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This study reports the first dietary stable isotope data from Iron Age in Latvia. Archaeological, osteological, genetic, and stable isotope data from the Lejasbitēni cemetery were used to study gendered differences in childhood diet expressed in stable isotope ratios with social status expressed in grave goods, in this population from the 7th – 10th centuries CE. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis showed significant differences in childhood diet between male and female gendered individuals, indicating that gender might have been a key factor for dietary differences in children. There were no significant dietary differences within the gender groups in adults of differential social status expressed in grave goods, suggesting no link between childhood diet and social status in adulthood, although the sample size was very small. A change towards a more hierarchical society was observed in the later period of the cemetery, expressed in the appearance of more elaborately furnished burials, rare grave goods, and a new burial tradition. All these changes were contemporary with the development of the Viking Age in Northern Europe, and thus possibly signified external cultural influence. Ancient DNA analysis showed that gender as expressed by grave goods corresponded with biological sex in two individuals with the highest quality aDNA, while biological sex could not be confirmed in the other five tested individuals.

This study investigated subsistence economy and dietary changes during the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages (the 5th to 2nd millennium BCE) in the Central Iranian Plateau through a study of skeletal remains buried at Tepe Hissar, Iran. Tepe Hissar experienced widespread socio-cultural and economic transitions during this period. These changes were accompanied by conflict, site abandonment, and reoccupation. This research hypothesised that these socio-cultural and economic changes impacted the subsistence economy and diet of the population. δ13C and δ15N was analysed in human bone collagen from 69 adult male and female skeletons from Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Tepe Hissar (Hissar I, II, and III Period). The data showed no significant change in diet during this time, with both sexes from different age-categories having a similar diet. This data did not support the working hypothesis stating that some dietary changes, probably, had occurred in this long period. The isotopic evidences suggested a mixed diet based on C3 terrestrial plants, animal protein, and a small proportion of fresh water resources. Thus the Tepe Hissar population may have had access to similar food resources during the three millennia of its existence, possibly due to climate continuity in this region. However, the remarkable cultural changes evidenced at this site appear not to have had a significant impact on the diet of people during this time.

Retinoic acid signalling is generally considered to be of animal origin. Recently, retinoic acid has been identified in cyanobacteria, yet no mechanism for its production has been identified. Here, we characterise for the first time a cyanobacterial aldehyde dehydrogenase that produces retinoic acid in vitro. Our computational studies suggest that the cyanobacterial aldehyde dehydrogenase resembles an ancestor of both eukaryotic aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2. The Chlorogloeopsis fritschii aldehyde dehydrogenase described here may find applications in synthetic production of retinoic acid as well as contributing to our understanding of retinoid synthesis in cyanobacteria. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.]

The Atacama Desert is one of the most inhospitable terrestrial environments on Earth, yet the upwelling of the Humboldt Current off the coast has resulted in the presence of a rich marine biota. It is this marine environment which first enabled the human settlement of the northern Atacama Desert, and continues to form the basis of regional economies today. In this paper we explore how the desert has shaped human dietary choices throughout prehistory, using carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen (n = 80) to reconstruct the diets of the inhabitants of the Arica region of the northern Atacama. This area is one of the driest parts of the desert, but has been generally understudied in terms of dietary adaptation. Statistical analysis using FRUITS has allowed deconvolution of isotopic signals to create dietary reconstructions and highlight the continued importance of marine resources throughout the archaeological sequence. Location also appears to have played a role in dietary choices, with inland sites having 10–20% less calories from marine foods than coastal sites. We also highlight evidence for the increasing importance of maize consumption, coinciding with contact with highland polities. In all periods apart from the earliest Archaic, however, there is significant variability between individuals in terms of dietary resource use. We conclude that marine resource use, and broad-spectrum economies persisted throughout prehistory. We interpret these results as reflecting a deliberate choice to retain dietary diversity as a buffer against resource instability.

The transition from Roman Britain to early Anglo-Saxon England, traditionally described as the Adventus Saxonum and associated with a large-scale invasion by Germanic peoples, has been the subject of much debate. The archaeological record does not support a replacement of the local Romano-British population with Germanic incomers, and alternative explanations for the transition argue for a much smaller contribution of Germanic immigrants. As a contribution to this debate and to address the question of the number of immigrants, we have applied strontium and oxygen isotope analysis to study residential mobility in a sample of 19 individuals from the early Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Eastbourne, Sussex, on the southern English coast. Local variation in bio-available strontium isotope ratios was established by sampling soils from different geological substrates within 19 km of the cemetery and from a small sample of domestic animals recovered from the graves. Four individuals are likely continental immigrants, three others could be, but could also originate elsewhere in the British Isles, and two women are likely immigrants from nearby communities. The identified immigrants at Eastbourne show a temporal spread and lack of wealth expressed as grave goods. This pattern is not consistent with simple models of mass invasion, elite takeover or acculturation. Our results, together with other recent findings, imply that the Adventus Saxonum involved diverse migratory and demographic processes.

This study investigated the ancestry, childhood residency and diet of 22 individuals buried at an A.D. 2nd and 4th century cemetery at Lant Street, in the southern burial area of Roman London. The possible presence of migrants was investigated using macromorphoscopics to assess ancestry, carbon and nitrogen isotopes to study diet, and oxygen isotopes to examine migration. Diets were found to be primarily C3-based with limited input of aquatic resources, in contrast to some other populations in Roman Britain and proximity to the River Thames. The skeletal morphology showed the likely African ancestry of four individuals, and Asian ancestry of two individuals, with oxygen isotopes indicating a circum-Mediterranean origin for five individuals. Our data suggests that the population of the southern suburb had an ongoing connection with immigrants, especially those from the southern Mediterranean.

Publisher Summary The chapter provides information on the second harmonic imaging microscopy. Over the past three decades, the physical phenomenon of optical second harmonic generation (SHG) has been used to study interfaces between materials and has been adapted for the purposes of microscopy. SHG is a nonlinear optical process that can take place in a microscope that uses illumination from ultrafast (near-infrared) laser light. One of the first demonstrations of SHG from a biological specimen was of bacteriorhodopsin in a membrane preparation. More recently, SHG microscope images are obtained when one leaflet of the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane is stained with a dye that enhances SHG. SHG is a less efficient process than 2PF but can be significantly resonance enhanced. However, because excited fluorescence (2PF) still results in some photobleaching at the focus, the best wavelengths for SHG are on the edges of two-photon excitation bands, enhancing SHG while reducing absorption.