Robert Tykot

During the Empire, the population of Rome was composed mostly of lower-class free citizens and slaves. Viewed from historical records, the Roman diet included primarily olives, wine, and wheat, but poor and enslaved Romans may have eaten whatever they were able to find and afford, leading to significant heterogeneity in the Roman diet. Previous carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of skeletons from Imperial Italy have begun to reveal variation in diet, but little is known about what people ate in the capital city. This study complements previous work by adding new isotope data from human skeletons found in two Imperial-period (1st–3rd centuries AD) cemeteries in Rome. These data suggest that urban and suburban diets differed, most notably in the consumption of the C4 grain millet. Comparing these new data with all published palaeodietary data from Imperial Italy demonstrates that significant variation existed in the diet of the common people.► We performed C and N isotope analyses on 48 individuals from Imperial Rome. ► Most people consumed a diet composed of C3 plants and aquatic protein. ► One adult had a predominantly C4 diet, and one child had not been fully weaned. ► People living in the suburbs ate more C4 resources than people living near the city. ► Comparison with other data from Imperial Italy suggests heterogeneity in the diet.

In this paper we test the hypothesis that an intensification of maize production preceded the development of a regional Moche political economy in the Moche Valley of north coastal Peru during the Early Intermediate period (400 B.C.-A.D. 600). To do so we analyze stable isotopic signatures of 48 bone apatite and 17 tooth enamel samples from human remains recovered from the site of Cerro Oreja, a large urban and ceremonial center in the Moche Valley. These remains date to the Guañape, Salinar, or Gallinazo phases and provide a diachronic picture of subsistence before the appearance of the Southern Moche state. The most notable patterns identified in the study include a lack of significant change in δ13Capatite values from the Guañape to Salinar phases, followed by a significant enrichment in δ13Capatite values from the Salinar to Gallinazo phases. Several lines of evidence, including archaeological context, dental data, and comparative carbon stable isotope data from experimental animal studies and studies of archaeological human remains support the interpretation that the observed 13C enrichment in stable isotope values in the Gallinazo phase primarily reflects maize intensification. The stable isotope data from Cerro Oreja thus suggest that a shift in subsistence toward a highly productive and storable crop may have served as an important precursor to state development during the Early Intermediate period in the Moche Valley.

Use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS) coupled to a laser-ablation sample introduction system (LA-ICP-MS) as a minimally destructive method for chemical characterization of archaeological materials has gained favor during the past few years. Although still a relatively new analytical tectmique in archaeology, LA-ICP-MS has been demonstrated to be a productive avenue of research for chemical characterization of obsidian, chert, pottery, painted and glazed surfaces, and human bone and teeth. Archaeological applications of LA-ICP-MS and comparisons with other analytical methods are described.

In the Neolithic and Copper Age collective burials of the Portuguese Estremadura, the majority of material culture and skeletal remains are highly commingled, making it difficult for archaeologists to evaluate social status by linking individuals with specific grave goods. In these circumstances, bio-anthropological data about individual life histories offer an additional avenue of investigation into social complexity among prehistoric communities practising collective burial. In this study, stable isotope data were gathered from 81 individuals from seven collective burial sites and one settlement, the fortified site of Zambujal, in order to determine if significant dietary differences exist within or between burials that may point to patterns of social differentiation, both at individual sites and across the region. While in general all of the sampled individuals consumed fairly homogeneous diets based on terrestrial animal proteins and C3 plants, this study found that statistically significant differences in δ13Cap and δ15N values exist between several sites, which may indicate socially differentiated consumption of meat and plants. Additionally, statistically significant differences were found in δ15N values between adults and juveniles, which may either be attributable to protein-restrictive child-feeding practices or physiological processes related to skeletal growth and development.

