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Simplified bedrock geology of southern Sweden, by Malou Blank. Based on geological maps from the Geological Survey of Sweden, data (Berggrund 1:1 million). Background map created using data from Esri. Data and maps licensed to University of Gothenburg. 1: Halle and Hunne mountains, 2: Kinnekulle, 3: Falbygden. Investigated area marked with black line. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204649.g001
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The inland area of southwestern Sweden is well known for its well-preserved archaeological animal and human remains dating back to the Mesolithic and Neolithic (10000–4000 and 4000–1700 BC). They allow application of multiple bioarchaeological methods, giving insights into various and complementary aspects of prehistoric human life, as well as econ...
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The use of strontium isotopes in pre-historic mobility studies requires accurate isoscapes for evaluating whether pre-historic individuals are local to the areas in which they were buried or not. Isoscapes are often based on modern-day samples, commonly surface waters. There is, however, growing evidence that modern-day farming has a significant im...
In archaeological mobility studies, non-local humans and animals can be identified by means of stable strontium isotope analysis. However, defining the range of local 87Sr/86Sr ratios is prerequisite. To achieve this goal, proxy-based mixing models have recently been proposed using 87Sr/86Sr ratios measured in modern local vegetation, water and soi...
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... Research in the Fig. 1. Location of the study region within Europe and previously sampled and published locations of bioavailable strontium (Sr 87/86 ) (Blank et al., 2018, Hoogewerff et al., 2019, Price et al., 2018, Price et al., 2014, Wilhelmson and Ahlström, 2015 relative to key Viking settlements. Background geology map extracted from EGDI 1:1 Million Pan-European Surface Geology server (https://www.europe-geology.eu/map-viewer/). ...
... Background geology map extracted from EGDI 1:1 Million Pan-European Surface Geology server (https://www.europe-geology.eu/map-viewer/). hinterlands, known today as the Mälaren Valley and other areas of Sweden has yielded an extensive isoscape, especially for strontium isotopes and general environmental conditions like glacial events, have been published by Blank et al. (2018), Price et al. (2014) and Price et al. (2018) and Liden and Nelson (1994). ...
... Integral to developing a multi-isotopic approach, it is necessary to understand the geological context of a site in order to identify the relationship between location and isotopic values within skeletal materials (Ben-David and Flaherty, 2012). The geology at Birka is for the most part derived from the Bergslagen lithographic unit of the Svecokarelian orogeny, which is an uplifted and folded craton consisting of metamorphosized sandstones as well as intrusive gneiss, granite and granodiorites, and is one of the oldest rock formations in Europe (Risberg et al., 2002;Price et al., 2014;Blank et al., 2018;Price et al., 2018). There is some degree of regional variability to the geology owing to the brittle tectonic development and complex surficial history of glaciation. ...
Carbon (δ 13 C), nitrogen (δ 15 N), and strontium (87/86 Sr) isotope analyses have been applied widely over the past four decades to reconstruct human and animal dietary and mobility patterns. Sulfur (δ 34 S) has recently shown great promise to further enhance isotope analyses of the geologic and hydrologic contexts in which organic material formed. For this case study we applied this suite of multi-isotopic analyses to a dataset of 45 animal bones and teeth from the urban Viking Age town of Birka located in present-day Sweden. This research falls in line with previous studies as a potential way to bridge the understanding of relationships between centers and hinterlands by tracing socioeconomic networks of subsistence and food provisioning utilizing the animal economy as a proxy. The utilization of δ 34 S values enables terrestrial, marine and freshwater food niches to be disentangled when δ 13 C and δ 15 N values may be overlapping between each of the niches. The incorporation of five 87/86 Sr samples further allowed us to carefully interpret the movement of animals across the landscape. We identified cattle potentially originating > 180 km from Birka during the earliest stages of occupation (early 8th century CE), while pigs and ovicaprids were more locally reared, indicating the dimensions of the early market economy in the Viking period was complex and multifaceted.
... The understanding of the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio variation in southern Scandinavia has significantly increased since the surge in strontium-related studies in the last few decades. Published baseline studies exist for Scania (e.g., Ladegaard-Pedersen et al., 2021;Boethius et al., 2022), western Sweden (e.g., Blank et al., 2018;Klassen et al., 2020), and Denmark (e.g., Frei et al., 2019). The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr strontium isotope mapping is . ...
