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Mercury is a major environmental pollutant extensively used by humans, whose pollution dates back at least to c. 3250 BCE (South Iberian Peninsula). As it happens today, past populations were mostly affected by low dose chronic mercury exposure, with levels that varied with the intensity of some anthropogenic activities (mining and metallurgy in particular). Despite its toxic nature, mercury impact in humans themselves has been hardly addressed by Archaeology. The aim of this research is to increase our knowledge on mercury levels in past populations by 1) analysing human (cortical) bone from skeletons recovered in a necropolis from NW Iberia covering contrasting periods of atmospheric pollution: Roman, AD 1st to 4th centuries, and post-Roman, AD 5th to 7th centuries; 2) considering bone type variability; 3) contextualizing our findings with previous works. Samples from 3 types of bone (n = 143) as well as soils/sediments associated to the burials (n = 34) were analysed. Mercury concentrations in soil were below 5 ng g−1, while the average in bone was 36 ± 52 ng g−1, making post-depositional incorporation unlikely. We found significant differences between the two periods (Romans: 54 ± 60 ng g−1, post-Romans: 21 ± 23 ng g−1), but no effect of type of bone, sex, age, social status or diet of the individuals. Our results agree with the chronology of mercury pollution reconstructed from a local peatland, which suggests a predominant atmospheric source. This fact contrasts with previous research in which high mercury concentrations were mainly related to post-mortem burial customs and pre-mortem medical treatment and poisoning. Thus, mercury distribution in past communities was possibly more complex than previously thought, with different pre- and post-mortem sources interacting. Furthermore, our research also supports the use of archaeological bone as environmental archive of metal pollution, when metal cultural exposure is low.

We investigated the genetic composition of six Canis remains from western Iberia, directly radiocarbon dated to 7,903-7,570 years (cal BP). They were identified as dogs via their archaeological and depositional context, osteometry, and a high percentage of aquatic diet shared with humans. For comparison, genetic data were obtained from an additional 37 Iberian dog remains from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity, as well as two Palaeolithic and a Chalcolithic Canis identified as wolves. Previous data indicated that dog mtDNA haplogroup A (HgA) is prevalent in extant European dogs ( > 50%), in the Near East and Asia, but rare or absent ( < 10%) in European Canis older than 3,000 years (cal BP). We found a high frequency (83%) of dog HgA in Mesolithic Iberian dog remains. This is the first report of a high frequency of dog HgA in pre-Neolithic Europe. We show that, contrary to the current view, Canis with HgA did not necessarily arrive in Europe from East-Asia. This phylogeographical difference in HgA frequency demonstrates that genetic differentiation was high prior to, or as a consequence of, domestication which may be linked with pre-Neolithic local processes for Iberian wolf domestication. Our results emphasize that knowledge of both ancient wolves' and early dogs' genetic profiles from the European periphery should improve our understanding of the evolution of the European dog. Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional throughout COMPETE - POCI - Programa Operacional Competividade e Internacionalizacao [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029545] Portuguese Science Foundation FCTPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/HIS-ARQ/100225/2008, PTDC/HAR-ARQ/29545/2017] FCTPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/HIS-ARQ/112156/2009, PTDC/HAH/64184/2006, UID/BIA/00329/2013] Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (National Plan for R + D) [HAR2011-29907-C03-01, HAR2014-51830-P] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion [SFRH/BPD/102804/2014] [SFRH/BPD/112653/2015] [SFRH/BPD/108236/2015] [SFRH/BPD/20806/2004] [SFRH/BPD/84268/2012] [SFRH/BPD/43911/2008] [SFRH/BD/6456/2001] [IF/00866/2014] [BD/5016/95]

Variations in building activity reflect demographic, economic and social change during history. Tens of thousands of wooden constructions in Europe have been dendrochronologically dated in recent decades. We use the annually precise evidence from a unique dataset of 49 640 tree felling dates of historical constructions to reconstruct temporal changes in building activity between 1250 and 1699 CE across a large part of western and central Europe largely corresponding to the former Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Comparison with annual records of 9772 plague outbreaks shows that construction activity was significantly negatively correlated to the number of plague outbreaks, with the greatest decrease in construction following the larger outbreaks by three to four years after the start of the epidemics. Preceding the Black Death (1346–1353 CE) by five decades and the Great Famine (1315–1322 CE) by two decades, a significant decline in construction activity at c. 1300 CE is indicative of a societal crisis, associated with population stagnation or decline. Another dramatic decline in building activity coincides with the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648 CE) and confirms the devastating nature of this conflict. While construction activity was significantly lower during periods of high grain prices, no statistically robust relationship between the number of felling dates and past temperature or hydroclimate variations is found. This study demonstrates the value of dendrochronological felling dates as an indicator for times of crisis and prosperity during periods when documentary evidence is limited.

