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Stable isotope analysis of human and faunal remains: a palaeodietary investigation into chalcolithic and bronze age Cyprus
No full textFood supply and subsistence strategies are usually considered the starting point for the reconstruction of socio-economical patterns within the life of prehistoric communities. From the archaeological point of view, to investigate the food system of past human societies usually means to analyse and interpret the physical remains left behind during the principal phases of food provision: procurement, storage, preparation, consumption and disposal. However, given the perishable nature of many food-related materials, the archaeological record should not be assessed in isolation but within an inter-disciplinary framework where any other available form of evidence is integrated. Towards this purpose, the reconstruction of dietary patterns by means of stable isotope analysis of fossil materials represents a well-established technique for supplementing the archaeological data and gathering quantitative and qualitative information both on food resources and their patterns of use, which is the stage of procurement, and on individual consumer behaviour, that is the phase of consumption. In particular, the clearest advantage of the method is that it reflects the foods actually eaten by an individual, or a group of individuals, including those organic remains with low recovery rates, such as plant foods and fish residues.
With reference to prehistoric Cyprus, dietary patterns have been usually inferred from faunal and botanical data and within the context of broader researches focused on subsistence strategies. Applications of stable isotope analysis for palaeodietary reconstruction are practically absent in the current literature. Within these premises, this research project focuses on the reconstruction of the palaeodiet of the population of Cyprus during the period from the Chalcolithic to the beginning of Late Bronze Age (c. 3900-1450 BC) by means of stable isotope analysis of faunal and human remains. The investigated period is particularly significant in terms of cultural development of the Cypriot society, as it encompasses a series of changes in social structure, technology and economy that will gradually transform the village-based, isolated Chalcolithic communities of the island into cooperative, rural and proto-industrial centres during the subsequent Early and Middle Bronze Age.
In this study, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios have been measured on several faunal and human samples (bone and teeth) collected from relevant Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites of Cyprus. The stable isotope results have been evaluated in relation to the archaeological, anthropological and environmental records in order to reconstruct the dietary patterns of the investigated communities. Beyond the mere reconstruction of a diet, the new isotopic dataset has been discussed in relation to other food-related topics, following three different approaches: 1) a socio-cultural approach intended to examine social implications related to diet, for example differences in food acquisition and consumption, or possible gender-related differences in the diet; 2) a geographical approach, so as to study regional differences in the diet, but also the mutual relationship between the environment and the dietary choices of the communities; 3) a diachronic approach, designed to examine the differences in the dietary behaviours of the Chaclolithic and Bronze Age individuals
Dating the context (or contextualizing the dating?). New evidence from the Southern Cemetery at Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou (EC - LCI)
No full textErimi-Laonin tou Porakou (Limassol, Cyprus): Radiocarbon analyses of the Bronze Age Cemetery and Workshop Complex
No full textThe site area of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou (Limassol, Cyprus) has been surveyed and systematically excavated since 2007 as a joint research project of the University of Florence and the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus. A focused investigation was dedicated to analyzing funerary evidence from the southern Cemetery (Area E), where 7 single-chamber graves were excavated. The offering goods assemblages from the burials point to a general date ranging from Early to Late Bronze Age I, and draw a sequence of use that is contemporary to the stratigraphic deposits from the top mound Workshop Complex (Area A). During the 2010 field season, charcoal samples from the Workshop Complex and bone samples from the skeleton remains of 2 burials (tombs 228, 230) were opportunely taken for radiocarbon analyses. 14C dating was performed at the AMS-IBA Tandetron accelerator of the INFN-LABEC Laboratory in Florence. This paper will discuss the results of the 14C analyses and compare them with the archaeological evidence in order to outline a chronological sequence for the settlement and cemetery areas at Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou, thus collecting further data on the development and pattern of occupation of the Early to Late Cypriote period in the Kourion area. © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona
New evidence for diet and subsistence economy in Early and Middle Bronze Age Cyprus
No full textStable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the settlement of Marki Alonia provides new evidence for dietary patterns and aspects of livestock management during the Early and Middle Cypriot Bronze Age. Animal data indicate exploitation of a mainly C3 ecosystem and hint at the possibility that caprines and cattle were subjected to different herding practices; they currently constitute the sole available isotopic baseline for this region and time period. As for the few analysed humans, a primarily C3 terrestrial protein-based diet can be suggested
The Bronze Age Cemetery at Lofou-Koulauzou (Cyprus): towards a Cross-Analysis of Radiocarbon Data and Funerary Assemblages from Burial Contexts
No full textCollagen Quality Indicators for Radiocarbon Dating of Bones: New Data on Bronze Age Cyprus
No full textRadiocarbon reveals the age of two precious tombs in the etruscan site of Populonia-Baratti (Tuscany)
No full textNew radiocarbon data to study the history of roman and medieval Florence
No full textFlorence is a town worldwide known for its Renaissance masterpieces. It is often forgotten that it was
founded during Roman times and remained a small village until the end of the early Middle Ages, practically
confined within the ancient Roman boundaries. Since 2003, an extended archaeological research
executed by the University of Sienna has studied the most ancient layers in the centre of Florence with
the aim to enhance both the archaeological and paleo-environmental reconstruction of this area. One of
the peculiarities of these excavations is that the early medieval layers were poor in datable ceramics, thus
charcoals were sampled from different stratigraphic layers in order to contribute to the dating. Several
data have already been published; here we focus on the excavation site of Palazzo Vecchio, now the seat
of the municipality of Florence. This area is located close to the Arno river, along the eastern margin of the
slightly elevated height upon which the Roman town was founded; actually, in the layers beneath the
surface, the Roman theatre is still preserved.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoals was performed in the LABEC laboratory in Florence, at the AMS beam
line of the AMS-IBA 3 MV Tandetron accelerator.
Comparison of these new data with the former ones and with the archaeological and geological data
adds new information especially on natural phenomena like floods and on the human occupation of this
area in the past
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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