Breaking Traditions: An Isotopic Study on the Changing Funerary Practices in the Dutch Iron Age (800–12 <scp>bc</scp>)

Kootker, L.M.; Geerdink, C.; Broeke, P.W. van den; Kars, H.; Davies, Gareth R.

doi:10.1111/arcm.12333

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Kootker 2014;Kootker et al 2017), in Oldenzaal no more than 7.8% of the investigated population might have been of non-local origin. This number, however, actually represents the absolute minimum number of migrants, as nonlocals who originated from areas with identical isotope values remain isotopically invisible (see also .…”

Section: Oldenzaal's Infrastructural Connections Compared To the Origmentioning

confidence: 93%

Beyond isolation: understanding past human-population variability in the Dutch town of Oldenzaal through the origin of its inhabitants and its infrastructural connections

Kootker

Lanen

Groenewoudt

et al. 2017

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This study presents a first attempt to assess the mechanisms and potential controls behind past residential mobility through the integration of isotopic data from human inhumations and spatial infrastructural information pertaining to the settlement containing these inhumations. Strontium Reconstructions of historical route networks show that Oldenzaal was wellconnected interregionally throughout the Middle Ages and early-modern times (ca. AD 800-1600). Although the working hypothesis was that in the past a high degree of spatial connectivity of settlements must have been positively related to a highly variable geographical origin of its inhabitants, the isotopic data from Oldenzaal indicate a population characterized by a low variability in terms of their origin. This unexpected result may be caused by (a combination of) various factors, related to (1) biases in the isotopic dataset, (2) interpretative limitations regarding the results of isotopic analyses and (3) the impact of broader socio-cultural factors that cannot be traced through isotopic analyses, such as infrastructural connectivity, socio-economics and political factors. The human oxygen isotope dataset presented here provides a first step towards a δ 18O PDB reference dataset, against which future samples can be compared without the need to convert the data. This paper establishes that although in archaeology a biomolecular approach potentially provides a detailed reconstruction of the development of past populations in terms of palaeodemography and geographical/cultural origin, such studies should be performed in a transdisciplinary context in order to increase the understanding of the wider controlling factors of past population change.

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Section: Oldenzaal's Infrastructural Connections Compared To the Origmentioning

confidence: 93%

Beyond isolation: understanding past human-population variability in the Dutch town of Oldenzaal through the origin of its inhabitants and its infrastructural connections

Kootker

Lanen

Groenewoudt

et al. 2017

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…The absence of an inquiry into migration is undoubtedly a confounding factor for our analysis, as we are unable to identify individuals with a mobility background nor to make assumptions regarding their living and working conditions before they moved to the cities. While a few bioarcheological studies on Dutch populations have addressed migration through isotope analysis (e.g., Kootker et al, 2016Kootker et al, , 2018Kootker et al, , 2019, there is currently no systematic study that has specifically examined the potential confounding effects of demographic nonstationarity in Dutch samples. Examining different populations would aid in assessing how human mobility could have influenced the health patterns of urban populations, especially the ones with significant migration history.…”

Section: Limitations Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The urban sea: Cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia, and sinusitis in three diachronic urban sites from the Dutch province of Zeeland (1030–1800 CE)

Casna,

Schrader

2024

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Until the 17th century, the Dutch coastal region of Zeeland ranked among Europe's most urbanized areas, driven by thriving international trade networks. People living in this time of flourishing economy benefitted enormously from it in terms of employment opportunities and working conditions, which were reportedly better than in the rest of the Low Countries. However, the rapid growth of Zeeland's urban centers likely presented increasing challenges for the population in terms of accessing essential resources, including food, clean water, and housing. In the 19th century, Zeeland's economy ultimately faced a significant downturn due to the decline in the maritime trade, leading to a substantial reduction in its urban population. Examining patterns of urbanization and economic histories that differ from the commonly studied thriving industrial contexts in bioarcheological research, as exemplified by Zeeland, is a crucial yet relatively underexplored facet in our efforts to understanding the human past. To address this gap, this study investigates the impact of urbanization on the health of Zeeland's inhabitants over time by analyzing nonspecific stress markers (i.e., cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, and linear enamel hypoplasia) and chronic maxillary sinusitis in a sample of 246 individuals from three urban sites dating from 1030 to 1800 CE. Our analysis of skeletal remains reveals significant differences in the prevalence of porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia, and sinusitis between the medieval and post‐medieval periods. These findings suggest that de‐urbanization and economic decline adversely affected the health and well‐being of the populations under study, influenced by factors such as working conditions and food availability. This study provides a new perspective on bioarcheological approaches to urbanization, shedding light on the intricate realities of urbanization in Zeeland and offering important insights into its complexities.

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“…Cattle supported arable farming by traction and manure, provided food in the form of meat and dairy products and raw materials for clothing and artefacts; they also had an important social and status significance [6,7]. Recent studies have shown that mobility of livestock, including cattle, played a significant role in the study area during the Iron Age [8,9]. Mobility can be related to the role of cattle as an exchange medium, cattle raiding and the movement of human groups-almost certainly with their livestock [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cattle management in an Iron Age/Roman settlement in the Netherlands: Archaeozoological and stable isotope analysis

et al. 2021

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Cattle were the predominant domestic animal in the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands, yet their management is still incompletely understood. Some aspects of cattle management, such as birth season and the provision of fodder, have received little or no attention so far. This paper is the first to investigate these aspects for the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands, through a case study of the site of Houten-Castellum. The rural settlement of Houten-Castellum was inhabited from the Middle Iron Age to the Middle Roman period, allowing a comparison between the Iron Age and Roman period. Excavations at this site have yielded a large, well-preserved animal bone assemblage. This paper investigates cattle husbandry by using an integrated approach, combining a multi-isotope analysis (oxygen, carbon and strontium) with archaeozoological and archaeobotanical results from Houten-Castellum and comparing the results with archaeobotanical evidence for fodder and evidence for dairy use for the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands in general. While our data set is small and results must therefore be interpreted cautiously, there is convincing evidence for an extended birth season in the Middle Iron Age, as well as the use of fodder.

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Breaking Traditions: An Isotopic Study on the Changing Funerary Practices in the Dutch Iron Age (800–12 bc)

Cited by 6 publications

References 43 publications

Beyond isolation: understanding past human-population variability in the Dutch town of Oldenzaal through the origin of its inhabitants and its infrastructural connections

Beyond isolation: understanding past human-population variability in the Dutch town of Oldenzaal through the origin of its inhabitants and its infrastructural connections

The urban sea: Cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia, and sinusitis in three diachronic urban sites from the Dutch province of Zeeland (1030–1800 CE)

Cattle management in an Iron Age/Roman settlement in the Netherlands: Archaeozoological and stable isotope analysis

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