Human and livestock faecal biomarkers at the prehistorical encampment site of Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria – potential and limitations

Abstract

Abstract. The Ullafelsen at 1869 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the Tyrolean Stubai Alps next to Innsbruck is an important (geo)archeological reference site for the Mesolithic period. Buried fireplaces on the Ullafelsen plateau were dated at 10.9 to 9.5 ka cal BP and demonstrate together with thousands of flint stone artifacts the presence of hunter-gatherers during the Early Holocene. Grazing livestock has been a predominant anthropozoological impact in the Fotsch Valley presumably since the Bronze Age (4.2–2.8 ka). In order to study the human and/or livestock faeces input on the Ullafelsen, we carried out steroid analyses on 2 modern ruminant faeces samples from cattle and sheep, 37 soil samples from seven archeological soil profiles, and 9 soil samples from five non-archeological soil profiles from the Fotsch Valley used as reference sites. The dominance of 5β-stigmastanol and deoxycholic acid in modern cattle and sheep faeces can be used as markers for the input of ruminant faeces in soils. The OAh horizons, which have accumulated and developed since the Mesolithic, revealed high contents of steroids (sterols, stanols, stanones and bile acids); the eluvial light layer (E (LL)) horizon coinciding with the Mesolithic living floor is characterized by medium contents of steroids. By contrast, the subsoil horizons Bh, Bs and BvCv contain low contents of faecal biomarkers, indicating that leaching of steroids into the podsolic subsoils is not an important factor. High content of 5β-stigmastanol and deoxycholic acid in all soil samples gives evidence for faeces input of ruminants. The steroid patterns and ratios indicate a negligible input of human faeces on the Ullafelsen. In conclusion, our results reflect a strong faeces input by livestock, rather than by humans as found for other Anthrosols such as Amazonian dark earths. Further studies need to focus on the question of the exact timing of faeces deposition.

Archaeological Evidence for the Dietary Practices and Lifestyle of 18th Century Lisbon, Portugal—Combined Steroidal Biomarker and Microparticle Analysis of the Carbonized Faecal Remains

“…In the case of humans, the relative number of compounds derived from the cholesterol and plant sterols can provide an idea about the correlations of animal/plant products consumed by an individual. Herbivores ingest large amounts of plant-derived sterols; therefore, the faecal profile should show prevalence of sitosterol and stigmastanols [96][97][98]. On the other hand, omnivore diet results in a much higher representation of choresterol and coprostanol in relation to stigmastanol [23,33,42,99].…”

Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive

“…Background image: Orthophoto 2008 of the County of Tyrol (Austria). Cartography: Marcel Lerch, 2022.…”

“…Respective results of n -alkane, black carbon and faecal biomarker analyses as well as radiocarbon dating provided further insights regarding pedogenesis, vegetation history and human impact on the Ullafelsen. In this context, the existence of a formerly proposed buried (fossil) topsoil dating to the Late Glacial could not be confirmed (Zech et al, 2021) and there is no evidence for an increased input of human faeces (Lerch et al, 2022). It moreover turned out that the soil profiles on the Ullafelsen itself are of limited value when aiming at reconstructing the landscape evolution and human impact in the Fotsch Valley at higher temporal resolution.…”