The Neolithic Corded Ware Culture (CWC) complex spread across the Baltic Sea region ca. 2900/2800-2300/2000 BCE. Whether this cultural adaptation was driven by migration or diffusion remains widely debated. To gather evidence for contact and movement in the CWC material culture, grog-tempered CWC pots from 24 archaeological sites in southern Baltoscandia (Estonia and the southern regions of Finland and Sweden) were sampled for geochemical and micro-structural analyses. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) were used for geochemical discrimination of the ceramic fabrics to identify regional CWC pottery manufacturing traditions and ceramic exchange. Major and minor element concentrations in the ceramic body matrices of 163 individual vessels and grog temper (crushed pottery) present in the ceramic fabrics were measured by SEM-EDS. Furthermore, the high-sensitivity PIXE technique was applied for group confirmation. The combined pot and grog matrix data reveal eight geochemical clusters. At least five geochemical groups appeared to be associated with specific find locations and regional manufacturing traditions. The results indicated complex inter-site and cross-Baltic Sea pottery exchange patterns, which became more defined through the grog data, i.e., the previous generations of pots. The CWC pottery exhibited high technological standards at these latitudes, which, together with the identified exchange patterns and the existing evidence of mobility based on human remains elsewhere in the CWC complex, is indicative of the relocation of skilled potters, possibly through exogamy. An analytical protocol for the geochemical discrimination of grog-tempered pottery, and its challenges and possibilities, is presented. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Peer reviewed

Historical documents record the operation of a silver mine from the 16th century AD located near the former village of Salberget in central Sweden. The historical record describes several categories of inhabitants, including local families, workers and miners, foreign engineers and mining specialists, as well as war captives and criminals used as forced labor in the mines. A church yard in the vicinity of the village served as a burial ground. Archaeological evidence indicates two distinct grave types (coffin and earthen) and physical anthropology documents differences in age and sex between these grave types, as well as harsh conditions of life. Strontium and oxygen isotopes have been used previously to investigate the place of origin of the cemetery inhabitants and clear differences among the types of graves were seen in the isotope results. Place of origin was more difficult to ascertain however. Here we utilize lead isotopes as an additional isotopic tracer to identify origins. The lead isotope investigations pinpoint several areas outside of the Sala region where some of the inhabitants originated. In addition, the study documents the benefits of using lead isotopes in human proveniencing studies.

The Canary Islands were settled in the first millennium AD by colonizers likely originating from North Africa. The settlers developed a farming economy with barley as the main crop. Archaeological evidence suggests the islands then remained isolated until European sea-travellers discovered and colonized them during the 14th and 15th centuries. Here we report a population study of ancient DNA from twenty-one archaeobotanical barley grains from Gran Canaria dating from 1050 to 1440 cal AD. The material showed exceptional DNA preservation and genotyping was carried out for 99 single nucleotide markers. In addition 101 extant landrace accessions from the Canary Islands and the western Mediterranean were genotyped. The archaeological material showed high genetic similarity to extant landraces from the Canary Islands. In contrast, accessions from the Canary Islands were highly differentiated from both Iberian and North African mainland barley. Within the Canary Islands, landraces from the easternmost islands were genetically differentiated from landraces from the western islands, corroborating the presence of pre-Hispanic barley cultivation on Lanzarote. The results demonstrate the potential of population genetic analyses of ancient DNA. They support the hypothesis of an original colonization, possibly from present day Morocco, and subsequent isolation of the islands and reveal a farmer fidelity to the local barley that has lasted for centuries. 3,061 1,885 AHCI SSCI SCIE Q1 78 87

The Scottish pine network expansion has been an ongoing task since 2006 and funding must be acknowledged to the following projects: EU project ‘Millennium’ (017008-2), Leverhulme Trust project ‘RELiC: Reconstructing 8000 years of Environmental and Landscape change in the Cairngorms (F/00268/BG)’, the Native Oak and Pine project or ‘NOAP’ (Historic Scotland) and the NERC project ‘SCOT2K:Reconstructing 2000 years of Scottish climate from tree rings (NE/K003097/1)’. Further PhD funding for Milos Rydval is acknowledged from The Carnegie Trust. Dendroarchaeology almost exclusively uses ring-width (RW) data for dating historical structures and artefacts. Such data can be used to date tree-ring sequences when regional climate dominates RW variability. However, the signal in RW data can be obscured due to site specific ecological influences (natural and anthropogenic) that impact crossdating success. In this paper, using data from Scotland, we introduce a novel tree-ring parameter (Blue Intensity – BI) and explore its utility for facilitating dendro historical dating of conifer samples. BI is similar to latewood density as they both reflect the combined hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin content in the latewood cell walls of conifer species and the amount of these compounds is strongly controlled, at least for trees growing in temperature limited locations, by late summer temperatures. BI not only expresses a strong climate signal, but is also less impacted by site specific ecological influences. It can be concurrently produced with RW data from images of finely sanded conifer samples but at a significantly reduced cost compared to traditional latewood density. Our study shows that the probability of successfully crossdating historical samples is greatly increased using BI compared to RW. Furthermore, due to the large spatial extent of the summer temperature signal expressed by such data, a sparse multi-species conifer network of long BI chronologies across Europe could be used to date and loosely provenance imported material. Postprint Peer reviewed