Molecular and Isotopic Demonstration of the Processing of Aquatic Products in Northern European Prehistoric Pottery*

Craig, Oliver E.; Forster, Markus; Andersen, Søren H.; Koch, Elisabeth; Crombé, Philippe; Milner, Nicky; Stern, Ben; Bailey, Geoff; Heron, C.

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2007.00292.x

Cited by 171 publications

(181 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Food crust values which are more enriched than -25 indicate therefore the presence of marine resources. Similarly, the δ 13 C values of food crusts from Tybrind Vig, mean δ 13 C = -23±1 , indicate a strong marine component [84], but were originally interpreted as being terrestrial [85].…”

Section: Schlamersdorf/travementioning

confidence: 99%

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

2013

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The freshwater reservoir effect can result in anomalously old radiocarbon ages of samples from lakes and rivers. This includes the bones of people whose subsistence was based on freshwater fish, and pottery in which fish was cooked. Water rich in dissolved ancient calcium carbonates, commonly known as hard water, is the most common reason for the freshwater reservoir effect. It is therefore also called hardwater effect. Although it has been known for more than 60 years, it is still less well-recognized by archaeologists than the marine reservoir effect. The aim of this study is to examine the order of magnitude and degree of variability of the freshwater reservoir effect over short and long timescales. Radiocarbon dating of recent water samples, aquatic plants, and animals, shows that age differences of up to 2000 14 C years can occur within one river. The freshwater reservoir effect has also implications for radiocarbon dating of Mesolithic pottery from inland sites of the Ertebølle culture in Northern Germany. The surprisingly old ages of the earliest pottery most probably are caused by a freshwater reservoir effect. In a sediment core from the Limfjord, northern Denmark, the impact of the freshwater reservoir effect on radiocarbon dating in an estuarine environment is examined. Here, freshwater influence causes reservoir ages to vary between 250 and 700 14 C years during the period 5400 BC -AD 700. The examples in this study show clearly that the freshwater reservoir effect can seriously corrupt radiocarbon dating at inland sites. Reservoir effects should therefore be considered whenever food remains on pottery or the bones of omnivores are radiocarbon dated -irrespective of the site's distance to the coast.

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Section: Schlamersdorf/travementioning

confidence: 99%

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

2013

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“…This assessment is strengthened by: 1) the stable isotope values of the bone collagen suggest a mainly carnivore diet for the dog and a herbivore diet for the cow (see Table 4); and 2) the relative dating (250-12 BC), based on pot morphology and decoration, is also in agreement with the 3 14 C dates (see Figure 3). If the stable isotope theory of Craig et al (2007) is applied to the Grijpskerke charred food residue, a marine origin is suggested as the  13 C value is > 25‰ and the  15 N value is between 7 and 12‰ (see Table 4). However, this is in contradiction with the charred food residue 14 C date where no reservoir effect was observed.…”

Section: Grijpskerkementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In view of these findings, it was suggested that  13 C analysis is a suitable tool, at least in screening surface res-idue for possible marine components, and that when combined with bulk  15 N analysis samples, it is also suitable for identifying the possible presence of freshwater fish. This is significant as it provides a quick and inexpensive method for identifying 14 C dates liable to inaccuracies resulting from the presence of marine or freshwater carbon (Craig et al 2007). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stable isotopes of the charred food residue were analyzed in an attempt to demonstrate a possible aquatic (marine or freshwater) processing in the ceramic vessels. According to Craig et al (2007), stable isotope analysis has the advantage of providing information, albeit of lower resolution, on the origin of the total amount of carbon and nitrogen in the sample. In their study, the interpretation based on the bulk  13 C analysis was in accordance with more specific molecular analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fish Reservoir Effect on Charred Food Residue ¹⁴C Dates: Are Stable Isotope Analyses the Solution?

et al. 2010

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ABSTRACT. In order to verify the relative dating based on pot type morphology and decoration of the Swifterbant pottery collected at the Final Mesolithic site of Doel "Deurganckdok" (Belgium) and of the Late Iron Age pottery excavated at Grijpskerke (the Netherlands), direct radiocarbon dates were obtained on charred food residue preserved on the inner surface of numerous potsherds. In addition, a number of indirect 14 C dates were obtained from samples of organic material. In the case of Doel, the results indicate an important incompatibility between the charred food residue dates and the other dates, the former being systematically older. This difference may be explained by a reservoir effect of the charred food residue, caused by the processing of (freshwater) fish. The 14 C dates for the Grijpskerke site are in agreement between the charred food residue and the organic material. The stable isotopes of the charred food residue were analyzed to demonstrate fish processing in the pottery, but the results were inconclusive.

