Evidence for “Celtic migrations”? Strontium isotope analysis at the early La Tène (LT B) cemeteries of Nebringen (Germany) and Monte Bibele (Italy)

Scheeres, Mirjam; Knipper, Corina; Hauschild, Maya; Schönfelder, Martin; Siebel, Wolfgang; Vitali, Daniele; Pare, Christopher; Alt, Kurt W.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.05.003

Cited by 47 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Non-migratory animals, such as domestic pigs (Scheeres et al 2013), were used as a faunal baseline to detect the presence of possible allochthonous individuals in Adige valley as displayed in Fig. 8.…”

Section: Sample Quality and Descriptive Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early medieval Italian Alps: reconstructing diet and mobility in the valleys

Paladin

Moghaddam

Stawinoga

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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In Early Middle Ages (sixth-eleventh centuries AD), South Tyrol (Italian Alps) played a key role for geographical and military reasons. Historical sources document that allochthonous groups (germani) entered the territory, and the material culture shows mutual cultural exchanges between autochthonous and germani. Besides the nature of the migration, the demographic and socio-cultural impacts on the local population are still unknown. Stable isotope analyses were performed to provide insights into dietary patterns, subsistence strategies, changes in socio-economic structures, and mobility, according to spatial (e.g. valleys, altitudes) and chronological (centuries) parameters. Bone collagen of 32 faunal and 91 human bone samples from nine sites, located at different altitudes, was extracted for stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur isotope analyses. In total, 94% (30/32) of the faunal remains were of good quality, while the humans displayed 93% (85/91) of good quality samples for δ 13 C and δ 15 N and 44% (40/91) for δ 34 S stable isotopes. The isotopic results of the animals reflected a terrestrial-based diet. Statistical differences were observed within and among the humans of the different valleys. The δ 13 C values of individuals sampled from higher altitudes indicated a mainly C 3 plant-based diet compared to areas at lower altitudes, where more positive δ 13 C values showed an intake of C 4 plants. The δ 15 N values suggested a terrestrial-based diet with a greater consumption of animal proteins at higher altitudes. The data revealed higher variability in δ 34 S values in the Adige valley, with individuals probably migrating and/or changing dietary habits.

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Section: Sample Quality and Descriptive Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early medieval Italian Alps: reconstructing diet and mobility in the valleys

Paladin

Moghaddam

Stawinoga

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…For tissue‐specific metabolic features, see Table . A growing number of studies are using 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios to reconstruct individual life histories in addition to geographical origins, using tooth‐bone or tooth‐tooth pairs . However, relatively few studies have examined intra‐individual variability in strontium isotope ratios in teeth …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra‐ and inter‐individual variability of stable strontium isotope ratios in hard and soft body tissues of pigs

Anders

Osmanovic

Vohberger

2019

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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Rationale Stable isotope analysis has become an indispensable tool for the identification of the flow of matter in ecological sciences. Stable strontium isotope ratios are used in several different scientific fields as markers for provenance, mobility, and migration. A crucial prerequisite for such studies is a reliable definition of local ranges and an estimation of expected isotopic variability. Methods To study the local variability of stable strontium isotope ratios at a specific place, a farrow of ecologically and locally grown pigs was investigated and strontium was extracted from their hard tissues (tooth enamel, bones and bristles) as well as soft tissues (meat, organs and blood) via dry‐ and wet‐ashing procedures and subsequent column separation. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio was then measured via TIMS (thermal ionization mass spectrometry). Results Reliable 87Sr/86Sr data was generated from all tissue types. Both intra‐ and inter‐individual variability was high and tissue‐specific patterns could be identified. High ranges occurred in sample types which were analyzed for animals of different age (pigs as well as piglets): teeth, parietal, mandible, femur, and leg muscle as well as in jaw muscle samples, which were only analyzed in adult pigs. Tooth enamel data showed a tooth‐type‐dependent pattern. Conclusions We conclude that a time factor played a role for the observed variability, e.g. a shift in food supply. Furthermore, we presume that local range estimates from the literature only work for tissues which integrate all consumed components over a sufficient amount of time and average fluctuations which can be found in tissues with higher turnover rates.

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“…In Neolithic Europe, strontium isotope studies have focused either on large‐scale phenomena such as the migration of LBK populations (Grupe et al ., ; Bentley et al ., , ; Bentley, ; Nehlich et al ., ) or on the mobility as a reflection of social practices and descent (Scheeres et al ., ), as well as movement linked to economic practices such as herding (Giblin, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life and Death in Neolithic Southeastern Italy: The Strontium Isotopic Evidence

Tafuri

Fullagar

O’Connell

et al. 2016

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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There is a strong relation between people's structured identities and their chemical biographies: these can reflect the way individuals choose to reside and/or move. The strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of skeletal remains is considered a useful proxy to assess residential mobility and social practices in past populations; however, so far, it has only occasionally been applied to prehistoric contexts in the Mediterranean. In this paper, we present 87Sr/86Sr data of human and animal samples from several Neolithic sites in the Apulian Tavoliere (southeastern Italy), namely, Grotta Scaloria, Passo di Corvo, Masseria Candelaro and La Torretta/Poggio Imperiale. Data obtained from dental enamel reflect the local origin of the individuals and allowed us to differentiate function and meaning of the sites examined. In particular, within a generally homogeneous background of Sr signatures, the range of 87Sr/86Sr at Scaloria Cave is greater than at the other sites, with variation likely to be related to funerary practices. We interpret this as the evidence of the ritual use of the cave, which implied the gathering of people of different origin. The relative variation of the Sr signature among individuals, either intersite or intrasite can be tentatively associated with mobility during life as well as with social practices, such as access to foods from geologically different environments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Evidence for “Celtic migrations”? Strontium isotope analysis at the early La Tène (LT B) cemeteries of Nebringen (Germany) and Monte Bibele (Italy)

Cited by 47 publications

References 31 publications

Early medieval Italian Alps: reconstructing diet and mobility in the valleys

Early medieval Italian Alps: reconstructing diet and mobility in the valleys

Intra‐ and inter‐individual variability of stable strontium isotope ratios in hard and soft body tissues of pigs

Life and Death in Neolithic Southeastern Italy: The Strontium Isotopic Evidence

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