During the last decade, the application of strontium isotope analysis ( ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr) has increased rapidly. The understanding of the strontium isoscape and the construction of a strontium isotope baseline in southern Scandinavia are biased toward Denmark and southwestern to eastern Scania. We report the results of new baseline samples in Halland and the Bjäre Peninsula, adding to the rich strontium isotope library that exists for southern Scandinavia. We add nuance to the previous divisions of Scania, in which the Bjäre Peninsula is not well represented. The results show that the Bjäre Peninsula is characterized by relatively low ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr values gathered in the preliminary baseline 0.7100 ± 0.0024 (2σ, n = 8), similar to that of southwest Scania and Zealand in Denmark. There is a greater variation and higher values among the Halland samples. Together with previously published faunal samples, a preliminary ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr baseline for Halland is 0.7122 ± 0.0055 (2σ, n = 24). We apply these baseline results to archaeological cases, both human and animal, from recent excavations in the Bjäre Peninsula. The results imply that there was a certain degree of mobility and interaction across the landscape in this region of southern Scandinavia in prehistory.
... Around the transition from the Early Neolithic to early Middle Neolithic, the FBC population abandoned northern parts of its previously inhabited territories on the Scandinavian Peninsula and nearby islands which were then occupied by PWC groups [72]. These groups practised farming to a minor extent [73], and were highly dependent on marine resources, including seal and whale [47,57,82,83]. Nuclear genomic data for PWC individuals, found in the lime-rich soils of the island of Gotland, show admixture between Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers and European Farmers [2]. ...
... Since the DNA results suggest a geographic origin on the Scandinavian Peninsula or neighbouring islands (SI.6), we focus on that region. Here Sr ratios matching those of Vittrup Man are found in several places, including SW Sweden and a coastal part of Norway close to the Arctic Circle [82][83][84][85]. Due to coarse sampling, it cannot be excluded that areas with equivalently high ratios can also be found further south along the Norwegian coast. ...
The lethally maltreated body of Vittrup Man was deposited in a Danish bog, probably as part of a ritualised sacrifice. It happened between c. 3300 and 3100 cal years BC, i.e., during the period of the local farming-based Funnel Beaker Culture. In terms of skull morphological features, he differs from the majority of the contemporaneous farmers found in Denmark, and associates with hunter-gatherers, who inhabited Scandinavia during the previous millennia. His skeletal remains were selected for transdisciplinary analysis to reveal his life-history in terms of a population historical perspective. We report the combined results of an integrated set of genetic, isotopic, physical anthropological and archaeological analytical approaches. Strontium signature suggests a foreign birthplace that could be in Norway or Sweden. In addition, enamel oxygen isotope values indicate that as a child he lived in a colder climate, i.e., to the north of the regions inhabited by farmers. Genomic data in fact demonstrates that he is closely related to Mesolithic humans known from Norway and Swe-den. Moreover, dietary stable isotope analyses on enamel and bone collagen demonstrate a fisher-hunter way of life in his childhood and a diet typical of farmers later on. Such a variable life-history is also reflected by proteomic analysis of hardened organic deposits on his teeth, indicating the consumption of forager food (seal, whale and marine fish) as well as farmer food (sheep/goat). From a dietary isotopic transect of one of his teeth it is shown that his transfer between societies of foragers and farmers took place near to the end of his teenage years.
... Since the DNA results suggest a geographic origin for Vittrup Man on the Scandinavian Peninsula or neighbouring islands, we focus on that region. The ratios found in his dentition in fact occur in several places, including coastal parts of NW Norway and SW Sweden [13,[32][33][34]. The higher value from his third molar as compared with the premolar suggests a change of residence before the age of 9-12 years (SI.8 in S1 File). ...
The lethally maltreated body of Vittrup Man was deposited in a Danish bog, probably as part of a ritualised sacrifice. It happened between c. 3300 and 3100 cal years BC, i.e., during the period of the local farming-based Funnel Beaker Culture. In terms of skull morphological features, he differs from the majority of the contemporaneous farmers found in Denmark, and associates with hunter-gatherers, who inhabited Scandinavia during the previous millennia. His skeletal remains were selected for transdisciplinary analysis to reveal his life-history in terms of a population historical perspective. We report the combined results of an integrated set of genetic, isotopic, physical anthropological and archaeological analytical approaches. Strontium signature suggests a foreign birthplace that could be in Norway or Sweden. In addition, enamel oxygen isotope values indicate that as a child he lived in a colder climate, i.e., to the north of the regions inhabited by farmers. Genomic data in fact demonstrates that he is closely related to Mesolithic humans known from Norway and Sweden. Moreover, dietary stable isotope analyses on enamel and bone collagen demonstrate a fisher-hunter way of life in his childhood and a diet typical of farmers later on. Such a variable life-history is also reflected by proteomic analysis of hardened organic deposits on his teeth, indicating the consumption of forager food (seal, whale and marine fish) as well as farmer food (sheep/goat). From a dietary isotopic transect of one of his teeth it is shown that his transfer between societies of foragers and farmers took place near to the end of his teenage years.
... Upon enquiry, it was disclosed that Hero Baby (now rebranded as Hero Nutrasense) formula is manufactured in Sweden. This accounts for the elevated radiogenic strontium ratios identified in this study due to the ancient regional geology 30 . In manufacture, Hero utilizes multiple herds, albeit all originating from Sweden. ...
