and, therefore, the zooarchaeological inferences will undoubtedly be subject to some forms of bias. The objective identifications possible through the use of biomolecular information present in bone offer a tantalizing prospect for resolving such issues. The most obvious biomolecular target, ancient DNA (aDNA), has been, and continues to be, used (Burger et al. 2000; Horsburgh 2008; Waugh 2007) (see Matisoo-Smith, Chap. 11). However, this is not often a practical solution for appli- cation to the majority of assemblages given the high costs of analysis per sample, requirement for specialist facilities, and highly unpredictable likelihood of success. The success rates themselves are also increasingly poorer in warmer environments (Kahila Bar-Gal et al. 2002; Larson et al. 2007)—the environments more likely to have a wider range of wild taxa and be of greatest interest to those studying early animal husbandry. Recent years have witnessed the development of an alternative biomolecular method for species identification that addresses the impracticalities of the wide- spread adoption of aDNA-based methods. The method, described as a form of “Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry” or ZooMS for short, is one that uses M. Buckley (*) Copyright © 2017. Springer. All rights reserved. © 2017. Springer. Copyright Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing AG 2018 227 C.M. Giovas, M.J. LeFebvre (eds.), Zooarchaeology in Practice, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64763-0_12 Zooarchaeology in Practice : Case Studies in Methodology and Interpretation in Archaeofaunal Analysis, edited by Christina M. Giovas, and Michelle J. LeFebvre, Springer, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brown/detail.action?docID=5161630. Created from brown on 2018-02-26 15:54:58. 228 M. Buckley proteomics-­based methods to analyze proteins that survive in faunal remains, pri- marily for species identification. The analysis of proteins rather than DNA has sev- eral advantages: (1) proteins are much more abundant (Tuross 1994; Tuross and Stathoplos 1993); (2) they survive for much longer periods of time (Rybczynski et al. 2013), making their analysis much more successful even in warmer environ- ments (Buckley et al. 2009, 2010); and (3) the analyses can be carried out at very low cost, often as low as the cost for aDNA screening methods themselves (e.g., amino acid racemization (Poinar et al. 1996) and carbon/nitrogen analysis (Götherström et al. 2002). In bone, the dominant protein is type I collagen, the protein that is typically referred to when describing the carbon source for radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analyses. Collagen is considered the most abundant protein in the vertebrate kingdom (Shoulders and Raines 2009) and is particularly abundant in the extracel- lular matrix (ECM). It has a wide range of functions that primarily relate to its role as a scaffold in bone mineral deposition. However, despite its presence in many different tissues and interactions with a wide range of other non-collagenous proteins (NCPs), in bone, collagen interacts with NCPs involved with the biomineralization pathway; the small mineral-binding protein osteocalcin is the most abundant of these NCPs in bone. Although many NCPs survive in archaeological bone for long periods of time, some of which are potentially more taxonomically informative (Buckley and Wadsworth 2014), collagen is by far the most abundant and will be the focus of this chapter. More than 28 types of collagen are known to exist within humans throughout the lifecycle (Ricard-Blum 2011), but 80–90% of the collagen in the body consists of types I, II, and III, of which type I collagen is by far the most abundant, as noted above. The triple helical structure common to all collagens is maintained through the presence of repeating imino acids, proline (Pro) and its modified form hydroxypro- line (Hyp), which induces the twisting structure in each of the three chains (Fig. 12.1 inset). However, to maintain this structure, the helix also requires the repeated pres- ence of glycine (Gly), the smallest amino acid, which typically occurs every three amino acids. Most other amino acids would not fit within this structure due to much larger side chains. As a result, collagen is known by its repeated Gly-Pro-Hyp motif and has largely been considered very highly conserved on the whole. Although some collagen types are homotrimers (i.e., formed from three identical chains), col- lagen type I is a heterotrimer, which in most vertebrates is made up of two identical chains called alpha 1 chains and one genetically distinct chain called the alpha 2 chain (hereafter referred to as α1(I) and α2(I) respectively). Notably, however, in actinopterygian (bony ray-finned) fish species, type I collagen is composed of three distinct chains, but the third (α3(I)) is a duplicate of the (α1(I)) gene (Morvan-­Dubois et al. 2003). Recent research (e.g., Buckley et al. 2009) has found that the α2(I) is so much more variable that it does not appear to be restricted to the same requirement for Pro content, therefore making collagen much more useful for species identification than previously thought possible. Copyright © 2017. Springer. All rights reserved. © 2017. Springer. Copyright Zooarchaeology in Practice : Case Studies in Methodology and Interpretation in Archaeofaunal Analysis, edited by Christina M. Giovas, and Michelle J. LeFebvre, Springer, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brown/detail.action?docID=5161630. Created from brown on 2018-02-26 15:54:58. 