Mobility in Thuringia or mobile Thuringians: A strontium isotope study from early medieval Central Germany

Abstract

Residential changes of people during the Migration Period are crucial for archaeological research. Within an extensive study of the migration of the Langobards, strontium isotope analysis was carried out on tooth enamel taken from 48 burials from the Thuringian cemeteries of Rathewitz and Obermöllern (Burgenlandkreis, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany), which date to the late 5 th-mid 6 th century. Modern vegetation and water samples provided detailed information about the isotopic composition of the biologically available strontium of geological units in the area. Although the rich furnishing of the burials provides evidence for contacts with many different regions, only one individual (7.1 %) in Rathewitz and three (12.5 %) in Obermöllern are isotopically nonlocal to the sites. These individuals were buried among the locals and their graves were similarly equipped. In contrast, many nonlocal grave goods were found with isotopically local individuals, often in combination with local items or pieces indicating several different source areas. This suggests the existence of strong interregional ties among the members of the local elites. The cemeteries cannot overall be associated with newly arriving groups; rather, they resulted from a change of funeral customs of the indigenous population from cremation to inhumations or small-scale changes of the burial places. They reflect individual residential changes rather than large-scale movements of groups.

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

“…3). The soil leachates and water samples yield the highest mean values of 0.7103 ± 0.0022 and 0.7097 ± 0.0015, respectively, which are consistent with the average ratios measured in the archeological human bones and enamel, which are respectively 0.7099 ± 0.0006 and 0.7098 ± 0.0011 (data described in Knipper et al, 2012 (Fig. 7).…”

“…Unfortunately, in this specific context, the statistical comparison of the clustered 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of archeological faunal teeth (Table 2, Fig. 3) with those of the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr data of archeological human teeth excavated in the same area (Knipper et al, 2012) implies different feeding areas for the fauna and the humans (two-tailed Mann-Whitney U =76, n1=8 n2=52, P = 0.004; considering the major mode of human 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, Fig. 9).…”

“…1). The archeological settings of these cemeteries have been outlined in Knipper et al (2012). Within a 50 km radius surrounding the archeological cemeteries, the geology consists of Permian to Quaternary sedimentary rocks.…”

“…All samples were dissolved in sub-boiling distilled hydrochloric acid (snail and bivalve shells) or nitric acid (enamel and vegetation, with the addition of 30% H 2 O 2 ), respectively, and evaporated to dryness. The strontium fraction was separated from the samples using Sr-SPEC Eichrom Knipper et al, 2012) resin. Approximately, 100 ng of purified Sr was loaded onto tungsten filaments with Ta-fluoride activator.…”

“…Additional analyses of environmental samples, such as modern and archeological freshwater bivalve shells, as well as modern tree cores (Åberg, 1995) were performed in order to monitor potential changes in bioavailable ecosystem 87 Sr/ 86 Sr over time. Finally the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr results obtained from the modern ecosystem were compared to 87 Sr/ 86 Sr measured in archeological human teeth excavated in the same area (so-called "Thuringians", 5-6th century AD, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; see Knipper et al, 2012).…”