Increasing Mobility at the Neolithic/Bronze Age Transition - sulphur isotope evidence from Öland, Sweden

Abstract

The objective of this investigation is to look at the use of various aquatic, in this case marine, resources in relation to mobility during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. On the island of Öland, in the Baltic Sea, different archaeological cultures are represented in the form of material culture and skeletal remains at three sites. We have analysed δ 34 S values in human remains representing 36 individuals, as well as faunal remains. We investigated intra-individual patterns of mobility from childhood to adulthood, primarily focusing on a passage grave. Taking into account previously published dietary data that demonstrate a wide range of dietary practices involving aquatic resources, we applied a model to estimate the contribution of δ 34 S from terrestrial protein, to separate mobility from dietary changes, thereby identifying individuals who changed residence, as well as individuals with non-local origins. Evidence of mobility could be demonstrated at two sites. For the third site the consistently marine diet inhibits inferences on mobility based on δ 34 S analysis.Chronologically, the frequency of non-locals was highest during the Bronze Age, when the diet was very uniform and based on terrestrial resources.

A Shattered Tomb of Scattered People: The Alvastra Dolmen in Light of Stable Isotopes

“…If so, a resulting local sulphur isotopic range would land around 5.3-7.2‰ (mean 6.6 ± 0.6‰, n=9). The δ 34 S value for common scoter (14.0‰) is in line with Baltic Sea marine consumers (Fornander et al 2008;Linderholm et al ms.).…”

Mobility patterns in inland southwestern Sweden during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age

“…On the island of Gotland, in the Baltic, an increased human mobility was also suggested in the Late Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age based on Sr isotope data (Fraser et al 2018b). According to a study of sulphur isotopes (Linderholm et al 2014), an increased number of non-local individuals occurred at the transition between Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Thus, the Falbygden results seem to correlate with several other regions in Sweden, while the Danish material suggests an increased mobility later on, in the Early Bronze Age.…”

Adapt or die—Response of large herbivores to environmental changes in Europe during the Holocene

“…Opening of forest habitats would have created more optimal foraging conditions for grazers, less for browsers, but might have exposed them to increased human pressure and had similar effects (reduced fitness, population fragmentation and local extinction). By studying the foraging ecology of three European large herbivore species over millennial timescales during the Holocene we aimed to: (a) identify habitat preferences and diets before and after the Neolithic environmental transformations; (b) analyse the response of the largest remain- Bocherens et al, 2015;Fornander, Eriksson, & Liden, 2008;Gravlund et al, 2012;Jessen et al, 2015;Lidén, Eriksson, Nordqvist, Götherström, & Bendixen, 2004;Linderholm, Fornander, Eriksson, Mörth, & Lidén, 2014;Noe-Nygaard et al, 2005). Did they adapt to the limits set by their morphological characteristics and foraging plasticity or not?…”

“…By studying the foraging ecology of three European large herbivore species over millennial timescales during the Holocene we aimed to: (a) identify habitat preferences and diets before and after the Neolithic environmental transformations; (b) analyse the response of the largest remaining Pleistocene megafauna in Europe to the major environmental changes of the Holocene (from increasing tree cover during the Early and pre-Neolithic Holocene to increasing habitat openness during the Neolithic and subsequent time periods); and (c) identify factors influencing their patterns of habitat use and diet. We hypothesized that forest expansion in the early Holocene forced large herbivores, especially those primarily adapted to grazing (aurochs and European bison) into forests as refugial habitats, to shift their pattern of habi- Daugnora, Jankauskas, & Ogrinc, 2009;Bocherens et al, 2015;Fornander, Eriksson, & Liden, 2008;Gravlund et al, 2012;Jessen et al, 2015;Lidén, Eriksson, Nordqvist, Götherström, & Bendixen, 2004;Linderholm, Fornander, Eriksson, Mörth, & Lidén, 2014;Noe-Nygaard et al, 2005). In total, 364 large herbivore bone samples and literature records were used in the study (Figure 1).…”