12 Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) Collagen Fingerprinting… 229 Fig. 12.1 Schematic of the two primary approaches to obtaining a collagen peptide mass fingerprint using either the soluble collagen or by heating and gelatinization of the insoluble collagen (scissors image sourced from www.commons.wikimedia.org, tube image sourced from www.clker.com); collagen triple helix shown in inset (image from 1BKV pdb file viewed online at http://www.rcsb. org/pdb/) Early developments of the ZooMS method started with the isolation of the collagen α2(I) telopeptide (Buckley et al. 2008) using solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges following digestion with bacterial collagenase, but this single 18 amino acid peptide alone was not sufficient at separating all of the major domes- ticated animals. This was particularly problematic for sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus), whose skeletal elements are morphologically so similar that their separation is considered challenging (Zeder and Lapham 2010). As a result of this Copyright © 2017. Springer. All rights reserved. © 2017. Springer. Copyright morphological similarity, these two taxa have been typically reported together in Zooarchaeology in Practice : Case Studies in Methodology and Interpretation in Archaeofaunal Analysis, edited by Christina M. Giovas, and Michelle J. LeFebvre, Springer, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brown/detail.action?docID=5161630. Created from brown on 2018-02-26 15:54:58. 230 M. Buckley zooarchaeological analyses as “caprine” or “ovicaprid”, despite the fact that their remains reflect distinct components of early animal husbandry based on differ- ences in animal behavior, diet, and habitat preferences. Subsequently, a similar SPE-based method following digestion with trypsin was developed to preferen- tially isolate a single large (33 amino acids) helical peptide from the α2(I) chain that could discriminate between these two taxa (Buckley et al. 2010), which was later verified by DNA analysis (Campana et al. 2013). Since then, the method was simplified into one that yielded two fractions for analysis, where the first fraction eluted with lower organic solvent concentration removed greater numbers of the typical collagen motif-containing peptides, and the second fraction with higher organic solvent concentration subsequently removed less typical collagen pep- tides from a specialist C18 pipette tip (Buckley et al. 2009). To date most applications to zooarchaeological studies have focused on mamma- lian taxa, with early work on domesticates (Buckley et al. 2009, 2010) followed more recently by studies on wild taxa (Buckley and Collins 2011), including marine mam- mals (Buckley et al. 2014). So far, little consideration has been given to the variability of amino acid sequences across a wider range of vertebrate taxa. This study explores in detail the information content potentially available through collagen sequence analysis, and considers the implications for the simplest form of ZooMS, the collagen fingerprint, given its amenability to high-throughput productivity and status as the most feasible molecular approach for widespread zooarchaeological application. A particular emphasis is placed on divergence times between vertebrate
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bioarchaeology (Anthropological Archaeology) - Mario ŠLAUS
    PHYSICAL (BIOLOGICAL) ANTHROPOLOGY - Bioarchaeology (Anthropological Archaeology) - Mario ŠLAUS BIOARCHAEOLOGY (ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGY) Mario ŠLAUS Department of Archaeology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia. Keywords: Bioarchaeology, archaeological, forensic, antemortem, post-mortem, perimortem, traumas, Cribra orbitalia, Harris lines, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Treponematosis, Trauma analysis, Accidental trauma, Intentional trauma, Osteological, Degenerative disease, Habitual activities, Osteoarthritis, Schmorl’s nodes, Tooth wear Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Definition of Bioarchaeology 1.2. History of Bioarchaeology 2. Analysis of Skeletal Remains 2.1. Excavation and Recovery 2.2. Human / Non-Human Remains 2.3. Archaeological / Forensic Remains 2.4. Differentiating between Antemortem/Postmortem/Perimortem Traumas 2.5. Determination of Sex 2.6. Determination of Age at Death 2.6.1. Age Determination in Subadults 2.6.2. Age Determination in Adults. 