There is a strong relation between people’s structured identities and their chemical biographies: these canreflect the way individuals choose to reside and/or move. The strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of skeletal re-mains is considered a useful proxy to assess residential mobility and social practices in past populations;however, so far, it has only occasionally been applied to prehistoric contexts in the Mediterranean. In this pa-per, we present87Sr/86Sr data of human and animal samples from several Neolithic sites in the ApulianTavoliere (southeastern Italy), namely, Grotta Scaloria, Passo di Corvo, Masseria Candelaro and LaTorretta/Poggio Imperiale. Data obtained from dental enamel reflect the local origin of the individuals andallowed us to differentiate function and meaning of the sites examined. In particular, within a generally homo-geneous background of Sr signatures, the range of87Sr/86Sr at Scaloria Cave is greater than at the other sites,with variation likely to be related to funerary practices. We interpret this as the evidence of the ritual use of thecave, which implied the gathering of people of different origin. The relative variation of the Sr signature amongindividuals, either intersite or intrasite can be tentatively associated with mobility during life as well as withsocial practices, such as access to foods from geologically different environments.
Life and death in Neolithic Southeastern Italy. The strontium isotopic evidence / Tafuri, M. A.; Fullagar, P. D.; O'Connell, T. C.; Belcastro, M. G.; Iacumin, Paola; Conati Barbaro, C.; Sanseverino, R.; Robb, J.. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY. - ISSN 1099-1212. - 26:6(2016), pp. 1045-1057. [10.1002/oa.2516]
Life and death in Neolithic Southeastern Italy. The strontium isotopic evidence
IACUMIN, Paola;
2016-01-01
Abstract
There is a strong relation between people’s structured identities and their chemical biographies: these canreflect the way individuals choose to reside and/or move. The strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of skeletal re-mains is considered a useful proxy to assess residential mobility and social practices in past populations;however, so far, it has only occasionally been applied to prehistoric contexts in the Mediterranean. In this pa-per, we present87Sr/86Sr data of human and animal samples from several Neolithic sites in the ApulianTavoliere (southeastern Italy), namely, Grotta Scaloria, Passo di Corvo, Masseria Candelaro and LaTorretta/Poggio Imperiale. Data obtained from dental enamel reflect the local origin of the individuals andallowed us to differentiate function and meaning of the sites examined. In particular, within a generally homo-geneous background of Sr signatures, the range of87Sr/86Sr at Scaloria Cave is greater than at the other sites,with variation likely to be related to funerary practices. We interpret this as the evidence of the ritual use of thecave, which implied the gathering of people of different origin. The relative variation of the Sr signature amongindividuals, either intersite or intrasite can be tentatively associated with mobility during life as well as withsocial practices, such as access to foods from geologically different environments.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.