In forensic investigations involving the identification of unknown deceased individuals, isotope analysis can provide valuable provenance information. This is especially pertinent when primary identifiers (i.e., DNA, dactyloscopy, etc.) fail to yield matches. The isotopic composition of human tissues is linked to that of the food consumed, potentially allowing the identification of regions of origin. However, the isotopic composition of deceased newborns and infants fed with milk formula may be influenced by that of the prepared milk. The findings contribute towards the possibility to isotopically identify bottle-fed infants. More importantly, the data convincingly show that the Sr isotope composition of the prepared milk is determined by that of the formula and not the (local) tap water, thereby limiting the potential of Sr isotope analysis for determining the geological or geographical origin in formula-fed babies in medico-legal cases.
... Strontium isotope analysis of sampled enamel aliquots was conducted at the Curt-Engelhorn-Center for Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim (Germany). Further processing of 5 mg of pretreated powdered enamel, including strontium separation in Teflon columns with Eichrome Sr-spec ion exchange resin, was carried out under clean-lab conditions following the analytical procedures described in Knipper et al. 100 ; Blank et al. 101 . 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios by High-Resolution Multi Collector-ICP-MS (Neptune). ...
The Balkans are considered a major glacial refugium where flora and fauna survived glacial periods and repopulated the rest of Europe during interglacials. While it is also thought to have harboured Pleistocene human populations, evidence linking human activity, paleoenvironmental indicators and a secure temporal placement to glacial periods is scant. Here, we present the first intra-tooth multi-isotope analysis for the European straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, on an adult male individual excavated in association with lithic artefacts at the MIS 12 site Marathousa 1 (Megalopolis basin, Greece). The studied find also exhibits anthropogenic modifications, providing direct evidence of hominin presence. We employed strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis on enamel bioapatite to investigate its foraging and mobility behaviour, using a sequential sampling strategy along the tooth growth axis of the third upper molar, to assess ecological changes during the last decade of life. We found a geographically restricted range, in a C3-dominated open woodland environment, and relatively stable conditions over the examined timeframe. Our results show that, despite the severity of the MIS 12 glacial, the Megalopolis basin sustained a mesic habitat, sufficient plant cover and limited seasonal fluctuations in resource availability, pointing to its role as a glacial refugium for both fauna and hominins.
... A recent baseline study (Blank et al. 2018b) confirmed that the isotopic composition of the bioavailable Sr more or less mirrors the basement geology of the area, with higher ratios in the Precambrian terrains and lower ratios in the Palaeozoic sedimentary areas. According to this study, the local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr range of Kinnekulle was estimated to be 0.714 to 0.719, including 100% of the observations. ...
... According to this study, the local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr range of Kinnekulle was estimated to be 0.714 to 0.719, including 100% of the observations. This range is based on eight reference samples of spring and creek water from different locations on various lithologies within Kinnekulle (Blank et al. 2018b). The baseline of Kinnekulle is distinctly different from the Sr isotope ranges in the surrounding areas, although there are some overlaps with other sedimentary regions (see "Method"). ...
... For more detailed information on Sr isotopes, see (Bentley 2006;Faure 1986; Montgomery 2010; SI 2). We used the Sr isotope baseline published in Blank et al. (2018b). The baseline was constructed by isotope ratios of 89 samples from water and small non-domestic fauna from locations with various geological characteristics in Västergötland (Blank et al. 2018b). ...
In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions.
... A limitation of this approach is that it cannot securely identify the point of origin of the 'non-locals'. To address this issue, there has been an increasing number of studies establishing bioavailable baselines and isoscapes across the world (Blank et al., 2018;Reynaga et al., 2021) and in the EMME more specifically (Dotsika et al., 2018;Ladegaard-Pedersen et al., 2020). Finally, ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis investigates human migration by identifying the past and present populations with whom archaeological individuals under study are genetically most similar (Bongers et al., 2020;Gao et al., 2015). ...
The Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) has been the setting of significant societal and cultural changes over millennia, and served as a connecting point for cultures across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Bioarchaeology, the contextual study of past human remains, explores the dynamic relationship between and within biological, natural, environmental, socio-political, historical, and physical forces; as such, it has found important applications in the EMME. This paper briefly outlines the history of bioarchaeological research in the region and highlights contemporary themes and trends. The latter follow the research trends in Europe and North America with a focus on palaeopathology, followed by dietary reconstructions, activity patterns, and mobility. Emphasis is placed on the extent to which bioarchaeology in the EMME has adopted the concept of intersectionality, which is especially pertinent in the region, but also the degree to which it has explored key issues with contemporary significance, such as migration, structural violence, and climate change. The above concepts and topics can indeed be identified in EMME bioarchaeological studies over the past few years; however, intersectionality and structural violence are almost exclusively addressed implicitly, while all four themes should receive more attention in the future so that they enhance the understanding of these processes in the EMME with greater spatial and temporal resolution.
