The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach
Multi-isotope analyses on diverse body tissues can offer valuable information on individual life-histories at different temporal resolutions. Here, we reconstruct the diet and mobility of a Late Mesolithic (ca. 5500 cal. BC) young woman buried in Aizpea rockshelter (Navarre, north-central Iberia). T...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020
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| _version_ | 1797084111778611200 |
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| author | Fernández-Crespo, T le Roux, PJ Ordoño, J Ditchfield, PW Schulting, RJ |
| author_facet | Fernández-Crespo, T le Roux, PJ Ordoño, J Ditchfield, PW Schulting, RJ |
| author_sort | Fernández-Crespo, T |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Multi-isotope analyses on diverse body tissues can offer valuable information on individual life-histories at different temporal resolutions. Here, we reconstruct the diet and mobility of a Late Mesolithic (ca. 5500 cal. BC) young woman buried in Aizpea rockshelter (Navarre, north-central Iberia). To this end, we combine δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses of bone collagen, together with sequential δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses of tooth dentine and 87Sr/86Sr analysis of tooth enamel from the permanent maxillary right second molar. We also present results of bone collagen measurements for a wide range of coeval faunal remains, including terrestrial ungulates, freshwater fish and birds, and plant remains (i.e. carbonized pome fruits and hazelnut shells) to characterize baseline isotopic signatures. Results suggest a broad-spectrum diet with a relatively high and stable protein intake during early childhood and significant changes in diet during late childhood, including two marked dips in δ15N at 8.5 and 11.5 years old, and a progressive decrease in δ13C and δ15N from adolescence onwards. The dips may relate to metabolic processes related to growth or, more probably, to age-related subsistence practices, particularly supplementation by children of the parentally provisioned diet, while the sustained drop in isotope values may be associated with a progressively higher dietary contribution from plants that extends into adulthood. Strontium isotope data support relatively restricted mobility from age 2.5 to 8 (i.e. the approximate time-span covered by enamel formation in the permanent maxillary second molar), consistent with the high degree of territoriality attributed to the last hunters-gatherers in northern Iberia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:50:51Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:9a09f12a-b276-4704-aab1-a29360cbf35c |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:50:51Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:9a09f12a-b276-4704-aab1-a29360cbf35c2022-03-27T00:18:39ZThe life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approachJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:9a09f12a-b276-4704-aab1-a29360cbf35cEnglishSymplectic ElementsElsevier2020Fernández-Crespo, Tle Roux, PJOrdoño, JDitchfield, PWSchulting, RJMulti-isotope analyses on diverse body tissues can offer valuable information on individual life-histories at different temporal resolutions. Here, we reconstruct the diet and mobility of a Late Mesolithic (ca. 5500 cal. BC) young woman buried in Aizpea rockshelter (Navarre, north-central Iberia). To this end, we combine δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses of bone collagen, together with sequential δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses of tooth dentine and 87Sr/86Sr analysis of tooth enamel from the permanent maxillary right second molar. We also present results of bone collagen measurements for a wide range of coeval faunal remains, including terrestrial ungulates, freshwater fish and birds, and plant remains (i.e. carbonized pome fruits and hazelnut shells) to characterize baseline isotopic signatures. Results suggest a broad-spectrum diet with a relatively high and stable protein intake during early childhood and significant changes in diet during late childhood, including two marked dips in δ15N at 8.5 and 11.5 years old, and a progressive decrease in δ13C and δ15N from adolescence onwards. The dips may relate to metabolic processes related to growth or, more probably, to age-related subsistence practices, particularly supplementation by children of the parentally provisioned diet, while the sustained drop in isotope values may be associated with a progressively higher dietary contribution from plants that extends into adulthood. Strontium isotope data support relatively restricted mobility from age 2.5 to 8 (i.e. the approximate time-span covered by enamel formation in the permanent maxillary second molar), consistent with the high degree of territoriality attributed to the last hunters-gatherers in northern Iberia. |
| spellingShingle | Fernández-Crespo, T le Roux, PJ Ordoño, J Ditchfield, PW Schulting, RJ The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach |
| title | The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach |
| title_full | The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach |
| title_fullStr | The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach |
| title_short | The life-history of a late Mesolithic woman in Iberia: A sequential multi-isotope approach |
| title_sort | life history of a late mesolithic woman in iberia a sequential multi isotope approach |
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