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Oxygen and strontium isotopes as provenance indicators of fish at archaeological sites: the case study of Sagalassos, SW Turkey
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In this paper, we investigate the potential use of oxygen and strontium isotope ratios (d18Op and 87Sr/86Sr) measured in archaeological fish enamel as provenance indicators. d18Op and 87Sr/86Sr were measured in a suite of archaeological carp remains recovered from the Anatolian townsite of Sagalassos dated to the Early Byzantine period (AD 450e650) and compared to that of modern fish, river and lake waters from the Anatolian region. We used sequential leaches in weak acetic acid to remove diagenetic Sr from fossil tooth enamel, monitoring the effectiveness of this approach by measuring the Sr/Ca ratios of the leachates via an isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry method (ID-TIMS). d18Op values mostly excluded a riverine origin. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of one fish overlapped with the 87Sr/86Sr signatures of two lakes in the Anatolian region, and at least one lake (Gölcük) could be removed as a candidate owing to a very distinctive 87Sr/86Sr signature not found in any of the fish remains. Most of the tooth samples analyzed could not be assigned a precise geographical origin since the 87Sr/86Sr ratios measured in enamel did not match that of any of the local lakes selected as potential origin. This result suggests that carp may have originated from lakes that have not yet been sampled, although this conclusion is not supported by other archaeological evidence. Alternatively, the lack of correspondence between lakes and fish Sr isotope ratios highlights several possible sources of uncertainties including spatial heterogeneity in 87Sr/86Sr ratio within a lake, the contribution of dietary strontium to the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of fish tooth enamel, and post-mortem alteration of the tooth Sr isotope signal during fossilization. In spite of the high precision of the strontium isotope analyses and the wide range of variation in the surface waters of the Anatolian lakes and rivers, this method may remain limited to distinguishing between lakes situated in regions of bedrock of very distinct age and geology until these sources of uncertainty are more fully investigated.
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Ancient breeds of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus f. domestica) distinguished on the basis of traditional observations combined with mixture analysis
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Using a large assemblage of domestic fowl bones from a classical site, a methodology is presented that allows the recognition of breeds. The approach differs from previous research in which tarsometatarsi were used exclusively. In the present paper, frequency histograms of long bone lengths and mixture analysis were combined with observations on medullary bone development. By concentrating on the analysis of bones with medullary bone, only the securely sexed part of the population (the females) is considered, thereby avoiding problems related to the use of spur development in tarsometatarsi. Three breeds of different sizes could be recognized, of which the smallest shows a high incidence of spurred females.
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Seasonality only works in certain parts of the year: The reconstruction of fishing seasons through otolith analysis
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Seasonality estimations using incremental data usually suffer from small sample sizes and from the lack of comparison with sufficiently large modern samples. The present contribution reports on incremental studies carried out on large assemblages of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) from a late medieval fishing village (Raversijde, Belgium) on the North Sea coast. In an attempt to refine previous seasonality estimates made for this site, and to expand conclusions concerning general methodology, extensive monthly samples of modern otoliths of these species, caught within the North Sea, have also been investigated. The modern material shows that the timing of the seasonal changes in the edge type (hyaline or opaque) of the otoliths is extremely variable and that it is dependent on the fishing ground, the year considered, and the age of the fish. It also appears that the increase of the marginal increment thickness is highly variable, to such an extent that the thickness of the last increment of a single otolith is mostly useless for seasonality estimation. Where large archaeological otolith assemblages can be studied, preferably from single depositional events, seasonality determination becomes possible on the condition, however, that the archaeological assemblage corresponds to fish that were captured during their period of fast growth. The growth ring study on the otoliths from Raversijde shows that plaice fishing took place in spring and that it was preceded by a haddock fishing season, probably in late winter/early spring.
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Statistical treatment of trace element data and ancient animal bone : evaluation of Roman Byzantine environmental pollution
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Through chemical analysis of ancient animal bone found at the archaeological site of Sagalassos, and through comparison of the analytical data with that from modern bone and feed from the same location, conclusions on the ancient livestock are made. Samples of ancient and modern goat bone as well as Quercus coccifera were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). After evaluation of the consistency of the chemical characteristics of different types of modern bone in one individual, it is decided to use the trace element data of long bone for statistical treatment. After evaluation of the degree and effects of diagenesis in the fossil bone, it is concluded that trace element data are useful indicators for anthropogenic palaeoenvironmental pollution, as a distinction could be made between elements that occur naturally in the bedrock and those that can be linked to industrial pollution. The occurrence or depletion of the latter elements in fossil bone, show diachronic changes in the chemical composition of the goat bones which can be explained in function of the changing catchment area from which the animals were obtained through time. It is conceivable that during periods of insecurity, such as the fifth to sixth century A.D. in the area of Sagalassos, animal herds were kept closer to the ancient town and would hence take up more pollutants with the ingested food. A lower uptake of pollutants during the fourth century, a rich and secure period in the history of the city, can be explained by a wider catchment area from which the goats were obtained.