... Sweden. Sweden has a different underlying geology from Denmark, even in the carbonate-rich soils in South-Western Sweden [50]. This of course is especially promising for this particular research question as it ensures a difference in isotopic composition between the two possible regions of provenance (Denmark and Sweden). ...
... This of course is especially promising for this particular research question as it ensures a difference in isotopic composition between the two possible regions of provenance (Denmark and Sweden). Within Sweden there are also large differences, allowing for human mobility studies [50]. Blank et al. [50] studied a limited part of Sweden, but one that is of prime importance for the questions tackled here as it covered part of the soils along the Gota river between Gothenburg and Vänern Lake, thought to be the route used to transport timbers from around the lake and river down to the coast where it could be traded. ...
... Within Sweden there are also large differences, allowing for human mobility studies [50]. Blank et al. [50] studied a limited part of Sweden, but one that is of prime importance for the questions tackled here as it covered part of the soils along the Gota river between Gothenburg and Vänern Lake, thought to be the route used to transport timbers from around the lake and river down to the coast where it could be traded. ...
Dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) allows us to precisely date and identify the origin of timber from historic contexts. However, reference datasets to determine the origin can include timber of non-local origin. Therefore, we have applied Sr isotopic on timbers from three buildings in Jutland, Denmark, mostly dating from the late 16 th and early 17 th centuries CE to improve and refine the provenance identification. The dendrochronology suggested that some timbers analysed were imported from the Swedish side of Øresund/Kattegat while others were local, and others again might be from south Norway. By adding the Sr isotopic analysis, a far more detailed interpretation of the origin of these timbers can be presented for non-Danish timbers. In this paper we suggest that Danish ports in the provinces of Halland and Skåne played a major role in the timber trade between the Danish and Swed-ish parts of the Danish kingdom. For Danish timbers dendroprovenancing proved better than Sr isotopic analysis. Furthermore, a small number of Sr isotopic analyses were performed to contribute to the base-line along the Gö ta-river in Southern-Sweden.
... highly resistant to diagenesis, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values directly reflect the sources of dietary strontium to which individuals were exposed during tooth formation [20][21][22]. Comparison of the isotope ratios preserved in tooth enamel to mapped bioavailable ranges in plants and water can therefore be used to evaluate where an individual obtained their diet [23][24][25]. ...
... Comparison of the isotope ratios preserved in tooth enamel to mapped bioavailable ranges in plants and water can therefore be used to evaluate where an individual obtained their diet [23][24][25]. Here, we analyse 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in adjacent consecutively mineralizing molar teeth (first, second and third permanent molars), where present, to compare isotope ratios in teeth that form at different stages of early life. Formation of the first permanent adult molar crown commences in utero, just prior to birth [26], and completes by approximately 4.5 ± 0.5 years of age; formation of the second molar crown occurs between approximately 2.5 ± 0.5 years and 8.5 ± 0.5 years of age; the timing of third molar formation is most variable with initial cusp formation from approximately 8.5 ± 0.5 years of age and crown completion by approximately 14.5 ± 0.5 years [27,28] [29,30]. ...
... In addition to the variation in δ 18 O composition of ingested fluids that may be generated by culinary practices, recent study of enamel from modern human populations suggests that δ 18 O values can also vary by up to approximately 2‰ between samples taken at the same location in antimeres of teeth from the same individual [45]. Such variability in δ 18 O values contrasts with that of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values, which have been to shown to vary only in the fourth decimal place between samples taken from the same location from antimeres of teeth, by up to 0.000192 [45]. It has also been shown that human populations buried in adjacent regions of temperate Europe can have similar δ 18 O values, as values in local precipitation overlap [46]. ...
Many of the most significant archaeological sites in Europe were excavated by antiquarians over one hundred years ago. Modern museum collections therefore frequently contain human remains that were recovered during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here we apply multi-isotope analysis (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and ¹⁴C dating to evaluate the provenance of human remains within a collection that is thought to have been recovered from one of the most important archaeological sites in Britain. Excavated in 1910, the site of Coldrum in Kent is a megalithic burial monument that may be one of the earliest sites associated with the transition to farming in Britain. The interpretation of this site is therefore key to understanding how agriculture began. Using isotope analysis we show that although the human skeletal collections attributed to Coldrum do contain some of the earliest dated Neolithic human remains in Britain, they also contain the remains of individuals of fifth to seventh centuries AD date. We evaluate subsistence and mobility patterns of early Neolithic populations and provide new information about the origins of those individuals in the collection that date to the fifth to seventh centuries AD. We demonstrate the utility of employing isotope analysis to provide direct and independent information about the provenance of human remains in museum collections.