3. Skeletal and dental markers of stress 3.1. Linear Enamel Hypoplasia 3.2. Cribra Orbitalia 3.3. Harris Lines 4. Analyses of dental remains 4.1. Caries 4.2. Alveolar Bone Disease and Antemortem Tooth Loss 5. Infectious disease 5.1. Non–specific Infectious Diseases 5.2. Specific Infectious Disease 5.2.1. Tuberculosis 5.2.2. Leprosy 5.2.3. TreponematosisUNESCO – EOLSS 6. Trauma analysis 6.1. Accidental SAMPLETrauma CHAPTERS 6.2. Intentional Trauma 7. Osteological and dental evidence of degenerative disease and habitual activities 7.1. Osteoarthritis 7.2. Schmorl’s Nodes 7.3. Tooth Wear Caused by Habitual Activities 8. Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PHYSICAL (BIOLOGICAL) ANTHROPOLOGY - Bioarchaeology (Anthropological Archaeology) - Mario ŠLAUS 1. Introduction 1.1. Definition of Bioarchaeology Bioarchaeology is the study of human biological remains within their cultural (archaeological) context.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall Quarter 2018 Class Schedule
    FALL QUARTER 2018 CLASS SCHEDULE COURSE NUMBER COURSE TITLE SPECIAL TOPIC (IF APPLICABLE) INSTRUCTOR Core Course Archaeology M201A Graduate Core Seminar Monica Smith Archaeology C220 Archaeology of Death John Papadopoulos Anthropology 219 Selected Topics in Anthropological/Archaeological Theory Issues in Indigenous Archaeology Stephen Acabado Ancient Near East 260 Seminar: Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology Elizabeth Carter Ancient Near East 261 Practical Field Archaeology Archaeological Fieldwork (Ethiopia) Willeke Wendrich Graduate Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt, Predynastic Period to Ancient Near East C267A Kara Cooney Seminars New Kingdom Art History C216A Middle Byzantine Art & Architecture Sharon Gerstel Art History C248A Art and Material Culture, Neolithic to 210 B.C. Art & Material Culture of Early China Lothar von Falkenhausen Art History C249A Selected Topics in Chinese Art Lothar von Falkenhausen Classics 245 Computing and Classics Chris Johanson Classics 250 Topics in Greek and Roman Culture and Literature Women's History Amy Richlin Archaeology M205A Selected Laboratory Topics in Archaeology Experimental Archaeology Tom Wake Conservation M210L Cultural Materials Science Laboratory: Technical Study Ioanna Kakoulli Conservation 231 Conservation Laboratory: Stone and Adobe Christian Fischer Conservation 238 Conservation Laboratory: Organic Materials II Ellen Pearlstein Lab Courses Conservation Laboratory: Rock Art, Wall Paintings, and Conservation M250 Ioanna Kakoulli Mosaics Structure, Properties, and Deterioration of
    [Show full text]
  • Nadia CV 09:17:19
    Nadia C. Neff, PhD Student Department of Anthropology [email protected] University of New Mexico (970) 488 – 9932 Anthropology Annex B06E Albuquerque, New Mexico EDUCATION AND TRAINING University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM PhD Student 2019 – present Department of Anthropology Archaeology Subfield Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Visiting Instructor of Anthropology 2017 – 2019 Department of Anthropology University of York York, United Kingdom Master of Science, Bioarchaeology 2014 – 2016 Department of Archaeology Graduated with Merit Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Bachelor of Art, Anthropology 2009 – 2013 Department of Anthropology Graduated with Honors RESEARCH EXPERIENCE PhD Student 2019 - present University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM Advisors: Dr. Osbjorn Pearson, Dr Keith Prufer Rodents! Using stable isotopes to model dietary and environmental change from the Paleoindian period to the Mayan Collapse in modern Belize. – Currently studying the utility of using stable isotopes in rodent remains as a proxy for studying human dietary and environmental activity. Masters Student 2014 – 2016 University of York, York, United Kingdom Advisor: Dr. Matthew Collins Identifying potential sites of conflict through the analysis of possible human bone fragments via ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry). – Studied the applications of using ZooMS for the identification of human bone fragments in archaeological and forensic contexts. Nadia C. Neff | [email protected] | (970) 488 – 9932 1 – Combined traditional field survey and documentation methods with biomolecular protein analysis to create human bone scatter maps to identify possible sites of conflict. – Research based on a case study involving the Battle of Towton (1461) site. Collagen extraction method testing in highly degraded bone fragments – Tested collagen extraction methods (HCl demineralization versus AmBiC surface washing) on highly degraded bone fragments found in surface and top soil finds.
