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All Outputs (52)

Fast or feast: reconstructing diet in later medieval England by stable isotope analysis (2005)
Journal Article
Müldner, G., & Richards, M. (2005). Fast or feast: reconstructing diet in later medieval England by stable isotope analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science, 32(1), 39-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2004.05.007

In this pilot-study, which was designed to assess the range of isotopic variation in English medieval populations, we present the results of stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen of human and animal bone collagen from three later medieval si... Read More about Fast or feast: reconstructing diet in later medieval England by stable isotope analysis.

Spatial relationships, dating and taphonomy of the human bone from the Mesolithic site of Cnoc Coig, Oronsay, Argyll, Scotland (2005)
Journal Article
Mieklejohn, C., Merrett, D., Nolan, R., Richards, M., & Mellars, P. (2005). Spatial relationships, dating and taphonomy of the human bone from the Mesolithic site of Cnoc Coig, Oronsay, Argyll, Scotland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 71, 85-105

This paper examines the spatial distribution of the human bone sample excavated from the Mesolithic shell midden site of Cnoc Coig on Oronsay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. Although no burials were recovered the information from the apparently isol... Read More about Spatial relationships, dating and taphonomy of the human bone from the Mesolithic site of Cnoc Coig, Oronsay, Argyll, Scotland.

Identity, gender, religion and economy: New isotope and radiocarbon evidence for marine resource intensification in early historic Orkney, Scotland, UK (2004)
Journal Article
Barrett, J., & Richards, M. (2004). Identity, gender, religion and economy: New isotope and radiocarbon evidence for marine resource intensification in early historic Orkney, Scotland, UK. European Journal of Archaeology, 7(3), 249-271. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957104056502

Stable isotope measurements and radiocarbon dates on 54 burials from northern Scotland document trends in marine protein consumption from the late Iron Age to the end of the Middle Ages. They illuminate how local environmental and cultural contingenc... Read More about Identity, gender, religion and economy: New isotope and radiocarbon evidence for marine resource intensification in early historic Orkney, Scotland, UK.

Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China (2004)
Journal Article
McGovern, P., Zhang, J., Tang, J., Zhang, Z., Hall, G., Moreau, R., …Wang, C. (2004). Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(51), 17593-17598. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407921102

Chemical analyses of ancient organics absorbed into pottery jars from the early Neolithic village of Jiahu in Henan province in China have revealed that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey, and fruit (hawthorn fruit and/or grape) was being prod... Read More about Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China.

Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchì, the first ancient body of a man from a North American glacier: reconstructing his last days by intestinal and biomolecular analyses (2004)
Journal Article
Dickson, J., Richards, M., Hebda, R., Mudie, P., Beattie, O., Ramsay, S., …Wigen, R. (2004). Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchì, the first ancient body of a man from a North American glacier: reconstructing his last days by intestinal and biomolecular analyses. Holocene, 14(4), 481-486. https://doi.org/10.1191/0959683604hl742rp

We report on scientific analyses of the only well-preserved ancient human body ever recovered from a North American glacier. The body was found high in the mountains of northwest British Columbia at about 80 km from the nearest point of the strongly... Read More about Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchì, the first ancient body of a man from a North American glacier: reconstructing his last days by intestinal and biomolecular analyses.

Bone as a stable isotope archive for local climatic information (2004)
Journal Article
Hedges, R., Richards, M., & Stevens, R. (2004). Bone as a stable isotope archive for local climatic information. Quaternary Science Reviews, 23(7-8), 959-965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.06.022

This brief review outlines the contribution that the study of stable isotope composition in bone can make to palaeoclimatic investigation, with the focus almost entirely restricted to the last 50,000 years in NW Europe. Bone can provide a useful arch... Read More about Bone as a stable isotope archive for local climatic information.

Régime et Société d’après l’analyse des Isotopes Stables: l’exemple de la population de Can Reinés (Mallorca, Espagne, 600 ap. J.C.) (2004)
Journal Article
Garcia, E., Subirà, M., & Richards, M. (2004). Régime et Société d’après l’analyse des Isotopes Stables: l’exemple de la population de Can Reinés (Mallorca, Espagne, 600 ap. J.C.). Antropo (Bilbao), 7, 171-176

This study presents the results of the analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes of bone collagen extracted from 39 human remains and 20 animal remains, found at an archaeological site on the island of Majorca, Spain. The population studied i... Read More about Régime et Société d’après l’analyse des Isotopes Stables: l’exemple de la population de Can Reinés (Mallorca, Espagne, 600 ap. J.C.).

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in too dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy (2003)
Journal Article
Fuller, B., Richards, M., & Mays, S. (2003). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in too dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy. Journal of Archaeological Science, 30(12), 1673-1684. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-4403%2803%2900073-6

Here we report δ13C and δ15N measurements of serial sections of human deciduous and permanent tooth dentine from archaeological samples taken from the medieval village site of Wharram Percy, Yorkshire, UK. We found a pattern of enrichment, for both δ... Read More about Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in too dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy.

Sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic (2003)
Journal Article
Richards, M., Schulting, R., & Hedges, R. (2003). Sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic. Nature, 425(6956), 366-366. https://doi.org/10.1038/425366a

The introduction of domesticated plants and animals into Britain during the Neolithic cultural period between 5,200 and 4,500 years ago is viewed either as a rapid event1 or as a gradual process that lasted for more than a millennium2. Here we measur... Read More about Sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic.

