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The study of past subsistence offers archeologists a lens through which we can understand relationships between people and their homelands. səl̓ilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) is a Coast Salish Nation whose traditional and unceded territory centers on səl̓ilwət (Tsleil-Wat, Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada). səl̓ilwətaɬ people were fish specialists whose traditional diet focused primarily on marine and tidal protein sources. In this research, we draw on the archeological record, ecology, historical and archival records, and səl̓ilwətaɬ oral histories and community knowledge to build an estimated precontact diet that ancestral səl̓ilwətaɬ people obtained from səl̓ilwət. Based on prior archeological research, we assume a high protein diet that is primarily (90–100 percent) from marine and tidal sources. The four pillars of səl̓ilwətaɬ precontact diets (salmon, forage fish, shellfish, and marine birds) offer anchor points that ensure the diet is realistic, evidence-based, and representative of community knowledge. We consider the caloric needs of adults, children, elders, and those who are pregnant or lactating. Finally, we consider the variation in the edible yield from different animal species and their relationships in the food web. Together, these data and anchor points build an estimated precontact diet averaged across seasons, ages, and biological sex from approximately 1000 CE up until early European contact in approximately 1792 CE. The reconstruction of səl̓ilwətaɬ lifeways and subsistence practices, which were based on a myriad of stewardship techniques, aid our understanding of the precontact səl̓ilwətaɬ diet and the relationship between səl̓ilwətaɬ and their territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmon are an essential component of the ecosystem in Tsleil-Waututh Nation's traditional, ancestral, and contemporary unceded territory, centred on present-day Burrard Inlet, BC, Canada, where Tsleil-Waututh people have been harvesting salmon, along with a wide variety of other fishes, for millennia. Tsleil-Waututh Nation is a Coast Salish community that has called the Inlet home since time immemorial. This research assesses the continuity and sustainability of the salmon fishery at təmtəmíxʷtən, an ancestral Tsleil-Waututh settlement in the Inlet, over thousands of years before European contact (1792 CE). We apply Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) analysis to 245 archaeological salmon vertebrae to identify the species that were harvested by the ancestral Tsleil-Waututh community that lived at təmtəmíxʷtən. The results demonstrate that Tsleil-Waututh communities consistently and preferentially fished for chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) over the period of almost 3,000 years. The consistent abundance indicates a sustainable chum salmon fishery over that time, and a strong salmon-to-people relationship through perhaps 100 generations. This research supports Tsleil-Waututh Nation's stewardship obligations under their ancestral legal principles to maintain conditions that uphold the Nation's way of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe witnessed the replacement and partial absorption of local Neanderthal populations by Homo sapiens populations of African origin1. However, this process probably varied across regions and its details remain largely unknown. In particular, the duration of chronological overlap between the two groups is much debated, as are the implications of this overlap for the nature of the biological and cultural interactions between Neanderthals and H. sapiens. Here we report the discovery and direct dating of human remains found in association with Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefacts2, from excavations at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria). Morphological analysis of a tooth and mitochondrial DNA from several hominin bone fragments, identified through proteomic screening, assign these finds to H. sapiens and link the expansion of Initial Upper Palaeolithic technologies with the spread of H. sapiens into the mid-latitudes of Eurasia before 45 thousand years ago3. The excavations yielded a wealth of bone artefacts, including pendants manufactured from cave bear teeth that are reminiscent of those later produced by the last Neanderthals of western Europe4–6. These finds are consistent with models based on the arrival of multiple waves of H. sapiens into Europe coming into contact with declining Neanderthal populations7,8. Direct dates for human remains found in association with Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefacts at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) demonstrate the presence of Homo sapiens in the mid-latitudes of Europe before 45 thousand years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early Christian sculpture from Kinneddar has long been noted as a major assemblage. New survey work by the University of Aberdeen and AOC Archaeology has identified a large vallum enclosure around the site that was renewed on at least one occasion. The vallum enclosures surrounded an area of up to 8.6ha, and the groundplan presents striking resemblances to other major ecclesiastical sites, particularly Iona. Evaluative excavations instigated through research- and development-led projects have provided an outline chronology for the vallum enclosures, identified an additional annexe and located settlement features inside the enclosures. Radiocarbon dating suggests activity as early as the late 6th century, with the vallum likely to date to the 7th or 8th century. This article sets out the evidence from the site and discusses Kinneddar in relation to other likely major ecclesiastical sites in northern Pictland and its wider early medieval Insular context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]