    [Show full text]
  • Combined Osteomorphological, Isotopic, Adna, and Zooms Analyses of Sheep and Goat Remains from Neolithic Ulucak, Turkey DOI: 10.1007/S12520-018-0624-8
    The University of Manchester Research Combined osteomorphological, isotopic, aDNA, and ZooMS analyses of sheep and goat remains from Neolithic Ulucak, Turkey DOI: 10.1007/s12520-018-0624-8 Document Version Accepted author manuscript Link to publication record in Manchester Research Explorer Citation for published version (APA): Pilaar Birch, S. E., Scheu, A., Buckley, M., & Çakrlar, C. (2018). Combined osteomorphological, isotopic, aDNA, and ZooMS analyses of sheep and goat remains from Neolithic Ulucak, Turkey. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0624-8 Published in: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on Manchester Research Explorer is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Proof version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Explorer are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Takedown policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please refer to the University of Manchester’s Takedown Procedures [http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo] or contact [email protected] providing relevant details, so we can investigate your claim. Download date:23. Sep. 2021 Combined
    [Show full text]
  • The Archaeology of Maritime Adaptations
    Anthropology 6146 Sec 211G/ CBD 234 Dr. Susan D. deFrance Spring 2016 1350-B Turlington Hall/1112 Turlington [email protected] Office hours Tues & Thursday 2-3:30 pm and by appt. The Archaeology of Maritime Adaptations Course Objectives and Goals: This seminar examines issues pertaining to human maritime adaptations in archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic contexts. Issues to be examined include: 1) Definitions of Maritime Adaptations 2) History of Investigations 3) Characteristics of Marine Resources 4) Technology and Organization of Maritime Predation 5) Limitations on Maritime Subsistence 6) Ownership, Territory, and Resource Rights 7) Population, Settlement and Site Size 8) Economic and Political Organization 9) Complexity of Maritime Societies Populations and cultures exhibiting maritime adaptations, among others, include: Jomon, Pacific Islands, Yagan, Andean Coast, Chumash, Northwest Coast, Eskimo/Aleut, Red Paint Archaic, Calusa, European Mesolithic, Coastal Maya Readings are available on the course elearning/Sakai site. Written Work and Class Presentations: 1) Weekly Assignments: 1-2 page review (critique, evaluation – not summaries) of ALL weekly readings. These are due at the start of class; late papers are not accepted without prior permission. 2) Each session students will be assigned one reading to present in detail (max. 15 minutes). Oral presentations will rotate between students depending on the number of reading assignments per week. All students must be prepared to discuss all the weekly readings at class time. 3) Final Paper (due APRIL 25 AT 4 PM- NO late papers, No incompletes, emergencies excluded) – on an approved topic related to the Archaeology of Maritime Adaptations. Final Paper should follow American Antiquity format for bibliography with a minimum of 2 references per page.
    [Show full text]
  • MAX D. PRICE EDUCATION Ph.D. 2016 Harvard University
    MAX D. PRICE Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Materials Science and Engineering 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Email: [email protected] EDUCATION Ph.D. 2016 Harvard University Department of Anthropology, Dissertation Title: Pigs and Power: Pig Husbandry in Northern Mesopotamia during the Emergence of Social Complexity (6500-2000 BC) B.A. 2009 The University of Chicago Department of Anthropology (with honors) ACADEMIC POSITIONS 2017-Present Lecturer in Archaeology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT 2017 Postdoctoral Researcher (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter), Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes,” Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel 2016-2017 Postdoctoral Fellow, Peabody Museum & Department of Anthropology, Harvard University RESEARCH INTERESTS Animal Domestication; Human-Environment Interaction; Foodways; Social Inequality; Near Eastern Archaeology; Stable Isotope Ecology; Zooarchaeology BOOKS In Press Evolution of a Taboo: Pigs and People in the Ancient Near East. Oxford University Press (expected date of publication: March 2020). PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS In Review Price, M. D., Y. M. Rowan, M. Kersel, and C. Makarewicz. "Cattle in the Ghor and Grain-Eating Boar: Isotopic Perspectives on Animal Husbandry at Chalcolithic Marj Rabba" Submitted to Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences August 2019. In Press Price, M. D. “Pigs in Between: Pig Husbandry in the Late Neolithic in Northern Mesopotamia.” Archaeozoology of the Near East XII. Lockwood Press. In Press Price, M. D. and H. Hongo. “The Archaeology of Pig Domestication: Methods, Models, and Case Studies.” Journal of Archaeological Research. Accepted March 2019. 2019 Frantz, L. A. F., J. Haile, A. T. Lin, A. Scheu, C. Geörg, N. Benecke, M. Alexander, A. Linderholm, V. E. Mullin, K.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Zooarchaeology in the Interpretation of Socioeconomic Status: a Discussion with Reference to Medieval Europe
    This is a repository copy of The role of zooarchaeology in the interpretation of socioeconomic status: a discussion with reference to Medieval Europe. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/11094/ Article: Ashby, S.P. orcid.org/0000-0003-1420-2108 (2002) The role of zooarchaeology in the interpretation of socioeconomic status: a discussion with reference to Medieval Europe. Archaeological Review from Cambridge. pp. 37-59. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ The Role of Zooarchaeology in the Interpretation of Socioeconomic Status: A Discussion with Reference to Medieval Europe Steven P. Ashby Department of Archaeology, University of York Introduction Social inequality is ubiquitous in human society, and the concept of social standing has been of fundamental importance throughout time (Price and Feinman 1995). The inference of social status has encountered problems in many areas of archaeology (see Orser 1990; Grenville 1997), and the use of zooarchaeology as part of an integrated approach may contribute to our understanding of important issues (Crabtree 1990).