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Growth changes in plaice, cod, haddock and saithe in the North Sea: a comparison of (post-)medieval and present-day growth rates based on otolith measurements
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Fishing effort has strongly increased in the North Sea since the mid-19th century, causing a substantial reduction in the population size of exploited fish stocks. As fisheries research has developed simultaneously with the industrialisation of the fisheries, our knowledge of population dynamics at low levels of exploitations is limited. Otoliths retrieved from archaeological excavations offer a unique opportunity to study growth rates in the past. This study compares historical and present-day growth rates for four commercially important demersal fish species. A total of 2532 modern otoliths (AD 1984–1999) and 1286 historical otoliths (AD 1200–1925) obtained from archaeological excavations in Belgium and Scotland were analysed. Comparison of the growth patterns between eras revealed a major increase in growth rate of haddock, whereas growth changes were not observed in saithe and only in the smaller size classes of plaice and cod. Comparison of our results with literature data indicates that the observed growth rate changes in plaice and cod occurred within the 20th century. Apparently the onset of industrialised fisheries has not greatly affected the growth of plaice, cod and saithe populations in the North Sea. This result contradicts the expectation of density-dependent limitation of growth during the era of pre-industrialised fishing, but is in agreement with the concentration hypothesis of Beverton (Neth. J. Sea Res. 34 (1995) 1) stating that species which concentrate spatially into nursery grounds during their early life-history may ‘saturate’ the carrying capacity of the juvenile habitat even though the adult part of the population is not limited by the adult habitat.
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Roman trade relationships at Sagalassos (Turkey) elucidated by ancient DNA of fish remains
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The excavations of Roman and Early Byzantine contexts at the town of Sagalassos (Turkey) yielded fish remains belonging to species that do not occur near the site. The modern geographical distribution of the identified fish indicates trade with various regions of Anatolia, the Mediterranean coast, Egypt and/or the Levant. Trade with Levant and Egypt is evident throughout the period by the presence of Clarias, a catfish living amongst others in the Nile and Levant. Mitochondrial DNA analysis was successfully carried out on modern populations of this species from Turkey, Syria, Israel and Egypt. Several variable regions were discovered on the mitochondrial control region containing polymorphisms that distinguish the haplotypes. Primer sets were designed to amplify small fragments of ancient DNA containing these informative regions. Ancient fish DNA could be successfully extracted, amplified and sequenced. The analyses indicate that the catfish bones belong to Clarias gariepinus and that they originated from the lower Nile. In addition, this study sheds light on the understanding of the modern distribution of C. gariepinus in Anatolia.
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Mitochondrial DNA sequence from an enigmatic gorilla population (Gorilla gorilla uellensis)
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Although today gorillas are found in only two widely separate, discontinuous western and eastern African populations, rumors of the existence of an additional gorilla population in central Africa have inspired recent unsuccessful field expeditions in search of the "mystery ape" termed Gorilla gorilla uellensis. Such a gorilla population would have considerable conservation and scientific interest, and would presumably have descended from a population of gorillas that was thought to exist until the end of the 19th century on the Uele River in the current-day Democratic Republic of Congo. However, the sole evidence for the existence of these gorillas is three skulls and one mandible brought to the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium) in 1898. We determined a mitochondrial DNA sequence from one of these specimens and compared it to sequences from other gorillas. Contrary to expectations, the sequence obtained did not exhibit the phylogenetic distinctiveness typical of a representative of a peripheral isolated population. Rather, the results suggest a scenario in which the museum specimens did not originally derive from the northern Congo, but were brought from the area of current distribution of western gorillas to that location; the subsequent discovery and collection of the specimens there gave rise to the false inference of a local gorilla population.
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An identification key for dermal denticles of Rajidae from the North Sea
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As a result of more systematic fine sieving on archaeological sites, dermal denticles and isolated teeth of rays are now more frequently recovered than before. A detailed description of the teeth is available in the literature, but no comparative study of the morphology of the dermal denticles exists that allows the identification of such elements issued from archaeological sites. A key and illustrations are provided for the identification of the dermal denticles of 10 ray species from the North Sea. In addition, the ray denticles have been analysed from seven medieval and postmedieval sites showing their potential for the interpretation of ichthyo-archaeological assemblages.
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On the use of endosteal layers and medullary bone from domestic fowl in archaeozoological studies
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The very high incidence of medullary bone in two archaeozoological assemblages of the Roman period was believed to reflect systematic slaughtering of older hens at the end of the egg laying season. In an attempt to test this hypothesis, histological analyses were carried out. Histological data in the literature on ageing of modern fowl and on the development of medullary bone in hens are insufficient for application to archaeozoological material. Bones of modern fowl of known age were analysed with the aim of validating the use of endosteal layers for ageing. In addition, hens with known egg laying stage were studied in order to try and document differences in medullary bone development that could be related to the time of slaughtering (just before, during, or just after the egg laying season).
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Osteological evidence for the draught exploitation of cattle: First applications of a new methodology
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Although the aetiology of bone pathologies in cattle is poorly documented, various deformations in the skeleton have been attributed to draught exploitation in the archaeozoological literature. This paper summarizes the results of an osteological study that was undertaken on the feet of modern draught oxen. This led to the definition of a series of draught-related anomalies. In an attempt to describe the pathologies in a more consistent and quantitative way, a scoring scale for each individual bone pathology was established. The developed method is applied to cattle remains from four Roman and one late medieval site. The distribution of the observed pathological indices (PIs) on the first phalanges is interpreted in terms of the age structure of the cattle populations, and the possible modes of cattle exploitation and meat consumption in various settlement types.
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