Stable isotope evidence ( δ 13 C, δ 18 O) for winter feeding on seaweed by Neolithic sheep of Scotland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23360908 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Balasse (0000-0003-1925-5110, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, corresponding author), Anne Tresset (0000-0002-8391-059X, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), H Ambrose (0000-0002-8785-0512, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), S H Ambrose |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 270 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 170-176 |
| Publication date | 2006-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Zoology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0952-8369 • E-ISSN: 1469-7998 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00104.x |
| OpenAlex | W2164935712 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 67 |
| References cited | 28 |
The antiquity of the use of seaweed to feed domestic animals was investigated through carbon ( δ 13 C) and oxygen ( δ 18 O) isotope analysis of tooth enamel bioapatite. The analysis was performed on sheep and cattle teeth from two Neolithic sites in Orkney (Scotland). At the Knap of Howar, c . 3600 bc , carbon isotopes reflect grazing on terrestrial plants throughout the year for both sheep and cattle, with no contribution of seaweed to their diet. At the Holm of Papa Westray North (HPWN), c . 3000 bc , significant contribution of seaweed to the sheep diet during winter is indicated by bioapatite δ 13 C values as high as −5.7‰, far outside of the range of values expected for the feeding on terrestrial C 3 plants, and δ 18 O values higher than expected during winter, possibly caused by ingestion of oceanic water with seaweed. Ingestion of seaweed by sheep at HPWN might have been necessitated by severe reduction of pastures during winter. Results suggest that sheep ingested fresh seaweed rather than dry fodder, perhaps directly on the shore as sheep do nowadays on North Ronaldsay. A significant difference between the two populations is the exclusive reliance on seaweed by the North Ronaldsay sheep, which have developed physiological adaptations to this diet. Contribution of seaweed to the sheep winter diet at HPWN might have been a first step towards this adaptation.
Algae · Animal science · Biology · Fodder · Grazing · Ingestion · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Ecology · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
Seasonal variation in kangaroo tooth enamel oxygen and carbon isotopes in southern Australia
Scope and Limitations of Stable Isotope Analysis in Indian Archaeology
Revisiting Quanterness
Isotopic Studies of Husbandry Practices
On the Use of Biomineral Oxygen Isotope Data to Identify Human Migrants in the Archaeological Record
Oxygen isotopes in bioarchaeology
Integrated approaches to understanding animal exploitation and dairying in the Central European Early Neolithic
Farming and feasting during the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition in Britain (ca. 900–500 bce)
Invited response to K. Ryan’s comments on Coltrain et al. (2004) and Coltrain (2009)
Identifying strontium baselines and large game animal trade at Fremont sites through strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis
Livestock feeding strategies through the seasons
Stable isotope analysis and differences in diet and social status in northern Medieval Christian Spain (9th–13th centuries CE)
Sheep and goat management in the Early Neolithic in the Zagros region (8000–5000 BC)
A preliminary assessment of ancient diet and mobility in Archaic period Asia minor
Reconstructing diet at the Neolithic stalled cairn of the Knowe of Rowiegar, Rousay, Orkney, using stable isotope analysis
Isotopic and zooarchaeological approaches towards understanding aquatic resource use in human economies and animal management in the prehistoric Scottish North Atlantic Islands
Multi-scale, integrated approaches to understanding the nature and impact of past environmental and climatic change in the archaeological record, and the role of isotope zooarchaeology
Reconstructing caribou seasonal biogeography in Little Ice Age (late Holocene) Western Alaska using intra-tooth strontium and oxygen isotope analysis
Further isotopic evidence for seaweed-eating sheep from Neolithic Orkney
Tracing Seaweed as Food and Fodder in Archaeology
Paleodiet in Late Preceramic Peru
Southern Portugal Animal Exploitation Systems
Diversity in foddering strategy and herd management in late Bronze Age Britain
Charred Fucus -Type Seaweed in the North Atlantic
Calving seasonality at Pool, Orkney during the first millennium AD
Stable isotope evidence for seasonal consumption of marine seaweed by modern and archaeological sheep in the Orkney archipelago (Scotland)