    [Show full text]
  • Archaeology of Ancient Israelite Religion(S): an Introduction
    religions Editorial Archaeology of Ancient Israelite Religion(s): An Introduction Avraham Faust Department of General History, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; [email protected] Received: 28 May 2020; Accepted: 4 June 2020; Published: 15 June 2020 Keywords: archaeology; Israelite religion; Bible; biblical archaeology; Near Eastern archaeology; archaeology and religion; temples; cult Israelite religion has always fascinated scholars. Hundreds of books and thousands of articles have attempted to shed light on its various aspects. Initial studies used the Bible as their main source of information and attempted to read it critically in order to learn about the religion of ancient Israel. With the advent of modern research in the Near East, mainly in Mesopotamia, more and more information on other Ancient Near Eastern religions was accumulated. The new data were initially used to illuminate Israelite religious practices as described in the Bible, but gradually led to the questioning of some of the accepted truisms that were based on the biblical narrative. Subsequently, new information was collected mainly through archaeological excavations, and archaeology, mainly in the land of Israel, had gradually become a major player in the study of ancient Israelite religion(s) and religious practices.1 The accumulating material evidence opened new research vistas and changed the scholarly discourse. The biblical framework for the study of ancient Israelite religion was gradually deserted by many, not only giving rise to much more critical approaches but also resulting in the abandonment of the view that one can speak of an Israelite religion in the singular, and many today prefer to speak about Israelite religions.2 Another important development was a broadening of the perspective, and the growing importance given to the local social context in which religious was practiced.
    [Show full text]
  • Species Identification Using Zooms, with Reference to the Exploitation Of
    DANISH JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 2018, VOL. 7, NO. 2, 139–153 https://doi.org/10.1080/21662282.2018.1468154 RESEARCH ARTICLE Species identification using ZooMS, with reference to the exploitation of animal resources in the medieval town of Odense Luise Ørsted Brandta, Kirstine Haasea,b and Matthew J. Collins c,d aCentre for Urban Network Evolutions, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; bDepartment of Cultural Heritage, Odense City Museums, Odense, Denmark; cEvoGenomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; dBioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) is increasingly being used as a method for Received 30 January 2018 species identification of archaeological and historical remains. The method identifies species Accepted 19 April 2018 – from the peptide mass fingerprint of extracted collagen the principal protein of bone, ivory, KEYWORDS dentine, leather, and parchment. ZooMS has the advantages that it is a fast and simple method, ZooMS; species that requires only small sample sizes or even non-destructive sampling. The taxonomic resolution identification; collagen; of the method varies, but ZooMS is diagnostic for most domesticated animals and for the middle age; animal relatively depauperate Scandinavian fauna, although some groups (seals, martens) cannot be resources; long distance resolved, and it cannot discriminate some domesticates (dog, cattle) from their wild counterparts. trade; zooarchaeology; In this article, we overview the method and demonstrate the value of ZooMS and illustrate our archaeology points via a case study of 20 samples from 12th to 14th century layers in the Danish medieval town of Odense. Four artefacts were tested by a non-destructive eraser technique because of their uniqueness, but only one could be identified.
