Sex Determination and Isotopic Analysis of the Nivåfjord Mesolithic Burials, Zealand, Denmark

Abstract

Since 1992 the prehistoric Nivåfjord in northeast Zealand, Denmark, has yielded an appreciable number of inhumation burials and cremations dating to the Mesolithic, especially the sites of Nivå 10 and Nivågård. Unfortunately, the micro-region is characterised by poor organic preservation, restricting the successful application of biomolecular techniques to human remains, including large-scale radiocarbon dating programmes as well as both stable isotope and ancient DNA analyses. Here, we apply an alternative technique, an acid etch peptide-based method, to determine the sex of eight individuals from Nivå 10 as well as the Nivågård child. Moreover, we revisit the utility of stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis of human tissues to reconstruct the life histories and diets of 10 individuals from Nivå 10 as well as the Nivågård child. To contextualise further, we sampled 14 Capreolus capreolus and three Sus scrofa from the Nivågård site for stable isotope analysis. We demonstrate that sex can successfully be determined from contexts susceptible to poor organic preservation, and show that the Nivågård child spent a proportion of its life outside a sea spray-influenced environment, and consumed significant quantities of marine protein as demonstrated by its δ13C and δ34S values.

Productivity of the eelgrass biotope and the resilience of fisher-hunter-gatherers in prehistoric Denmark

“…Only one EBC human bone δ 34 S value has been published, so we cannot look for correlations between δ 34 S and other isotopes. The authors (Gron et al 2023) noted that this δ 34 S value was far lower than expected for a diet based on marine resources, and (following (Guiry et al 2021a; Guiry et al 2021b)) suggested ‘consumption of sulfide-derived resources’. We concur; in this context, sulfide-derived means ultimately derived from eelgrass biomass.…”

“…Individual DREs were then calculated by estimating the marine protein intake by interpolation between these two endpoints, and multiplying it by the applicable MRE (e.g. 400y or 273y (Fischer et al 2024; Gron et al 2023)).…”