Se presenta nueva información sobre análisis de isótopos estables en esmalte, colágeno y apatita de restos humanos arqueológicos de la costa centro-septentrional de Patagonia y el valle inferior del río Chubut. La muestra cubre un rango temporal de entre 6000 y 200 años AP. Los resultados se discuten en función del registro arqueofaunístico y de una base de datos sobre la ecología isotópica del área. Se evalúa la variabilidad temporal y espacial y se discute el papel de los recursos marinos en la dieta y la movilidad.

Presented here are results from the non-destructive portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis of ceramic artifacts in Italy, Malta, and Croatia, dating to the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages, with a focus on the advantages and limitations of this method of analysis in identifying local vs. non-local pottery, and their “history” of mobility and socioeconomic significance. While providing opportunities for conducting analytical research in museums and other places where borrowing or sampling the artifacts is not permitted, pXRF users must be aware of its limitations, including detection limits, which elements can be measured, potential heterogeneity of the material being tested, and comparison with analytical data from other studies. Unlike obsidian, for which all Mediterranean sources can be distinguished, there are limitations in the use of pXRF on ceramics when compared with regular XRF, INAA, and LA-ICP-MS. Most of this is the detection limits of the pXRF, so that...

The Site of Cucuruzzu The casteddu (stone enclosure) of Cucuruzzu, Corsica, constitutes one of the most remarkable places of the Corsican Bronze Age (Figure 1). Roger Grosjean directed several excavations there throughout the 1960s, and François de Lanfranchi continued to explore the site in the 1970s. The built environment consists of a wide stone enclosure girding the stone tower located at the most prominent point of the location. The geographic situation of the complex and its architecture are consistent with a defensive function. However, the presence of sherds of large storing jars and of unfired clay coils in the three chambers located within the thickness of the enclosure walls suggests that the site may also have played a political role as a manufacturing and redistribution center at a regional level. In the summer 2015, a preventive excavation took place in two different locations of the enclosure in prevision of a series of planned interventions aimed at ensuring the safety of the visitors. The ceramic material found at this occasion in the stratigraphic unit 105 of the sector 1 was identified as typical of the ceramic production of the beginning of the Final Bronze Age (1200-950 BC), an attribution that was later confirmed by radiocarbon dating (1300-1075 cal BC, 95%). Method This study includes 67 sherds and a daub fragment found during the 2015 excavation, as well as a clay sample from a deposit located in the vicinity of the site (Figure 3). A portable Bruker III-SD X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer was used to determine the value six trace elements that known for being indicative of the geological origin of the clay: rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, niobium, and thorium (Tykot 2016). In order to make sure no slip or painting interfered with the measurement, each sherd was analyzed twice: once on the inner surface and once on the outer surface. The average of the two values was retained for subsequent statistical analyses. The samples were then classified into different chemical groups through cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and discriminant analysis. Final Bronze Age Ceramics in Corsica A genuine rupture occurred in the field of ceramic production at the beginning of the Final Bronze Age in southern Corsica. In effect, this period corresponds to the appearance of a new ceramic assemblage, designated as the " ACC " assemblage in reference to the sites (Apazzu, Cuccuruzzu, and Castidetta) where it was first identified (Peche-Quilichini 2014). ACC assemblages consist of a coarseware, reminiscent of earlier productions, and of a fineware that has no antecedent in the region. The manufacturing operational sequence of the fineware include practices such as surface burnishing and firing in a reducing atmosphere, which may point at a specialized rather than domestic production (Figure 2). Since several authors also place the appearance of the casteddi at the beginning of the Final Bronze Age, there is a possibility that the two phenomena may have been related. In particular, if the ACC fineware was indeed made by specialists, one would expect its production to take place in the casteddi, where it could presumably be controlled by the local elite. The aim of this study is to explore the production and the distribution of ACC ceramics through the analysis of the chemical composition of the paste of the vessels. References Peche-Quilichini, Kewin 2014 Protohistoire d'une île Vaisselles céramiques du Bronze final et du premier âge du Fer de Corse (1200-550 av. J.-C.).