M P Richards
Biographic Data
| ID | 5206326 |
|---|---|
| NAME | M P Richards |
| GIVEN NAMES | M P |
| FAMILY NAME | Richards |
| SIGNATURE | RICHARDS M P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 36 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1309 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 36 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 17 |
Diet Transition or Human Migration in the Chinese Neolithic? Dietary and Migration Evidence from the Stable Isotope Analysis of Humans and Animals from the Qinglongquan Site, China
The Qinglongquan site, China, includes materials from the Neolithic Qujialing (3000-2600 bc) and Shijiahe (2600-2200 bc) periods, and lies within the Sui-Zao Corridor that connects the Nanyang Basin in the north and the Hanjiang River Plain in the south. Previous research suggested a dietary shift from rice-based to millet-based agriculture between the Qujialing and Shijiehe periods at this site. The reason for this dietary shift is still unclear…
Temporal variations in Equus tooth isotope values (C,N,O) from the Middle Paleolithic site of Combe Grenal, France (ca. 150,000 to 50,000 BP)
Effects of Sodium Hydroxide Treatment and Ultrafiltration on the Removal of Humic Contaminants from Archaeological Bone
This study compared bone collagen extraction techniques that included treatment with sodium hydroxide and 30 kDa ultrafilters using a set of well-preserved, humic-contaminated archaeological marine mammal bones. Treatment with sodium hydroxide was effective at removing humic contaminants from archaeological bone, although yields were significantly decreased. Yields were also significantly decreased by ultrafiltration although this study produced …
Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200-3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State-Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China
During the late Longshan period (ca. 4200-3900 BP) settlements on the Central Plains of China underwent a diversification in food production technologies, which set the stage for rapid economic and social development. The introduction of novel domesticates such as rice, wheat, cattle, and sheep not only provided more food choices, but also changed ideas concerning land use, farming techniques, and the use and mobilization of large scale labor for…
Reconstructing Diet of the Early Qin (ca. 700-400 BC) at Xishan, Gansu Province, China
Here we report the bone collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic results of humans (n = 33) and animals (n = 58) to reconstruct the dietary practices of an early Qin population dating to the Zhou Dynasty (Late Western-Early Eastern period ca. 700-400 BC) at the Xishan site in Gansu Province, China. The humans have a very large range of δ13C (−23.3‰ to −7.1‰) and δ15N (4.3‰ to 10.9‰) values which reflects extraordinarily diverse diets and included in…
Isotope and faunal evidence for high levels of freshwater fish consumption by Late Glacial humans at the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Šandalja II, Istria, Croatia
Stable Isotopic Analysis of Human Skeletons from the Sunhung Mural Tomb, Yeongju, Korea: Implication for Human Diet in the Three Kingdoms Period
This study reports the results of stable isotope analyses (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur) of human bone collagen from the Sunhung mural tomb from the Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (AD 300–668). The stable isotope data indicate that the main source of protein in the diet of the interred seven Sunhung individuals came from C3-based terrestrial resources, and there was an isotopic variation between individuals at this site. To investigate dietary pa…
Dental calculus is not equivalent to bone collagen for isotope analysis: A comparison between carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bulk dental calculus, bone and dentine collagen from same i…
There's No Place Like Home’—no Isotopic Evidence for Mobility at the Early Bronze Age Cemetery of Singen, Germany
The Early Bronze Age necropolis of Singen (Hohentwiel), located near Lake Constance, represents a population from a period of technological transition in southwestern Germany. The site contains several graves with metal artefacts that originated in other parts of Central and Western Europe, and therefore these could be interpreted as being the graves of non‐local individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate this possibility through t…
Stuck to the shore? Investigating prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence, mobility and territoriality in a Mediterranean coastal landscape through isotope analyses on marine mollusc shell carbonates …
Aristophanes and stable isotopes: A taste for freshwater fish in Classical Thebes (Greece)
Stable isotopes in skeletons indicate changes in diet, and a sample of humans from Classical Thebes showed an unexpected increase in nitrogen values - usually associated with increased access to protein. But from what and how? After considering the possible sources of meat, milk and manure, the authors highlight the contribution of freshwater fish, and find support in Aristophanes - where the citizens are heard clamouring for the eels of Lake Kop…
Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains from the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Balma Guilanyà, southeastern Pre-Pyrenees, Spain
Isotopic dietary reconstruction of humans from Middle Bronze Age Lerna, Argolid, Greece
Isotopic dietary analysis of a Neanderthal and associated fauna from the site of Jonzac (Charente-Maritime), France
Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan)
The Middle Byzantine menu: Palaeodietary information from isotopic analysis of humans and fauna from Kastella, Crete
We report here on the measurements of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of bone collagen from the Middle Byzantine site of Kastella, in the city of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece. The data derived from the analysis suggest a diet based primarily on terrestrial, C3 protein, probably from animal sources, with the inclusion of some marine protein. The adult diet at this site is relatively uniform, with no detectable differences between …
Marine diets in the European late Upper Paleolithic: A reply to Bocherens and Drucker (2006)
Touch not the fish: The Mesolithic-Neolithic change of diet and its significance
Stable isotope analysis has startled the archaeological community by showing a rapid and widespread change from a marine to terrestrial diet (ie from fish to domesticated plants and animals) as people moved from a Mesolithic to a Neolithic culture. This could be a consequence of domestication, or as Julian Thomas (2003) proposed, of a kind of taboo ('Touch not the fish'). In a key challenge, Nicky Milner and her colleagues (2004) questioned the r…
Stable isotope palaeodietary study of humans and fauna from the multi-period (Iron Age, Viking and Late Medieval) site of Newark Bay, Orkney
Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans
Variations in bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values of fauna from Northwest Europe over the last 40 000 years
Sulphur isotopes in palaeodietary studies: A review and results from a controlled feeding experiment
Recent advances in mass spectrometry now allow relatively routine measurements of sulphur isotopes (δ 34 S) in small samples (>10 mg) of tissue from archaeological human, plant, and faunal samples. δ 34 S values of human and faunal bone collagen can indicate residence or migration and can provide palaeodietary information. Here we present a review of applications of sulphur isotopes to archaeological materials, and we also present preliminary res…
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in tooth dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy
Stable Isotope Evidence of Diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk: Interim Statement
In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was iden…
Stable Isotope Evidence for Similarities in the Types of Marine Foods Used by Late Mesolithic Humans at Sites Along the Atlantic Coast of Europe
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in tooth dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the Medieval Wharram Percy site, Yorkshire, UK
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 recent studies of weaning using δ 15 N values of ribs, and we indicate a number of assumptions that must be met before the results of such studies can be correctly interpreted. We found that rib colla…
Stable isotope palaeodietary study of humans and fauna from the multi-period (Iron Age, Viking and Late Medieval) site of Newark Bay, Orkney
Stable Isotope Analysis Reveals Variations in Human Diet at the Poundbury Camp Cemetery Site
Isotopic dietary analysis of a Neanderthal and associated fauna from the site of Jonzac (Charente-Maritime), France
Stable Isotope Evidence of Diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey
Stable isotopes and the seasonality of the Oronsay middens
Research on six late Mesolithic shell middens on the small Hebridean island of Oronsay address questions of permanent and seasonal occupation. Stable isotope analysis of human bones shows marine resources providing the majority of protein, supporting year-round occupation of Oronsay. One individual, however, demonstrated a mixed diet of marine and terrestrial protein, suggesting seasonal visits and different patterns of site occupation
Dental calculus is not equivalent to bone collagen for isotope analysis: A comparison between carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bulk dental calculus, bone and dentine collagen from same i…
A Neolithic revolution? New evidence of diet in the British Neolithic
Were marine foods still a significant part of the diet in the Early and Middle Neolithic in Britain? This paper presents new evidence, from δ13C measurements of 78 radiocarbon-dated humans from 27 coastal and inland sites in England and Wales, for an apparent abandonment of the use of marine foods in the British Early and Middle Neolithic
Isotopic dietary reconstruction of humans from Middle Bronze Age Lerna, Argolid, Greece
Touch not the fish: The Mesolithic-Neolithic change of diet and its significance
Stable isotope analysis has startled the archaeological community by showing a rapid and widespread change from a marine to terrestrial diet (ie from fish to domesticated plants and animals) as people moved from a Mesolithic to a Neolithic culture. This could be a consequence of domestication, or as Julian Thomas (2003) proposed, of a kind of taboo ('Touch not the fish'). In a key challenge, Nicky Milner and her colleagues (2004) questioned the r…
Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan)
Bone stable isotope evidence for infant feeding in Mediaeval England
This paper is a first study of duration of breastfeeding using bone stable isotopes in infants in a British palaeopopulation, from the deserted Mediaeval village of Wharram Percy, England. Nitrogen stable isotope analysis suggests cessation of breastfeeding between 1 and 2 years of age. Comparison with Mediaeval documentary sources suggests that recommendations of physicians regarding infant feeding may have influenced common practice in this per…
The Wet, the Wild and the Domesticated: The Mesolithic-- Neolithic Transition On the West Coast of Scotland
Models of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain in recent years have tended to downplay the role of changes in the subsistence economy, emphasizing a very gradual adoption of new domesticated resources. This view has been particularly pervasive for the west coast of Scotland, which in the context of Britain presents a relatively marginal environment for farming. In this article, we challenge this too-quickly emerging orthodoxy through th…
Focus: Gough's Cave and Sun Hole Cave Human Stable Isotope Values Indicate a High Animal Protein Diet in the British Upper Palaeolithic
Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans
Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains from the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Balma Guilanyà, southeastern Pre-Pyrenees, Spain
Neolithic diet at the Brochtorff Circle, Malta
From Neolithic Malta, there is evidence of increasing population size accompanied by increasingly elaborate material culture, including the famous megalithic architecture. Stoddart et al. (1993) argued that social tensions and controls increased as food resources diminished. One important requirement of this argument is that the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta depended entirely on domesticated plants and animals for subsistence and therefore, with…
Isotopic Reconstruction of the Late Longshan Period (ca. 4200-3900 BP) Dietary Complexity before the Onset of State-Level Societies at the Wadian Site in the Ying River Valley, Central Plains, China
During the late Longshan period (ca. 4200-3900 BP) settlements on the Central Plains of China underwent a diversification in food production technologies, which set the stage for rapid economic and social development. The introduction of novel domesticates such as rice, wheat, cattle, and sheep not only provided more food choices, but also changed ideas concerning land use, farming techniques, and the use and mobilization of large scale labor for…
The Middle Byzantine menu: Palaeodietary information from isotopic analysis of humans and fauna from Kastella, Crete
We report here on the measurements of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of bone collagen from the Middle Byzantine site of Kastella, in the city of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece. The data derived from the analysis suggest a diet based primarily on terrestrial, C3 protein, probably from animal sources, with the inclusion of some marine protein. The adult diet at this site is relatively uniform, with no detectable differences between …
New AMS dates on human bone from Mesolithic Oronsay
Continuing our focus on the Hebridean Mesolithic, this paper describes new dating on the human bone from Oronsay, showing that late Mesolithic occupation may coincide with the coming of the Neolithic
Isotope and faunal evidence for high levels of freshwater fish consumption by Late Glacial humans at the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Šandalja II, Istria, Croatia
Marine diets in the European late Upper Paleolithic: A reply to Bocherens and Drucker (2006)
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk: Interim Statement
In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was iden…
Stable Isotope Analysis Reveals Variations in Human Diet at the Poundbury Camp Cemetery Site
Stable isotopes and the seasonality of the Oronsay middens
Research on six late Mesolithic shell middens on the small Hebridean island of Oronsay address questions of permanent and seasonal occupation. Stable isotope analysis of human bones shows marine resources providing the majority of protein, supporting year-round occupation of Oronsay. One individual, however, demonstrated a mixed diet of marine and terrestrial protein, suggesting seasonal visits and different patterns of site occupation
Stable Isotope Evidence for Similarities in the Types of Marine Foods Used by Late Mesolithic Humans at Sites Along the Atlantic Coast of Europe
A Neolithic revolution? New evidence of diet in the British Neolithic
Were marine foods still a significant part of the diet in the Early and Middle Neolithic in Britain? This paper presents new evidence, from δ13C measurements of 78 radiocarbon-dated humans from 27 coastal and inland sites in England and Wales, for an apparent abandonment of the use of marine foods in the British Early and Middle Neolithic
Focus: Gough's Cave and Sun Hole Cave Human Stable Isotope Values Indicate a High Animal Protein Diet in the British Upper Palaeolithic
New AMS dates on human bone from Mesolithic Oronsay
Continuing our focus on the Hebridean Mesolithic, this paper describes new dating on the human bone from Oronsay, showing that late Mesolithic occupation may coincide with the coming of the Neolithic
Sulphur isotopic variation in ancient bone collagen from Europe: Implications for human palaeodiet, residence mobility, and modern pollutant studies
Neolithic diet at the Brochtorff Circle, Malta
From Neolithic Malta, there is evidence of increasing population size accompanied by increasingly elaborate material culture, including the famous megalithic architecture. Stoddart et al. (1993) argued that social tensions and controls increased as food resources diminished. One important requirement of this argument is that the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta depended entirely on domesticated plants and animals for subsistence and therefore, with…
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the Medieval Wharram Percy site, Yorkshire, UK
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 recent studies of weaning using δ 15 N values of ribs, and we indicate a number of assumptions that must be met before the results of such studies can be correctly interpreted. We found that rib colla…
The Wet, the Wild and the Domesticated: The Mesolithic-- Neolithic Transition On the West Coast of Scotland
Models of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain in recent years have tended to downplay the role of changes in the subsistence economy, emphasizing a very gradual adoption of new domesticated resources. This view has been particularly pervasive for the west coast of Scotland, which in the context of Britain presents a relatively marginal environment for farming. In this article, we challenge this too-quickly emerging orthodoxy through th…
Bone stable isotope evidence for infant feeding in Mediaeval England
This paper is a first study of duration of breastfeeding using bone stable isotopes in infants in a British palaeopopulation, from the deserted Mediaeval village of Wharram Percy, England. Nitrogen stable isotope analysis suggests cessation of breastfeeding between 1 and 2 years of age. Comparison with Mediaeval documentary sources suggests that recommendations of physicians regarding infant feeding may have influenced common practice in this per…
Variations in bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values of fauna from Northwest Europe over the last 40 000 years
Sulphur isotopes in palaeodietary studies: A review and results from a controlled feeding experiment
Recent advances in mass spectrometry now allow relatively routine measurements of sulphur isotopes (δ 34 S) in small samples (>10 mg) of tissue from archaeological human, plant, and faunal samples. δ 34 S values of human and faunal bone collagen can indicate residence or migration and can provide palaeodietary information. Here we present a review of applications of sulphur isotopes to archaeological materials, and we also present preliminary res…
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in tooth dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy
Stable Isotope Evidence of Diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk: Interim Statement
In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was iden…
Stable isotope palaeodietary study of humans and fauna from the multi-period (Iron Age, Viking and Late Medieval) site of Newark Bay, Orkney
Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans
Marine diets in the European late Upper Paleolithic: A reply to Bocherens and Drucker (2006)
Touch not the fish: The Mesolithic-Neolithic change of diet and its significance
Stable isotope analysis has startled the archaeological community by showing a rapid and widespread change from a marine to terrestrial diet (ie from fish to domesticated plants and animals) as people moved from a Mesolithic to a Neolithic culture. This could be a consequence of domestication, or as Julian Thomas (2003) proposed, of a kind of taboo ('Touch not the fish'). In a key challenge, Nicky Milner and her colleagues (2004) questioned the r…
Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan)
The Middle Byzantine menu: Palaeodietary information from isotopic analysis of humans and fauna from Kastella, Crete
We report here on the measurements of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of bone collagen from the Middle Byzantine site of Kastella, in the city of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece. The data derived from the analysis suggest a diet based primarily on terrestrial, C3 protein, probably from animal sources, with the inclusion of some marine protein. The adult diet at this site is relatively uniform, with no detectable differences between …
Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains from the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Balma Guilanyà, southeastern Pre-Pyrenees, Spain
Isotopic dietary reconstruction of humans from Middle Bronze Age Lerna, Argolid, Greece
Isotopic dietary analysis of a Neanderthal and associated fauna from the site of Jonzac (Charente-Maritime), France
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (36 works) · Geography (30 works) · Archaeology (28 works) · Biology (25 works) · Isotope Analysis in Ecology (24 works) · Stable isotope ratio (19 works) · Ecology (18 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (17 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (17 works) · Isotope analysis (16 works)