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Life and Death in Neolithic Southeastern Italy

The Strontium Isotopic Evidence

Bibliographic Data

ID4685153
AuthorsM A Tafuri (0000-0002-2913-7225, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy, corresponding author), Paul D Fullagar (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), T C O''Connell (0000-0002-4744-0332, University of Cambridge), M G Belcastro (0000-0002-8932-8509, Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali Università di Bologna Bologna Italy), Paola Iacumin (0000-0001-6944-1814, University of Parma), C Conati Barbaro (0000-0001-9911-163X, Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità Sapienza University of Rome Roma Italy), Rocco Sanseverino (University of Bari Aldo Moro), John Robb (0000-0002-7987-4549, University of Cambridge)
Year2016
Volume26
Issue6
Pages1045-1057
Publication date2016-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2516
OpenAlexW2287885116
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited30

There is a strong relation between people's structured identities and their chemical biographies: these can reflect the way individuals choose to reside and/or move. The strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of skeletal remains is considered a useful proxy to assess residential mobility and social practices in past populations; however, so far, it has only occasionally been applied to prehistoric contexts in the Mediterranean. In this paper, we present 87Sr/86Sr data of human and animal samples from several Neolithic sites in the Apulian Tavoliere (southeastern Italy), namely, Grotta Scaloria, Passo di Corvo, Masseria Candelaro and La Torretta/Poggio Imperiale. Data obtained from dental enamel reflect the local origin of the individuals and allowed us to differentiate function and meaning of the sites examined. In particular, within a generally homogeneous background of Sr signatures, the range of 87Sr/86Sr at Scaloria Cave is greater than at the other sites, with variation likely to be related to funerary practices. We interpret this as the evidence of the ritual use of the cave, which implied the gathering of people of different origin. The relative variation of the Sr signature among individuals, either intersite or intrasite can be tentatively associated with mobility during life as well as with social practices, such as access to foods from geologically different environments. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeological evidence · Archaeology · Cave · Ethnology · Geography · Homogeneous · Isotopes of strontium · Prehistory · Strontium · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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Unique citing works11
Citations per year1,57
Citation span2019 - 2027 (9)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 8
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