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“…Dudd and Evershed 1998;Evershed et al 2002;Copley et al 2003;Evershed et al 2008;Dunne et al 2012;Debono Spiteri et al 2016). Likewise, aquatic products (Patrick et al 1985;Hansel et al 2004;Craig et al 2007;Hansel and Evershed 2009;Shoda et al 2017), plant oils and waxes denoting vegetable and plant oil consumption/ processing (Evershed et al 1991;Copley et al 2001a;Copley et al 2001b;Reber et al 2004;Copley et al 2005;Cramp et al 2011;Dunne et al 2016) and beeswax (Heron et al 1994;Charters et al 1995;Evershed et al 1997b;Regert et al 2001;Evershed et al 2003;Roffet-Salque et al 2015), resins, tars and bitumen (Beck et al 1989;Mills and White 1989;Evershed et al 1997a;van Bergen et al 1997;Urem-Kotsou et al 2002;Stern et al 2003;Buckley et al 2004;Stern et al 2008;Connan et al 2013;Brown et al 2014: Brettell et al 2014 have been identified in connection with a wide range of technological and cultural activities. On a broader scale, lipid residue analyses can provide insight into the domestication of plants and animals, the development of animal husbandry practices and ecological and environmental changes through time (Evershed 2008b;Evershed et al 2008;…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pastoralist Foodways Recorded in Organic Residues from Pottery Vessels of Modern Communities in Samburu, Kenya

Dunne

Grillo

Casanova

et al. 2018

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Organic residue analyses of archaeological ceramics can provide important insights into ancient foodways. To date, however, there has been little critical reflection on how lipid residues might (or might not) reflect dietary practices or subsistence strategies more generally. A combination of ethnoarchaeological research and chemical and isotopic analyses of lipid residues from pottery made and used by modern Samburu pastoralists in northern Kenya was undertaken to supplement the interpretive framework used in archaeological investigations. A total of 63 potsherds were collected from various contexts, including settlement sites and rockshelters, and analysed using gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). The results showed that the free fatty acids, palmitic (C 16:0 ) and stearic (C 18:0 ), dominated the lipid profiles, with extremely broad ranges of δ 13 C values. The majority of the Δ 13 C values from Samburu pots suggest that vessels were intensively used to process ruminant carcass products, yet the Samburu economy is not, in fact, meat-based at all. Despite an overall reliance on dairy products, milk is rarely processed in ceramic vessels, largely due to cultural prohibitions. Surprisingly, a number of vessels from one site, Naiborkeju Hill, were used to process dairy products. Compound-specific radiocarbon dating of lipids from these sherds suggests that this pottery originated from an earlier period, demonstrating a possible shift in ceramic use by pastoralist communities in this region over time. The overall conclusion is that lipid residues may not necessarily reflect, in a simple way, the day-to-day consumption or the perceived relative importance of different foodstuffs. In the Samburu case, lipid residues reflect the functional and ideological suitability of ceramics for processing only certain types of food (meat/fat/bones), despite an overall reliance on milk. These conclusions are important when considering the origins and development of African pastoralism, for example, as interpreted from the archaeological record.

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Molecular and Isotopic Demonstration of the Processing of Aquatic Products in Northern European Prehistoric Pottery*

Abstract: Bradford Scholars -how to deposit your paper Overview Copyright check• Check if your publisher allows submission to a repository.• Use the Sherpa RoMEO database if you are not sure about your publisher's position or email openaccess@bradford.ac.uk.

Cited by 171 publications

References 35 publications

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

Fish Reservoir Effect on Charred Food Residue ¹⁴C Dates: Are Stable Isotope Analyses the Solution?

Pastoralist Foodways Recorded in Organic Residues from Pottery Vessels of Modern Communities in Samburu, Kenya

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Molecular and Isotopic Demonstration of the Processing of Aquatic Products in Northern European Prehistoric Pottery*

Abstract: Bradford Scholars -how to deposit your paper Overview Copyright check• Check if your publisher allows submission to a repository.• Use the Sherpa RoMEO database if you are not sure about your publisher's position or email openaccess@bradford.ac.uk.

Cited by 171 publications

References 35 publications

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

Fish Reservoir Effect on Charred Food Residue 14C Dates: Are Stable Isotope Analyses the Solution?

Pastoralist Foodways Recorded in Organic Residues from Pottery Vessels of Modern Communities in Samburu, Kenya

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Fish Reservoir Effect on Charred Food Residue ¹⁴C Dates: Are Stable Isotope Analyses the Solution?