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Inproceedings Reference Holocene climate variability in the Near East and its impact on the history of civilization
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Inproceedings Reference Holocene dust record in a NW European peat bog: A multiproxy approach.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Holocene history of climate, vegetation and human action in mountainous areas (southern French Alps): palaeoecological and archaeological studies as a tool for understanding natural/anthropogenic processes interactions
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Holocene paleoclimate reconstructions from Belgian continental archives (HOPES).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference Holy mackerel! Medieval harbour cats from Iran and Oman had differential access to marine fish
Being opportunistic animals, cats have adjusted to anthropogenic environments and enriched their food repertoire with meat from large terrestrial animals and fish. Although cats are skilled hunters, anthropogenic food comprises an important part of their diet when living in an urban centre, and, thus, their dietary reconstruction can provide information on regional food availabilities as well as their interactions with humans. With the aim to reconstruct the diet of cats from two medieval harbours in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman (Siraf in Iran and Qalhât in Oman), we conducted carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis on 28 cats and more than 100 associated faunal samples. Tens of cat remains have been discovered at both sites, which have historical and archaeological evidence for a long tradition in seafaring and sea fishing. The isotopic results reveal a high marine protein-based diet for the cats from Qalhât and a mixed marine-terrestrial (C4) diet for the cats from Siraf. Cats at both sites were most likely scavenging on both human food scraps and refuse related to fishing activities, with differences in the two areas most likely associated with the local availability of marine resources. By shedding light on the dietary habits of cats from two medieval harbours in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, our study illustrates the potential of stable isotope analysis in reconstructing human-cat interactions in the past. Keywords: carbon; nitrogen; cat; diet; Qalhât; Siraf.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Techreport Reference Hoogstraeten-Lalaing (BR 061): Anthracolgical study
The wood charcoal analyses of the site Hoogstraeten (BR061) have shown continuity of the used wood fuel through the period of occupation of the site (10-12th to 16-17th century), however the current results should be considered with certain care, as the number of the studied charcoal fragments from the lower Dark Earth layer is rather low. The finds from this layer from indicate reworked wood charcoals, which could considering the micromorphological studies on the site most probably were used as component of the manure spread over the plough layer from which the sample originates. The wood charcoal assemblages from the richest on wood remains structure (US 2230) indicate fuel wood dominated by the most common in the study area woods (beech and oak), but also are characterised by quite high diversity suggest use of all available wood resources.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference How ‘Shaun the sheep’ looked like in the past? Evolution and archaeological diversity of sheep morphotypes in Southwest Asia
Sheep husbandry has played a leading role in the economy of human societies over the last 10 millennia. While archaeological research focused on the study of early husbandry practices, little is known about the emergence and morphological evolution of sheep breeds. To what extent ancient sheep bones could help to understand this change and identifying the factors behind it? To answer these questions, we used 3D geometric morphometrics methods on 260 astragalus of modern and archaeological sheep from Southwest Asia and East Africa. Ancient sheep bones have been recovered from forty-two archaeological sites covering seven millennia of economic and cultural transformations, between the 8th and the 1st millennium BC. We have explored morphometric diversity of sheep bones, first according to biotic and abiotic factors on well-documented modern osteological collections and second, according to environmental, chronological and socio-economical contexts on modern and ancient bones. Our first results indicate significant differences in the variation of astragalus shape between modern and archaeological sheep in correlation with ecological and chronocultural factors.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference How do macrofaunal activities impact biogeochemical cycling in anthropogenically disturbed sediment?
Marine coastal areas are important for ecosystem functioning because they provide a wealth of goods and services. Hence, it is a major challenge nowadays to understand and predict how human activities will affect marine sediment communities, benthic biogeochemical cycling and the link between them. In this study, we investigate biogeochemical fluxes and the contribution of macrofaunal activities (bioturbation and bio-irrigation) in sediment ranging from muddy to coarse, including two coarse sediment stations affected by human activity (installation of an offshore windfarm and aggregate extraction). For each station, we conducted triplicate closed-core incubations to measure oxygen, nutrients and DIC fluxes as well as bioirrigation rates by following the decreasing concentration of bromide in the water column over time. After the incubation, the macrofaunal community was identified and the bioturbation potential of the community calculated (BPc). Our results show the highest Sediment Community Oxygen Consumption (SCOC) in a fine sandy station inhabited by an abundant bioirrigating and bioturbating macrofaunal community and characterized by relatively high organic matter content. In the muddy station, the SCOC was 4 times lower and the DIC efflux much higher than the SCOC reflecting anaerobic mineralization processes happening in absence of bioirrigators. Within the coarse sediment stations characterized by poor organic matter content and inhabited by a limited macrofaunal community, the undisturbed station shows the highest irrigation rates associated with moderate SCOC and DIC efflux. In the disturbed stations, irrigation rate, SCOC and DIC efflux were low suggesting that physical disturbance decreases the efficiency of mineralization processes in coarse sediments. The overall results show that irrigation of the sediment affects biogeochemical cycling along a range of coastal sediments.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Webpublished Reference How does landscape vegetation configuration regulate local channel initiation in rapidly expanding marsh?
Biogeomorphic interactions between tidal channels and marsh plants play a crucial role in enhancing coastal resilience to climate change. Previous studies linking the channel formation with vegetation dynamics predominantly focused on the early initiation, characterized by local-scale plant-flow feedbacks. However, the influence of rapid changes in landscape-scale vegetation pattern on the channel initiation remains poorly understood, especially in micro-tidal system. In this study, we investigated this relationship through biogeomorphic modeling combined with the analysis of satellite images in a rapidly expanding marsh in China under Spartina alterniflora invasion. The satellite images demonstrated the increase in drainage density and the decrease in unchanneled path length following plant encroachment. Our modeling results showed that local flow acceleration between vegetation patches was insufficient to initiate channels rapidly before the merging of isolated patches under micro-tidal conditions. With plant expansion, the continuous marsh caused landscape flow diversion from homogenous platform flow to concentrated channel flow, which promoted evident tributary channel initiation in the landward marsh zone. The vegetation removal scenarios further highlighted that the flow divergence from adjacent platforms due to the spatial heterogeneity in plant configuration amplified the magnitude of local hydrodynamics and further channel incision. Our findings emphasize that the initiation of tidal channels not only depends on local plant-flow interaction but is largely driven by landscape vegetation configuration under micro-tidal conditions.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Proceedings Reference How is benthic biogeochemical cycling affected by sediment fining arising from human activities?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018