Coast–inland mobility and diet in the Danish Mesolithic and Neolithic: evidence from stable isotope values of humans and dogs

Fischer, Anders; Olsen, Jesper; Richards, Michael P.; Heinemeier, Jan; Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Árný E.; Bennike, Pia

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.02.028

Cited by 262 publications

(282 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

261

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Many modern mussels and fish from rivers and freshwater bodies from the Netherlands, for example, had apparent ages of over 2,000 years; the flesh of one fish even 4,430 years [61]. A present-day pike from Lake Aunsø, Denmark, had an apparent age of 684 14 C years [62]. In Lake Tissø, Denmark, ten modern fish and mollusc samples had an average reservoir age of more than 1,000 14 C years [16].…”

Section: Aquatic Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is caused by the fact that most of the CO 2 for mineral weathering will be derived from the atmosphere in these cases, and not from decomposition of organic matter in the soil, as would be the case for mature vegetation and more developed soils [1,68]. This might be the explanation for Early Mesolithic Danish pike and otter bones having δ 13 C values that would usually be classified as marine [62]. As a consequence, DIC δ 13 C in freshwater systems can vary greatly, and values between 0 and -25 have been measured [69].…”

Section: Aquatic Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The freshwater reservoir effect can result in anomalously old radiocarbon ages of samples from lakes and rivers. This includes the bones of people whose subsistence was based on freshwater fish, and pottery in which fish was cooked. Water rich in dissolved ancient calcium carbonates, commonly known as hard water, is the most common reason for the freshwater reservoir effect. It is therefore also called hardwater effect. Although it has been known for more than 60 years, it is still less well-recognized by archaeologists than the marine reservoir effect. The aim of this study is to examine the order of magnitude and degree of variability of the freshwater reservoir effect over short and long timescales. Radiocarbon dating of recent water samples, aquatic plants, and animals, shows that age differences of up to 2000 14 C years can occur within one river. The freshwater reservoir effect has also implications for radiocarbon dating of Mesolithic pottery from inland sites of the Ertebølle culture in Northern Germany. The surprisingly old ages of the earliest pottery most probably are caused by a freshwater reservoir effect. In a sediment core from the Limfjord, northern Denmark, the impact of the freshwater reservoir effect on radiocarbon dating in an estuarine environment is examined. Here, freshwater influence causes reservoir ages to vary between 250 and 700 14 C years during the period 5400 BC -AD 700. The examples in this study show clearly that the freshwater reservoir effect can seriously corrupt radiocarbon dating at inland sites. Reservoir effects should therefore be considered whenever food remains on pottery or the bones of omnivores are radiocarbon dated -irrespective of the site's distance to the coast.

show abstract

Section: Aquatic Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aquatic Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The distribution of the stable isotopes 13 carbon and 15 nitrogen differs in food elements derived from marine and terrestrial sources, that is, the content of 13 C and 15 N is higher in the marine than in the terrestrial food chain (Hoering, 1955;Tauber, 1981Tauber, , 1986Buchardt et al, 2007;Fischer et al, 2007). Therefore, the content of 13 C and 15 N in human tissue to a large extent reflects the dietary habits by indicating the relative proportions of marine and terrestrial food consumed by the individual (Hoering, 1955;Tauber, 1981Tauber, , 1986Buchardt et al, 2007;Fischer et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the content of 13 C and 15 N in human tissue to a large extent reflects the dietary habits by indicating the relative proportions of marine and terrestrial food consumed by the individual (Hoering, 1955;Tauber, 1981Tauber, , 1986Buchardt et al, 2007;Fischer et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the terrestrial milieu, the connecting links to the human food chain consist of plants (grasses, cereals, vegetables and fruits) (Buchardt et al, 2007;Fischer et al, 2007). Many plants and fruits are ingested by man without any processing and plant-derived foods are eaten by domestic animals, used in the meat-producing industry and subsequently consumed by man.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

13Carbon and 15nitrogen isotopes in autopsy liver tissue samples from Greenlandic Inuit and Danes: consumption of marine versus terrestrial food

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background/Objectives: The content of 13 C and 15 N isotopes is higher in marine than in terrestrial food. 13 C and 15 N in human tissue therefore reflects the relative proportions of marine and terrestrial food consumed by the individual. The objective of this study was to measure 13 C and 15 N in liver tissue from Greenlandic Inuit and Danes. Subjects/Methods: Normal liver tissue was obtained at autopsy in 1992-1994 from 60 Inuit with a median age of 61 years (range 25-83) and in 1986 from 15 ethnic Danes with a median age of 84 years (range 66-93). By sieving, liver tissue was separated in a 'cellular fraction' and a 'connective tissue fraction'. 13 C and 15 N in dry liver tissue was measured on a mass spectrometer. d 13 C indicates the 13 C content relative to the IAEA-CH-6 reference standard. d 15 N indicates 15 N content relative to the atmospheric nitrogen reference standard. Results: Inuit: median d 13 C was À21.2% in cellular and À20.0% in connective tissue fractions (P ¼ 0.001). Median d 15 N was 10.6% in both cellular and connective tissue fractions. Body mass index was negatively correlated with d 13 C in the connective tissue fraction (r s ¼ À0.42, P ¼ 0.057). Danes: median d 13 C was À27.0% in cellular and À24.3% in connective tissue fractions (P ¼ 0.11). Median d 15 N was 9.5% in cellular and 8.9% in connective tissue fractions (P ¼ 0.5). Inuit had higher d 13 C than Danes in both cellular and connective tissue fractions (Po0.001) as well as higher d 15 N in the cellular fraction (P ¼ 0.01). Conclusions: Inuit showed considerable variation in the ratio between marine and terrestrial food consumption, reflecting a vanishing hunter culture where elderly Inuit still adhere to the traditional hunters food with a high content of marine food, whereas the younger urbanized Inuit population consume food with a lower content of marine food and a higher content of terrestrial food. Danes consumed food of almost exclusively terrestrial origin. The present 13 C and 15 N analyses are in accordance with the dietary patterns obtained by dietary surveys.

show abstract

Mesolithic‐Neolithic Transitions: An Isotopic Tour through Europe

Schulting

2011

Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coast–inland mobility and diet in the Danish Mesolithic and Neolithic: evidence from stable isotope values of humans and dogs

Cited by 262 publications

References 43 publications

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

13Carbon and 15nitrogen isotopes in autopsy liver tissue samples from Greenlandic Inuit and Danes: consumption of marine versus terrestrial food

Mesolithic‐Neolithic Transitions: An Isotopic Tour through Europe

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About