• Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage
• 15. Life on land close

Introduction The first part of this contribution comprises of an outline of bioarchaeological studies connected with the Neolithic settlements in the Balkans. A substantial proliferation of environmental studies is recorded in the last decade concerning archaeobotanical and archaeozoological evidence. Main attention is paid to archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies which consider settlements and their bioarchaeological context. The second part is focused on the Neolithic tell-site of Vrbjanska Čuka in Pelagonia, Republic of Macedonia, where authors have been performing bioarchaeological research since 2016. In this paper, we present the results of the analyses of botanical macroremains and microremains (starch, phytoliths) and faunal remains collected in season 2016 in the broader context of the Neolithic Balkans in order to estimate the bioarchaeological potential of the site. Materials and Methods Archaeobotanical material from Vrbjanska Čuka 2016 field season was obtained by test sampling of archaeological contexts. 79 samples and 404 l of sediments were processed. Samples have been taken from different contexts from the site and from the profile in western part of the excavated area (profile W1). Flotation was applied for the extraction of botanical macroremains (Cappers and Neef 2012) and taxonomic identification (van der Veen 2007), including anthracological determination of charcoal (Schweingruber 1978). For phytolith analysis, seven samples were taken from the whole W1 profile and one sample was obtained from a Neolithic context near the profile. Phytoliths were separated from the sediment by following a standard procedure (Albert et al. 1999). Grindstones was sampled for analysis of starch grains (Torrence and Barton 2016). Hand collected faunal remains from the 2016 campaign were analyzed. In addition, faunal remains collected by flotation were provisionally studied in order to gain more information on the taxon/element distribution with respect to sampling techniques, i.e. the information on smaller taxa which were potentially used as food or inhabited the surroundings of the site. Results and Discussion Although the most samples were taken from cultural stratigraphic units, the majority of plant macroremains (wild plants) was preserved in an uncharred (uncarbonised) state. Consequently, there is a high probability of contamination of Neolithic sediments by the later Classical or Medieval activity, or they could represent part of (sub) recent soil seed bank. Charred plant macroremains represent a smaller portion of the sample, and in general, a lot of them were not very well preserved. They represent species common in the Neolithic (e.g. einkorn, emmer, barley, lentil, peas), however, some species like common millet seem to be intrusions from the later phases of the tell occupation. Charcoal analysis detected remains of fuel and timber from the vicinity of Vrbjanska Čuka tell. Phytolith analysis attest to a great quality of microscopical plant residues preserved in the sediment. Many specific morphotypes were recognized in samples. Skeletons of Poaceae inflorescences are present in various taphonomical states and indicate of crop processing activities at the site. Starch grain analysis was concentrated on grindstones. The samples contained Poaceae starch grains, structures with Fabaceae shape and probably Quercus starch grain. Generally, archaeobotanical remains indicate cereal and legume based agriculture, however, there is also some evidence of wild plants procurement. The hand collected faunal sample, albeit small, is indicative of a predominantly stockbreeding economy. The majority of elements originate from domestic animals – namely cattle and caprines, and to a lesser extent pig and dog. A single element of wild boar suggests that occasional hunting also took place. Shells of freshwater mussel were also identified. Faunal sample collected by flotation consisted of smaller bone fragments and isolated teeth of previously identified mammal taxa. In addition, sporadic remains of rodents, amphibians (frogs), reptiles and smaller fish (small-bodied cyprinids and salmonids) were also found. Conclusions Results from the Vrbjanska Čuka tell-site indicate a mixed economy, involving agricultural production/consumption, stockbreeding, and to a lesser extent hunting, fishing and shellfish collection. Such subsistence strategies, reflected by bioarchaeological data, could be regarded as typical in context of Pelagonian landscape (Naumov 2016). Main recommendation for future research is that macro-and micro archaeobotanical data should be acquired preferably from floor levels of buildings and from undisturbed infills of features spatially related to buildings. The general quality of bioarchaeological material is very good and promising for the future research.

The presentation focuses on archaeobotanical and archaeozoological evidence in the context of the tell-site Vrbjanska Čuka, Republic of Macedonia, where a joint Macedonian-Czech-Serbian team is performing detailed bioarchaeological research. In the field season 2016, selected contexts from the site were sampled for multiproxy analyses including botanical macroremains and microremains (starch, phytoliths), and faunal remains were collected from all contexts. Archaeobotanical research focused on samples from profile W1 in the western wall of excavated area, and randomly taken samples from other contexts indicative of the Neolithic, Classical and Medieval occupancy of the site. Macroremains analysis detected typical species for the Neolithic period (einkorn, emmer, barley, lentil, peas) and species typical in later (Classical or Medieval) periods (e.g. millet, rye). Investigation of plant phytoliths revealed good quality of microremains. Starch analysis was carried on grindstones from Neolithic contexts. Such grains could be interpreted as food remains. The hand collected faunal sample, albeit small, is indicative of a predominantly stockbreeding economy. The majority of elements originate from domestic animals – namely cattle and caprines, and to a lesser extent pig and dog. The presence of dogs on site is also manifested by several bones with gnawing marks. A single element from wild boar suggests that occasional hunting also took place. Shells of freshwater mussel were also identified, originating from a single context and thus probably represent remnants of a meal. Faunal sample collected by flotation consisted of smaller bone fragments and isolated teeth of previously identified mammal taxa. In addition, sporadic remains of rodents, amphibians, reptiles and smaller fish (small-bodied cyprinids and salmonids) were also found. These taxa (apart from fish) were probably not used in human diet, but were inhabiting the environment of Vrbjanska Čuka. Given their minute size and a fairly small number of remains, it might be suggested that fishing occupied a secondary role in comparison to stockbreeding, and possibly represented a sporadic or opportunistic activity.

Bioarchaeological research in Australia has lagged behind that in other regions due to understandable concerns arising from the disregard of Indigenous Australians rights over their ancestors’ remains. To improve this situation, bioarchaeologists working in Australia need to employ more community-oriented approaches to research. This paper reports a project in which we employed such an approach. The project focused on burials in the Flinders Group, Queensland. Traditional Owners played a key role in the excavations and helped devise analyses that would deliver both scientific contributions and socially relevant outcomes. The fieldwork and laboratory analyses yielded a number of interesting results. Most significantly, they revealed that the pattern of mortuary practices recorded by ethnographers in the region in the early 20th century—complex burial of powerful people and simple interment of less important individuals—has a time depth of several hundred years or more. More generally, the project shows that there can be fruitful collaboration between archaeologists and Indigenous communities in relation to the excavation and scientific analysis of Aboriginal ancestral remains.

The transition from a human diet based exclusively on wild plants and animals to one involving dependence on domesticated plants and animals beginning 10,000 to 11,000 y ago in Southwest Asia set into motion a series of profound health, lifestyle, social, and economic changes affecting human populations throughout most of the world. However, the social, cultural, behavioral, and other factors surrounding health and lifestyle associated with the foraging-to-farming transition are vague, owing to an incomplete or poorly understood contextual archaeological record of living conditions. Bioarchaeological investigation of the extraordinary record of human remains and their context from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (7100–5950 cal BCE), a massive archaeological site in south-central Anatolia (Turkey), provides important perspectives on population dynamics, health outcomes, behavioral adaptations, interpersonal conflict, and a record of community resilience over the life of this single early farming settlement having the attributes of a protocity. Study of Çatalhöyük human biology reveals increasing costs to members of the settlement, including elevated exposure to disease and labor demands in response to community dependence on and production of domesticated plant carbohydrates, growing population size and density fueled by elevated fertility, and increasing stresses due to heightened workload and greater mobility required for caprine herding and other resource acquisition activities over the nearly 12 centuries of settlement occupation. These changes in life conditions foreshadow developments that would take place worldwide over the millennia following the abandonment of Neolithic Çatalhöyük, including health challenges, adaptive patterns, physical activity, and emerging social behaviors involving interpersonal violence. John Templeton Foundation; National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration; Investments for the Future Program, Initiative d’Excellence of the University of Bordeaux; European Union (European Union); Horizon 2020; European Commission H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Program; Collaborative Projects of the France–Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies; National Science Foundation; American Research Institute in Turkey; American Association of Physical Anthropologists Professional Development Grant

