Lesley A. Gregoricka

Geographic origins and dietary transitions during the bronze age in the oman peninsula

The nature of the Bronze Age transition from the Umm an-Nar (ca. 2700-2000 BC) to the Wadi Suq (ca. 2000-1300 BC) period in the Oman Peninsula has been highly debated by archaeologists, with some characterizing the latter as a time of cultural isolation, social collapse, and/or population replacement following the successful involvement of the area in widespread interregional exchange networks across Arabia and South Asia. The hypothesis that a substantial change in residential mobility, immigration, and diet took place in response to considerable societal changes as reflected by the archaeological record was tested using stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis. Archaeological human dental enamel from individuals interred in six Umm an-Nar (n = 100) and seven Wadi Suq (n = 16) communal tombs in the United Arab Emirates was used. Oxygen isotope data reveal largely homogeneous ratios indicative of a predominantly local population that acquired water from isotopically similar sources, although the presence of immigrants during both periods suggests that the region was not as isolated as previously held. Carbon isotope data exhibit a substantial temporal shift from an extremely varied to a more restricted diet, demonstrating that while considerable changes in subsistence strategies and social organization took place in the early second millennium BC, population continuity and sustained (although lessened) participation in pan-Gulf trade systems best characterizes this regional transformation.

Apotropaic practices and the undead: a biogeochemical assessment of deviant burials in post-medieval poland.

Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for those considered at risk for becoming vampires. Excavations at the Drawsko 1 cemetery (17th–18th c. AD) have revealed multiple examples (n = 6) of such deviant burials amidst hundreds of normative interments. While historic records describe the many potential reasons why some were more susceptible to vampirism than others, no study has attempted to discern differences in social identity between individuals within standard and deviant burials using biogeochemical analyses of human skeletal remains. The hypothesis that the individuals selected for apotropaic burial rites were non-local immigrants whose geographic origins differed from the local community was tested using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from archaeological dental enamel. 87Sr/86Sr ratios ( = 0.7112±0.0006, 1σ) from the permanent molars of 60 individuals reflect a predominantly local population, with all individuals interred as potential vampires exhibiting local strontium isotope ratios. These data indicate that those targeted for apotropaic practices were not migrants to the region, but instead, represented local individuals whose social identity or manner of death marked them with suspicion in some other way. Cholera epidemics that swept across much of Eastern Europe during the 17th century may provide one alternate explanation as to the reason behind these apotropaic mortuary customs, as the first person to die from an infectious disease outbreak was presumed more likely to return from the dead as a vampire.

Monks on the move: Evaluating pilgrimage to byzantine St. Stephen's monastery using strontium isotopes

OBJECTIVES Written and archaeological evidence indicates that migration, in the form of pilgrimage to Byzantine Palestine, was a major social phenomenon between the 5th and 7th centuries CE. Monasteries saw record growth at this time as pilgrims chose to stay in the region and take up religious life. A major influx of people to the region, with a corresponding growth in monastic vocations that led travelers to stay in the area, is not in question; however, the distant origins of pilgrims reflected in surviving texts may be an artifact of preservation, biased towards an elite minority. The Byzantine monastery of St. Stephens provides an opportunity to study this question from a bioarchaeological perspective, given the excellent preservation of the human skeletal assemblage, a wealth of written works about the community as well as daily life in Byzantine Palestine, and a rich archaeological record for the site and region. MATERIALS AND METHODS An analysis of radiogenic strontium isotope values from the third molars of 22 individuals recovered from the St. Stephens crypt complex was conducted to test whether those interred at the monastery were of local origin. RESULTS Of those examined ( x¯= 0.7084 ± 0.0007, 1σ), 8 out of 22 (36%) exhibited (87) Sr/(86) Sr ratios that fell outside of local ranges. DISCUSSION These results confirmed the sizeable presence of nonlocals at St. Stephens Monastery. While most of these migrants likely traveled to Jerusalem from different areas of the Levant as pilgrims, others may have hailed from further afield, including Europe.

Differential diagnosis of a progressive neuromuscular disorder using bioarchaeological and biogeochemical evidence from a bronze age skeleton in the UAE

Bioarchaeologists frequently rely on differential diagnoses to examine pathological conditions in ancient human skeletons. However, this method is often hindered by the skeletons limited response abilities, resulting in similar skeletal expressions across multiple diseases. These diseases can be placed into perspective by using stable isotope analysis to explore the life course of an individual. In the current study, strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope values from the dental enamel of a young (18-20 year old) paraplegic female interred within the Bronze Age Tomb of Tell Abraq are used to explore her life course and give perspective on a previously indeterminate differential diagnosis involving a progressive neuromuscular disorder. This individuals isotope values show that she was a non-local migrant who arrived at Tell Abraq sometime after 15 years of age and that her immigrant status may have placed her at enhanced immunological risk for developing paralytic poliomyelitis. We argue that biogeochemical analysis can be used to go beyond questions of residential mobility to examine the lifeways and broader cultural practices of ancient peoples.