Evidence for long-term averaging of strontium in bovine enamel using Tims and LA-MC-ICP-MS strontium isotope intra-molar profiles
Norse Animal Husbandry in Liminal Environments
Life, Death and Teeth of Late Neolithic Sheep and Red Deer Excavated at Ness of Brodgar, Orkney Islands (UK)
Season of birth and sheep husbandry in late Roman and Medieval coastal Flanders
Integrating Stable Isotope and Zooarchaeological Analyses in Historical Archaeology
Archaeological Approaches to Agricultural Economies
Seasonality and season of birth in early Eneolithic sheep from Cheia (Romania)
An investigation of diet in early Anglo-Saxon England using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of human bone collagen
Potential dietary, non-metabolic accumulation of arsenic (As) in seaweed-eating sheep's teeth
NOthing goes to WAste (Nowa)
Inferring animal husbandry strategies in coastal zones through stable isotope analysis
Reconstructing faunal migrations using intra-tooth sampling and strontium and oxygen isotope analyses
Seasonality of birth and diet of pigs from stable isotope analyses of tooth enamel (δ18O, δ13C)
Identifying seaweed consumption by sheep using isotope analysis of their bones and teeth
Early herding at Măgura-Boldul lui Moş Ivănuş (early sixth millennium BC, Romania)
Géochimie isotopique des ossements brûlés
Isotope Geochemistry of Burned Bones
Identifier la consommation des nourritures de l’estran par l’homme
Funeral practices and foodstuff behaviour
Cattle and sheep raising and millet growing in the Longshan age in central China
Strong bias towards carcass product processing at Neolithic settlements in northern Greece revealed through absorbed lipid residues of archaeological pottery
Formative Exchange in the Andean Titicaca Basin
Stable Isotope Evidence for Dietary Contrast Between Pictish and Medieval Populations at Portmahomack, Scotland
Southern French Neolithic populations
Fringes of the empire
Pastoralism, climate change, and the transformation of the Indus Civilization in Gujarat
Strontium isotope evidence for migration in late Pleistocene Rangifer
Strontium and oxygen isotope evidence for the origin and movement of cattle at Late Neolithic Durrington Walls, UK
Tracking kelp-type seaweed fuel in the archaeological record through Raman spectroscopy of charred particles
Resource depression, climate change, and mountain sheep in the eastern Great Basin of western North America
Lost in transition
Applications of Stable Isotope Analysis in Zooarchaeology
Food management of early introduced caprine and bovine herds in the early Neolithic site of La Draga (Banyoles)
Oxygen isotope analysis in a land of environmental extremes
Raising Practices of Neolithic Livestock Evidenced by Stable Isotope Analysis in the Wei River Valley, North China
Towards an isotopic ecology of herbivory in the Puna ecosystem
Palaeodiet reconstruction inferred by stable isotopes analysis of faunal and human remains at Bronze Age Punta di Zambrone (Calabria, Italy)
Isotopic Analysis of Faunal Material from South Uist, Western Isles, Scotland
Seaweed-eating sheep and the adaptation of husbandry in Neolithic Orkney
A stable relationship
The Pastoral Effect
Carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bioapatite in ungulate mammals and implications for ecological and paleoecological studies
Tooth enamel mineralization in ungulates
The use of isotope ratios to test for seaweed eating in sheep
Sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic
Carbon Isotopes in Photosynthesis
Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Photosynthesis
Experimental Evidence for the Relationship of the Carbon Isotope Ratios of Whole Diet and Dietary Protein to Those of Bone Collagen and Carbonate
High-resolution δ13C intratooth profiles in bovine enamel
C evidence for dietary habits of prehistoric man in Denmark
Models for Carbon Isotope Fractionation Between Diet and Bone
Effect of Diet Quality and Composition on the Isotopic Composition of Respiratory CO2, Bone Collagen, Bioapatite, and Soft Tissues
Stable-Carbon Isotope Ratios as a Measure of Marine Versus Terrestrial Protein in Ancient Diets
Natural variations in the carbon isotope values of plants
Determining Sheep Birth Seasonality by Analysis of Tooth Enamel Oxygen Isotope Ratios
The Seasonal Mobility Model for Prehistoric Herders in the South-western Cape of South Africa Assessed by Isotopic Analysis of Sheep Tooth Enamel
The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in Portugal
Excavation of a Neolithic farmstead at Knap of Howar, Papa Westray, Orkney
Potential biases in sampling design and interpretation of intra-tooth isotope analysis
A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, circa 1695
Reconstructing dietary and environmental history from enamel isotopic analysis
| Unique citing works | 67 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,94 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 64 |