Abstract Objectives This study aims to determine whether adults from the site of Uraca in the Lower Majes Valley, Arequipa, Peru altered their diets in late-life—if so, were those short-term changes related to accessing distinct foods during periods of short-term mobility, seasonal subsistence strategies without accompanying mobility, or some other type of short-term change. We address these questions by comparing stable isotope variability (δ13C/δ15N) of Uraca hair keratin and bone collagen to published archaeological hair data from Peru. We propose and apply a landscape bioarchaeology approach—here, the spatially-informed meta-analysis of published δ13C/δ15N data from archaeological hair keratin of known provenience—to determine thresholds for different types of short-term dietary change. Materials and methods We conducted stable isotope analysis (δ13C/δ15N) of archaeological hair keratin (n = 40 samples) and bone collagen (n = 5 samples) from Uraca, including adult male trophy heads and adult male and female villagers. We then compiled published archaeological hair keratin data from the Andes and coded the 11 sites according to biogeographical zones. We compared late-life averages for the entire dataset (n = 131 segments) and ranges for individuals with more than six months of data (n = 101 segments) between sites and between subgroups based on elevational zones, sex, and trophy subgroupings. We compiled archaeological and modern baseline food web data for the region (n = 401 samples) and compared hair data adjusted to diet. Results Meta-analysis shows greater late-life median δ13Ckeratin (VPDB) and δ15Nkeratin (AIR) for yunga vs. coastal burials, greater δ13Ckeratin (VPDB) ranges for coastal burials, greater δ15Nkeratin (AIR) ranges for females, greater median δ15Nkeratin (AIR) for trophy individuals, and greater δ13Ckeratin (VPDB) ranges for trophy individuals. Given these distinct late-life diets and ranges for coastal and yunga burials relative to southern Peruvian food web data, two females and three trophy individuals from Uraca likely changed diets during a short-term move, while the remainder show no evidence for dietary change. Discussion These analyses demonstrate distinct dietary practices between coastal and yunga groups, between males and females, and between trophy head victims and non-trophy villagers. Understanding the nature of late-life dietary change through a comparative synthesis of archaeological hair provides key insights into individual life trajectories, communal practices, mobility, and foodways relative to altitudinally-variable landscapes of the Peruvian Andes.

This paper presents new excavation data and new radiometric datesfor Jebel Moya, south-central Sudan. These data suggest revisions toprevious chronological understandings of the site. New excavations,initiated in 2017, show a longer, more continuous occupation of thesite than has been previously recognised. Archaeozoological andarchaeobotanical analyses provide evidence for domesticatedtaxa. Archaeobotanical evidence is dominated by domesticatedsorghum (Sorghum bicolor), radiocarbon dated to c. 2550–2210 BC.Faunal remains include cattle and goat/sheep. A late thirdmillenniumBC date on the human skeleton excavated in the 2017season also shows that mortuary activity began early in the site’shistory, contemporary with domesticated faunal and botanicalremains. These initial results indicate the long-term association ofthe site with pastoralism and agriculture and with environmentalchange. Jebel Moya’s continued potential to serve as achronological and cultural reference point for future studies insouth-central Sudan and the eastern Sahel is reinforced.

We review the major stable carbon and nitrogen isotope studies conducted on human remains in the North American Arctic (NAA) and discuss the findings with respect to two major research themes: diachronic subsistence, and the development of food cultures across the NAA. The interpretation of stable isotope data from human bone collagen and hair keratin is complicated by issues of equifinality in addition to uncertainty arising from the high fat/high protein diets of Arctic hunter gatherers. We suggest future lines of inquiry which may help to alleviate some of these challenges. Our review of Arctic stable isotope studies shows the ongoing potential of stable isotope analysis of Arctic hunter-gatherers and faunal populations, but we include the caveat that regardless of how cutting-edge or refined the analytical method, future stable isotope studies must be contextualized with other lines of evidence from well-excavated sites, and would profoundly benefit from the incorporation of indigenous perspectives and research priorities.