Stable isotope analysis of 21 individuals from the Epipalaeolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka III, Dnieper Rapids region, Ukraine (2003)
Journal Article
Lillie, M., Richards, M., & Jacobs, K. (2003). Stable isotope analysis of 21 individuals from the Epipalaeolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka III, Dnieper Rapids region, Ukraine. Journal of Archaeological Science, 30(6), 743-752. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-4403%2802%2900249-2

Bone collagen extracted from 21 humans from the Epipalaeolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka III was analysed for their δ13C and δ15N ratios. This particular cemetery is one of the three early sites from the Dnieper Rapids region, with Vasilyevka III being... Read More about Stable isotope analysis of 21 individuals from the Epipalaeolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka III, Dnieper Rapids region, Ukraine.

Mesolithic and Neolithic Subsistence in Denmark: new stable isotope data (2003)
Journal Article
Richards, M., Price, T., & Koch, E. (2003). Mesolithic and Neolithic Subsistence in Denmark: new stable isotope data. Current Anthropology, 44(2), 288-294. https://doi.org/10.1086/367971

The change in subsistence at the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition in Denmark is often characterized as rapid, with a dramatic shift from a marine diet in the Mesolithic to a terrestrial-based diet in the Neolithic. This view has been largely based on... Read More about Mesolithic and Neolithic Subsistence in Denmark: new stable isotope data.

Variations in bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values of fauna from Northwest Europe over the last 40 000 years (2003)
Journal Article
Richards, M., & Hedges, R. (2003). Variations in bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values of fauna from Northwest Europe over the last 40 000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 193(2), 261-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-0182%2803%2900229-3

We report here a signal in the temporal variation of stable isotopes in protein from surviving animal bone in Northwest Europe over the past glacial cycle. There is a change in the average δ13C values of fauna in the Holocene, and there is also a sig... Read More about Variations in bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values of fauna from Northwest Europe over the last 40 000 years.

The Gravettian burial known as the Prince (‘Il Principe’): new evidence for his age and diet (2003)
Journal Article
Pettitt, P., Richards, M., Maggi, R., & Formicola, V. (2003). The Gravettian burial known as the Prince (‘Il Principe’): new evidence for his age and diet. Antiquity, 77(295), 15-19. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00061305

The famous upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) burial with shell ornaments known as "Il Principe" was discovered in Italy sixty years ago. Here the authors present recent scientific research on his skeleton, leading to new assessments of the date of the... Read More about The Gravettian burial known as the Prince (‘Il Principe’): new evidence for his age and diet.

Sulphur isotopes in palaeodietary studies: a review and results from a controlled feeding experiment (2003)
Journal Article
Richards, M., Fuller, B., Sponheimer, M., Robinson, T., & Ayliffe, L. (2003). Sulphur isotopes in palaeodietary studies: a review and results from a controlled feeding experiment. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 13(1-2), 37-45. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.654

Recent advances in mass spectrometry now allow relatively routine measurements of sulphur isotopes (34S) in small samples (>10 mg) of tissue from archaeological human, plant, and faunal samples. 34S values of human and faunal bone collagen can indica... Read More about Sulphur isotopes in palaeodietary studies: a review and results from a controlled feeding experiment.

Stable Isotope Evidence of Diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey (2003)
Journal Article
Richards, M., Pearson, J., Molleson, T., Russell, N., & Martin, L. (2003). Stable Isotope Evidence of Diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Journal of Archaeological Science, 30(1), 67-76. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2001.0825

We report here new evidence for human subsistence from stable isotope analysis of humans and fauna from Catalhöyük. The analyses complement other lines of subsistence evidence, and indicate that, contrary to the original excavator James Mellaart's as... Read More about Stable Isotope Evidence of Diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey.

A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence (2002)
Journal Article
Richards, M. (2002). A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 56(12), 1270-1278. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601646

Knowledge of our ancestor's diets is becoming increasingly important in evolutionary medicine, as researchers have argued that we have evolved to specific type of 'Palaeolithic' diet, and many modern nutritional disorders relate to the mismatch betwe... Read More about A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence.

Brief communication: Molecular analysis of the Kwäday Dän Ts'finchi ancient remains found in a glacier in Canada (2002)
Journal Article
Monsalve, M., Stone, A., Lewis, C., Rempel, A., Richards, M., Straathof, S., & Devine, D. (2002). Brief communication: Molecular analysis of the Kwäday Dän Ts'finchi ancient remains found in a glacier in Canada. American journal of physical anthropology, 119(3), 288-291. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10116

DNA was extracted from the frozen remains of a man found in the northwest corner of British Columbia, Canada, in 1999. His clothing was radiocarbon-dated at ca. 550 years old. Nitrogen and carbon content in whole bone and collagen-type residue extrac... Read More about Brief communication: Molecular analysis of the Kwäday Dän Ts'finchi ancient remains found in a glacier in Canada.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the medieval Wharram Percy Site, Yorkshire, U.K (2002)
Journal Article
Richards, M., Mays, S., & Fuller, B. (2002). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the medieval Wharram Percy Site, Yorkshire, U.K. American journal of physical anthropology, 119(3), 205-210. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10124

We report on the measurements of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of both bone and teeth from a single site and population (Medieval Wharram Percy), undertaken to explore variations due to weaning in a past population. There have been a number of... Read More about Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the medieval Wharram Percy Site, Yorkshire, U.K.

Finding the coastal Mesolithic in Southwest Britain: AMS dates and stable isotope results on human remains from Caldey Island, South Wales (2002)
Journal Article
Schulting, R., & Richards, M. (2002). Finding the coastal Mesolithic in Southwest Britain: AMS dates and stable isotope results on human remains from Caldey Island, South Wales. Antiquity, 76(294), 1011-1025. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00091821

The implications of new evidence are presented for the generally high level of marine diet in the coastal Mesolithic populations of Wales. Within these generally high levels, some variations may point to seasonal movement. These data provide a strong... Read More about Finding the coastal Mesolithic in Southwest Britain: AMS dates and stable isotope results on human remains from Caldey Island, South Wales.