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Hedeby was the largest town in the Viking North. Investigations have identified imports at the site from central and northern Scandinavia revealing long-distance connections. The chronology of this trade, however, is unclear. Here, the authors use a typological-biomolecular approach to examine connections during the early Viking Age. The application of ZooMS to an assemblage of antler combs, stylistically dated to the ninth century AD, reveals nearly all were made of reindeer antler. As most craft production waste from Hedeby comprises red deer antler, it is argued that these combs were manufactured elsewhere, perhaps hundreds of kilometres further north. The results have implications for understanding of production and regional connectivity in early medieval Scandinavia. Keywords: Scandinavia, Viking Age, ZooMS, reindeer, antler combs, trade network, connectivity, Introduction An emerging trend in the study of Viking Age Scandinavia is the connectivity of towns and elite residences with outlands: that is, areas that lay outwith a settlement's associated [...]

The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) was an important large carnivore of Pleistocene ecosystems in Africa and Eurasia. Like its modern relatives, this obligate carnivore was adapted to crush and digest bones of its prey and absorb organic matter from bones more efficiently than any other carnivore. This difference in the nutrient resource use between hyenas and most other carnivores led to differences in the isotope flux and variation in the carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition. In our paper, we assess the prey-to-hyena collagen-to-collagen Δ 13C and Δ 15N trophic discrimination factor (TDF), a key parameter needed in mixing models used for quantitative reconstruction of diet. We analyzed a Pleistocene hyena den bone accumulation in Perspektywiczna Cave (Poland), with a preserved assemblage of remains containing both hyenas and a wide spectrum of their prey represented by digested bones. With the use of proteomics-based taxonomic identification (ZooMS), we estimated the proportion of prey species in the hyena diet. The modeled collagen-to-collagen TDFs are around +1.6‰ to +1.7‰ for δ 13C and around +3.4‰ to +3.5‰ for δ 15N. This study provides new data on the dietary habits of this large carnivore and allows for a more accurate use of isotopic signals in modeling past hyena diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians and archaeologists have been debating the scale of animal husbandry in ancient Greece for decades. This study contributes to the debate by examining Classical and Hellenistic faunal assemblages from Magoula Plataniotki, New Halos, and Pherae through non-destructive zooarchaeological methods and a multi-isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C, and δ18O) approach. Zooarchaeological data suggest that small-scale sedentary animal husbandry focused on caprine production in Magoula Plataniotiki and New Halos, and small-scale and semi-specialised animal husbandry was practised in Pherae. Isotopic data show both sedentary and mobile management of livestock in all sites, indicating different levels of production intensity and variety of goals. Based on our results, we propose an economic model whereby semi-specialised and small-scale animal husbandry co-existed, confirming mixed husbandry models for ancient Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and research aim: Escalating anthropogenic threats to the Atlantic Forest, a renowned biodiversity hotspot, has placed the region in the spotlight for current conservation efforts. Faunal overexploitation and habitat degradation are among key factors driving the region's recent declines in faunal populations and biodiversity. Assessing the scale of these impacts is complicated by the near-complete absence of historical reference baselines. Methodology: Here, we provide a contribution to bridge this knowledge gap by analysing faunal remains from two historical archaeological sites, Morro Grande 1 (MG1) and Praia Grande Unidade 21 (PG-U21), in Babitonga Bay (Santa Catarina state, Brazil) dated between 1750 to 1950 AD. Results: Our results revealed that fishing and hunting played a crucial role in household consumption and economic livelihoods during the European colonisation of southern Brazil. Native terrestrial mammals made up a significant proportion of faunal remains at both sites. This suggests that species currently undergoing population declines were exploited in the region for at least the past two centuries. Conclusion: This study provides compelling evidence that the selective hunting of medium- and large-bodied native terrestrial mammals has persisted in the region for over 4500 years, and requires us to reconsider the idea of a heavy reliance on domestic animals during early European colonisation of southern Brazil. Our study thus traces the causes of regional terrestrial mammal defaunation back to the Pre-colonial and Historical times. Implication for conservation: We recommend the integration of historical and archaeological data into modern faunal population assessments and conservation initiatives to set more informed reference baselines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Eggshells are unusual finds in the Iron Age of eastern Europe (500 BC-1200 AD) deserving extra attention in terms of analysis as well as interpretation. This paper discusses two rare eggshell finds, discovered in female burials at the conversion period (12th-13th century AD) cemetery at Kukruse, NE Estonia. Our multianalytical study combining FT-IR, SEM(-EDS), microscopy and ZooMS provides an overview of methods applicable for identifying egg species, their predepositional history and curation. Based on the analytical results and the comparative analysis of the content and context of these two burials, we argue that different aims and connotations lay behind depositing eggs as burial goods, allowing well-supported interpretations of both pagan and Christian religious worldviews simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]