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Article Reference Reconstructing age distribution, season of capture and growth rate of fish from archaeological sites based on otoliths and vertebrae
The growth increments of otoliths and vertebrae of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) derived from a 15th century single depositional event at Raversijde (Belgium) are analysed with the aim of reconstructing (a) the age distribution of the population, (b) the season of capture, and (c) the growth rate. Otoliths and vertebrae give slightly different age distributions but it is possible to arrive at similar seasonality estimations in both structures when information from the literature and our own data from monthly captures of plaice from the North Sea are taken into account. These modern data show that the timing of annulus formation in otoliths and vertebrae is more or less similar. Back-calculations on vertebrae and otoliths yield similar growth curves. The age distribution, the edge condition of both vertebrae and otoliths, and the growth rate obtained on the material from Raversijde all show that the plaice from the studied assemblage were captured during spring in the southern part of the North Sea. Vertebrae are commonly preserved in archaeological sites whereas otoliths rarely survive. Although they are more difficult to read than otoliths, vertebrae of plaice can be used for growth increment analyses, and the growth rates obtained from vertebrae from archaeological sites can, therefore, be compared in the future to growth data from modern otoliths studied in sea fisheries research. Archaeozoological material predating industrialized fishing since the 19th century can hence serve as a reference in the study of the compensatory response of commercially important species to heavy exploitation.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Reconstructing Asian faunal introductions to eastern Africa from multi-proxy biomolecular and archaeological datasets
Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In sub- Saharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first millennium CE, while another posits introduction dating back to 3000 BCE. These distinct scenarios have implications for understanding the emergence of long-distance maritime connectivity, and the ecological and economic impacts of introduced species. Resolution of this longstanding debate requires new efforts, given the lack of well-dated fauna from highprecision excavations, and ambiguous osteomorphological identifications. We analysed faunal remains from 22 eastern African sites spanning a wide geographic and chronological range, and applied biomolecular techniques to confirm identifications of two Asian taxa: domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) and black rat (Rattus rattus). Our approach included ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis aided by BLAST-based bioinformatics, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) collagen fingerprinting, and direct AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. Our results support a late, mid-first millennium CE introduction of these species. We discuss the implications of our findings for models of biological exchange, and emphasize the applicability of our approach to tropical areas with poor bone preservation.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Reconstructing middle to late Holocene sea-level change: A methodological review with particular reference to 'A new Holocene sea-level curve for the North Sea' as presented by K.-E. Behre': Reply to comments.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Reconstructing science networks from the past: eponyms between malacological authors in the mid-19th century
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Reconstructing seasonality through stable-isotope and trace-element analyses of the Proserpine stalagmite, Han-sur-Lesse cave, Belgium: indications for climate-driven changes during the last 400 years
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Reconstructing the genetic history of late Neanderthals
Although it has previously been shown that Neanderthals contributed DNA to modern humans1,2, not much is known about the genetic diversity of Neanderthals or the relationship between late Neanderthal populations at the time at which their last interactions with early modern humans occurred and before they eventually disappeared. Our ability to retrieve DNA from a larger number of Neanderthal individuals has been limited by poor preservation of endogenous DNA3 and contamination of Neanderthal skeletal remains by large amounts of microbial and present-day human DNA3,4,5. Here we use hypochlorite treatment6 of as little as 9 mg of bone or tooth powder to generate between 1- and 2.7-fold genomic coverage of five Neanderthals who lived around 39,000 to 47,000 years ago (that is, late Neanderthals), thereby doubling the number of Neanderthals for which genome sequences are available. Genetic similarity among late Neanderthals is well predicted by their geographical location, and comparison to the genome of an older Neanderthal from the Caucasus2,7 indicates that a population turnover is likely to have occurred, either in the Caucasus or throughout Europe, towards the end of Neanderthal history. We find that the bulk of Neanderthal gene flow into early modern humans originated from one or more source populations that diverged from the Neanderthals that were studied here at least 70,000 years ago, but after they split from a previously sequenced Neanderthal from Siberia2 around 150,000 years ago. Although four of the Neanderthals studied here post-date the putative arrival of early modern humans into Europe, we do not detect any recent gene flow from early modern humans in their ancestry.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Article Reference Reconstructing the nonadaptive radiation of an ancient lineage of ground-dwelling stick insects (Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Reconstruction of a latest Paleocene shallow-marine eutrophic paleoenvironment at Sidi Nasseur (Central Tunisia) based on foraminifera, ostracoda, calcareous nannofossils and stable isotopes (δ13 C, δ18 O).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Reconstruction of a latest Paleocene shallow-marine eutrophic paleoenvironment at Sidi Nasseur (Central Tunisia) based on foraminifera, ostracoda, calcareous nannofossils and stable isotopes (δ13 C, δ18 O).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Reconstruction of environmental and climatic changes during the Late Glacial at Moerbeke (Flemish Valley, Belgium) usingmulti proxy lake sediment analyses
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications