Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland

Christophe Snoeck; Carleton Jones; John Pouncett; Steven Goderis; Philippe Claeys; Nadine Mattielli; Antoine Zazzo; Paula J. Reimer; Julia A. Lee-Thorp; Rick J. Schulting

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214

Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland

Christophe Snoeck, Carleton Jones, John Pouncett, Steven Goderis, Philippe Claeys, Nadine Mattielli, Antoine Zazzo, Paula J. Reimer, Julia A. Lee-Thorp, Rick J. Schulting

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

121 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study using strontium, oxygen and carbon isotopes, strontium concentrations, infrared analyses and radiocarbon dating to investigate human mobility and landscape use as seen in individuals from the Neolithic court tomb of Parknabinnia, Co. Clare, Ireland. Taking advantage of the recent demonstration that it is possible to obtain reliable in vivo strontium isotope signals from calcined bone, we compare measurements on cremated bone (n = 4) and uncremated tooth enamel (n = 4). The results suggest that two out of four uncremated enamel samples can be considered ‘local’ while the other two, and all four cremated bone samples, represent ‘non-local’ individuals. New radiocarbon dates obtained on two of the cremated bone fragments place them in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age, contrasting with the Neolithic dates previously obtained on the uncremated remains, demonstrating re-use of the monument. Assuming that our small sample is representative, it seems that the court tomb was used for burial by both ‘locals’ and ‘non-locals’ during the Neolithic and predominantly by ‘non-locals’ in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age. This stands in contrast to the nearby Early Neolithic portal tomb of Poulnabrone where only one individual (of 17 analysed) appears to be an ‘outsider’. Our results suggest that, even within a small region, mobility and landscape use may have differed significantly within the Neolithic and also between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.

Original language	English
Article number	102214
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Volume	30
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214
Publication status	Published - Apr 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was made possible by the financial support of the British Academy (British Academy grant SG130690 ).‘Coming to Knowth’, the Quaternary Research Association, and the generous support of the Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards the DPhil of C.S. The VUB and VUB Strategic Research fund are thanked for their financial support for analyses; the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is thanked for C.S.’s and S.G.’s postdoctoral fellowships. We thank D. Fiorillo and J. Ughetto (SSMIM) for their help with the isotope measurements at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. W. Debouge and J. de Jong from the G-Time Laboratory (Géochimie: Traçage isotopique, minéral et élémentaire) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) are acknowledged for their help with the strontium isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS. We are grateful to the National Museum of Ireland for permitting the analysis of the Parknabinnia material. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments.

Funding Information:
This research was made possible by the financial support of the British Academy(British Academy grant SG130690).‘Coming to Knowth’, the Quaternary Research Association, and the generous support of the Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards the DPhil of C.S. The VUB and VUB Strategic Research fund are thanked for their financial support for analyses; the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is thanked for C.S.’s and S.G.’s postdoctoral fellowships. We thank D. Fiorillo and J. Ughetto (SSMIM) for their help with the isotope measurements at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. W. Debouge and J. de Jong from the G-Time Laboratory (Géochimie: Traçage isotopique, minéral et élémentaire) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) are acknowledged for their help with the strontium isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS. We are grateful to the National Museum of Ireland for permitting the analysis of the Parknabinnia material. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

Cremation
Isotopes
Mobility
Ireland

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214

Parknabinnia_JASRep_PrePrintSubmitted manuscript, 1.3 MBLicence: Unspecified

1 Finished
3 Active

OZR3252: Cofinancing OZR FWO Hercules MZW equipment: A walk on the wild side of stable isotope biogeochemistry...
Claeys, P., Elskens, M., Olde Venterink, H., Nys, K., Tys, D., Kervyn De Meerendre, M., Huybrechts, P., Van Griensven, A., Huysmans, M., Thiery, W. & Snoeck, C.
1/05/18 → 30/04/23
Project: Fundamental
OZR3120: International Joint Research Group: Brussels-Oxford Network for the study of bioapatite as a poorly exploited archive of ancient diet, ecology and migration of human and faunal fossils
Claeys, P., Snoeck, C., Schulting, R. & Matielli, N.
29/03/17 → 27/03/26
Project: Policy Based
SRP2: Strategic Research Programme: Tracing and Modelling of Past & Present Global Changes
Claeys, P., Elskens, M., Huybrechts, P., Gao, Y., Kervyn De Meerendre, M., Claeys, P., Baeyens, W. & Dehairs, F.
1/11/12 → 31/10/24
Project: Fundamental

AMGC - Fourier Transform Infra-Red Lab
Philippe Claeys (Scientific coordinator) & Christophe Snoeck (Infrastructure coordinator)
Analytical, Environmental
Facility/equipment: Facility › no e-resource/single sited
AMGC - Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (IRMS)
Philippe Claeys (Manager) & David Verstraeten (Infrastructure coordinator)
Analytical, Environmental
Facility/equipment: Facility › no e-resource/single sited

Cite this

Snoeck, C., Jones, C., Pouncett, J., Goderis, S., Claeys, P., Mattielli, N., Zazzo, A., Reimer, P. J., Lee-Thorp, J. A., & Schulting, R. J. (2020). Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 30, [102214]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214

Snoeck, Christophe ; Jones, Carleton ; Pouncett, John ; Goderis, Steven ; Claeys, Philippe ; Mattielli, Nadine ; Zazzo, Antoine ; Reimer, Paula J. ; Lee-Thorp, Julia A. ; Schulting, Rick J. / Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland. In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 2020 ; Vol. 30.

@article{16a04c3ecba448b9873c2caa907050f9,

title = "Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland",

abstract = "This paper presents the results of a study using strontium, oxygen and carbon isotopes, strontium concentrations, infrared analyses and radiocarbon dating to investigate human mobility and landscape use as seen in individuals from the Neolithic court tomb of Parknabinnia, Co. Clare, Ireland. Taking advantage of the recent demonstration that it is possible to obtain reliable in vivo strontium isotope signals from calcined bone, we compare measurements on cremated bone (n = 4) and uncremated tooth enamel (n = 4). The results suggest that two out of four uncremated enamel samples can be considered {\textquoteleft}local{\textquoteright} while the other two, and all four cremated bone samples, represent {\textquoteleft}non-local{\textquoteright} individuals. New radiocarbon dates obtained on two of the cremated bone fragments place them in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age, contrasting with the Neolithic dates previously obtained on the uncremated remains, demonstrating re-use of the monument. Assuming that our small sample is representative, it seems that the court tomb was used for burial by both {\textquoteleft}locals{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}non-locals{\textquoteright} during the Neolithic and predominantly by {\textquoteleft}non-locals{\textquoteright} in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age. This stands in contrast to the nearby Early Neolithic portal tomb of Poulnabrone where only one individual (of 17 analysed) appears to be an {\textquoteleft}outsider{\textquoteright}. Our results suggest that, even within a small region, mobility and landscape use may have differed significantly within the Neolithic and also between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.",

keywords = "Cremation, Isotopes, Mobility, Ireland",

author = "Christophe Snoeck and Carleton Jones and John Pouncett and Steven Goderis and Philippe Claeys and Nadine Mattielli and Antoine Zazzo and Reimer, {Paula J.} and Lee-Thorp, {Julia A.} and Schulting, {Rick J.}",

note = "Funding Information: This research was made possible by the financial support of the British Academy (British Academy grant SG130690 ).{\textquoteleft}Coming to Knowth{\textquoteright}, the Quaternary Research Association, and the generous support of the Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards the DPhil of C.S. The VUB and VUB Strategic Research fund are thanked for their financial support for analyses; the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is thanked for C.S.{\textquoteright}s and S.G.{\textquoteright}s postdoctoral fellowships. We thank D. Fiorillo and J. Ughetto (SSMIM) for their help with the isotope measurements at the Mus{\'e}um national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. W. Debouge and J. de Jong from the G-Time Laboratory (G{\'e}ochimie: Tra{\c c}age isotopique, min{\'e}ral et {\'e}l{\'e}mentaire) of the Universit{\'e} Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) are acknowledged for their help with the strontium isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS. We are grateful to the National Museum of Ireland for permitting the analysis of the Parknabinnia material. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments. Funding Information: This research was made possible by the financial support of the British Academy(British Academy grant SG130690).{\textquoteleft}Coming to Knowth{\textquoteright}, the Quaternary Research Association, and the generous support of the Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards the DPhil of C.S. The VUB and VUB Strategic Research fund are thanked for their financial support for analyses; the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is thanked for C.S.{\textquoteright}s and S.G.{\textquoteright}s postdoctoral fellowships. We thank D. Fiorillo and J. Ughetto (SSMIM) for their help with the isotope measurements at the Mus{\'e}um national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. W. Debouge and J. de Jong from the G-Time Laboratory (G{\'e}ochimie: Tra{\c c}age isotopique, min{\'e}ral et {\'e}l{\'e}mentaire) of the Universit{\'e} Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) are acknowledged for their help with the strontium isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS. We are grateful to the National Museum of Ireland for permitting the analysis of the Parknabinnia material. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2020",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214",

language = "English",

volume = "30",

journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports",

issn = "2352-409X",

publisher = "Elsevier BV",

}

Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland. / Snoeck, Christophe; Jones, Carleton; Pouncett, John; Goderis, Steven ; Claeys, Philippe; Mattielli, Nadine; Zazzo, Antoine; Reimer, Paula J.; Lee-Thorp, Julia A.; Schulting, Rick J.

In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Vol. 30, 102214, 04.2020.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland

AU - Snoeck, Christophe

AU - Jones, Carleton

AU - Pouncett, John

AU - Goderis, Steven

AU - Claeys, Philippe

AU - Mattielli, Nadine

AU - Zazzo, Antoine

AU - Reimer, Paula J.

AU - Lee-Thorp, Julia A.

AU - Schulting, Rick J.

N1 - Funding Information: This research was made possible by the financial support of the British Academy (British Academy grant SG130690 ).‘Coming to Knowth’, the Quaternary Research Association, and the generous support of the Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards the DPhil of C.S. The VUB and VUB Strategic Research fund are thanked for their financial support for analyses; the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is thanked for C.S.’s and S.G.’s postdoctoral fellowships. We thank D. Fiorillo and J. Ughetto (SSMIM) for their help with the isotope measurements at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. W. Debouge and J. de Jong from the G-Time Laboratory (Géochimie: Traçage isotopique, minéral et élémentaire) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) are acknowledged for their help with the strontium isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS. We are grateful to the National Museum of Ireland for permitting the analysis of the Parknabinnia material. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments. Funding Information: This research was made possible by the financial support of the British Academy(British Academy grant SG130690).‘Coming to Knowth’, the Quaternary Research Association, and the generous support of the Philippe Wiener-Maurice Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards the DPhil of C.S. The VUB and VUB Strategic Research fund are thanked for their financial support for analyses; the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is thanked for C.S.’s and S.G.’s postdoctoral fellowships. We thank D. Fiorillo and J. Ughetto (SSMIM) for their help with the isotope measurements at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. W. Debouge and J. de Jong from the G-Time Laboratory (Géochimie: Traçage isotopique, minéral et élémentaire) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) are acknowledged for their help with the strontium isotope analyses by MC-ICP-MS. We are grateful to the National Museum of Ireland for permitting the analysis of the Parknabinnia material. We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2020/4

Y1 - 2020/4

N2 - This paper presents the results of a study using strontium, oxygen and carbon isotopes, strontium concentrations, infrared analyses and radiocarbon dating to investigate human mobility and landscape use as seen in individuals from the Neolithic court tomb of Parknabinnia, Co. Clare, Ireland. Taking advantage of the recent demonstration that it is possible to obtain reliable in vivo strontium isotope signals from calcined bone, we compare measurements on cremated bone (n = 4) and uncremated tooth enamel (n = 4). The results suggest that two out of four uncremated enamel samples can be considered ‘local’ while the other two, and all four cremated bone samples, represent ‘non-local’ individuals. New radiocarbon dates obtained on two of the cremated bone fragments place them in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age, contrasting with the Neolithic dates previously obtained on the uncremated remains, demonstrating re-use of the monument. Assuming that our small sample is representative, it seems that the court tomb was used for burial by both ‘locals’ and ‘non-locals’ during the Neolithic and predominantly by ‘non-locals’ in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age. This stands in contrast to the nearby Early Neolithic portal tomb of Poulnabrone where only one individual (of 17 analysed) appears to be an ‘outsider’. Our results suggest that, even within a small region, mobility and landscape use may have differed significantly within the Neolithic and also between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.

AB - This paper presents the results of a study using strontium, oxygen and carbon isotopes, strontium concentrations, infrared analyses and radiocarbon dating to investigate human mobility and landscape use as seen in individuals from the Neolithic court tomb of Parknabinnia, Co. Clare, Ireland. Taking advantage of the recent demonstration that it is possible to obtain reliable in vivo strontium isotope signals from calcined bone, we compare measurements on cremated bone (n = 4) and uncremated tooth enamel (n = 4). The results suggest that two out of four uncremated enamel samples can be considered ‘local’ while the other two, and all four cremated bone samples, represent ‘non-local’ individuals. New radiocarbon dates obtained on two of the cremated bone fragments place them in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age, contrasting with the Neolithic dates previously obtained on the uncremated remains, demonstrating re-use of the monument. Assuming that our small sample is representative, it seems that the court tomb was used for burial by both ‘locals’ and ‘non-locals’ during the Neolithic and predominantly by ‘non-locals’ in the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age. This stands in contrast to the nearby Early Neolithic portal tomb of Poulnabrone where only one individual (of 17 analysed) appears to be an ‘outsider’. Our results suggest that, even within a small region, mobility and landscape use may have differed significantly within the Neolithic and also between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.

KW - Cremation

KW - Isotopes

KW - Mobility

KW - Ireland

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078229958&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214

DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102214

M3 - Article

VL - 30

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

SN - 2352-409X

M1 - 102214

ER -

Isotopic evidence for changing mobility and landscape use patterns between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in western Ireland

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Projects

OZR3252: Cofinancing OZR FWO Hercules MZW equipment: A walk on the wild side of stable isotope biogeochemistry...

OZR3120: International Joint Research Group: Brussels-Oxford Network for the study of bioapatite as a poorly exploited archive of ancient diet, ecology and migration of human and faunal fossils

SRP2: Strategic Research Programme: Tracing and Modelling of Past & Present Global Changes

Equipment

AMGC - Fourier Transform Infra-Red Lab

AMGC - Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (IRMS)

Cite this