    [Show full text]
  • An Integrated Stable Isotope Study of Plants and Animals from Kouphovouno, Southern Greece: a New Look at Neolithic Farming
    ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Title: An integrated stable isotope study of plants and animals from Kouphovouno, southern Greece: a new look at Neolithic farming Author affiliations: Petra Vaiglova – University of Oxford Dr Amy Bogaard – University of Oxford Prof Matthew Collins – University of York Prof William Cavanagh – University of Nottingham Prof Christopher Mee – University of Liverpool Prof Josette Renard – Universté Paul-Valéry Montpelier 3 Dr Angela Lamb – NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey Dr Rebecca Fraser – University of Oxford Corresponding author details: Petra Vaiglova University of Oxford, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 758 597 4160 Abstract: This paper presents the first study that combines the use of ancient crop and animal stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) and Zooarchaeology Mass Spectrometry species identification (ZooMS) for reconstructing early farming practices at Kouphovouno, a Middle-Late Neolithic village in southern GreeceMANUSCRIPT (c. 5950-4500 cal. BC). Debate surrounding the nature of early farming predominantly revolves around the intensity of crop cultivation: did early farmers move around the landscape while practicing temporary farming methods such as slash and burn agriculture or did they create more permanent fields by investing high labor inputs into smaller pieces of land that produced higher crop yields? The need to address these questions using a direct assessment of the intensity and scale of cultivation is apparent, and an integrated stable isotope approach provides such an opportunity. The results of this study support the model of small-scale mixed farming, where crop cultivation and animal husbandry are closely integrated.
    [Show full text]
  • Virtual Zooarchaeology: Building a Web-Based Reference Collection of Northern Vertebrates for Archaeofaunal Research and Education
    Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 755e762 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas Virtual zooarchaeology: building a web-based reference collection of northern vertebrates for archaeofaunal research and education Matthew W. Betts a,*, Herbert D.G. Maschner b, Corey D. Schou c, Robert Schlader d, Jonathan Holmes e, Nicholas Clement d, Michael Smuin e a Archaeology and History Division, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, PQ K1A 0M8, Canada b Department of Anthropology, Center for Archaeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopy, Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University, Pocatello ID, USA c College of Business, Informatics Research Institute, Idaho State University, Pocatello ID, USA d Idaho Virtualization Laboratory, Center for Archaeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopy, Idaho State University, Pocatello ID, USA e Informatics Research Institute, Idaho State University, Pocatello ID, USA article info abstract Article history: Osteological reference collections are a crucial tool in archaeofaunal analysis, but few are comprehensive; Received 13 April 2010 most lack a broad range of taxa or multiple individuals per taxon. This problem is especially prominent in Received in revised form arctic zooarchaeology, where difficulty in obtaining, transporting, and processing northern taxa has led 19 June 2010 to a dearth of appropriate reference collections. The Virtual Zooarchaeology of the Arctic Project, or VZAP, Accepted 21 June 2010 seeks to develop a comprehensive virtual comparative assemblage for the skeletons of northern verte- brates. VZAP (http://vzap.iri.isu.edu) is designed to assist with identifications in the lab or field and Keywords: provides significant educational value, for both classroom demonstration and personal consultation.
    [Show full text]
  • Whalebone Gaming Pieces: Aspects of Marine Mammal Exploitation in Vendel and Viking Age Scandinavia
    European Journal of Archaeology 21 (4) 2018, 612–631 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work. Whalebone Gaming Pieces: Aspects of Marine Mammal Exploitation in Vendel and Viking Age Scandinavia 1 2 3 ANDREAS HENNIUS ,RUDOLF GUSTAVSSON ,JOHN LJUNGKVIST AND 4 LUKE SPINDLER 1Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Sweden 2Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis, Uppsala, Sweden 3Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Sweden 4BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK Discussions of pre-Viking trade and production have for many decades focused on products made of precious metals, glass and, to some degree, iron. This is hardly surprising considering the difficulties in finding and provenancing products made of organic matter. In this article we examine gaming pieces made from bone and antler, which are not unusual in Scandinavian burials in the Vendel and Viking period (c. AD 550–1050). A special emphasis is placed on whalebone pieces that appear to dominate after around AD 550, signalling a large-scale production and exploitation of North Atlantic whale pro- ducts. In combination with other goods such as bear furs, birds of prey, and an increased iron and tar production, whalebone products are part of an intensified large-scale outland exploitation and indicate strong, pre-urban trading routes across Scandinavia and Europe some 200 years before the Viking period and well before the age of the emporia.
    [Show full text]