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Mobility among the stone age island foragers of Jettböle, Åland, investigated through high-resolution strontium isotope ratio analysis

Boethius, Adam LU orcid ; Storå, Jan ; Gustavsson, Rudolf and Kielman-Schmitt, Melanie (2024) In Quaternary Science Reviews 328.
Abstract

The input of strontium from aquatic resources in an omnivorous diet has been researched to a lesser degree than that of terrestrial sources, which, in specific sociocultural settings, complicates the study of provenance and mobility. To address this lack of research and to investigate forager mobility in an archipelago environment, where access to terrestrial resources was limited and earlier studies have indicated a dependence on marine resources, we targeted the mid-Neolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers from the site Jettböle on the Åland Islands. Using laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, we analysed the 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the enamel of human and dog teeth and contextualized... (More)

The input of strontium from aquatic resources in an omnivorous diet has been researched to a lesser degree than that of terrestrial sources, which, in specific sociocultural settings, complicates the study of provenance and mobility. To address this lack of research and to investigate forager mobility in an archipelago environment, where access to terrestrial resources was limited and earlier studies have indicated a dependence on marine resources, we targeted the mid-Neolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers from the site Jettböle on the Åland Islands. Using laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, we analysed the 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the enamel of human and dog teeth and contextualized the data with bioavailable Sr measurements from various water and animal enamel sources. The results show that utilization and consumption of aquatic resources have had a major impact on the Sr ratios of both humans and dogs from Jettböle. The data indicate significant differences from the local terrestrial bioavailable Sr ratios, even if the studied individuals likely grew up in the area. Our results suggest that investigations of Sr isotope ratios may be especially challenging for PWC individuals and other coastal living groups. By comparing both Sr ratios and the sequential measurement pattern from the investigated subjects to other human groups and animals it has, nevertheless, been possible to offer a tentative interpretation of both the origin and mobility patterns of humans and dogs from Jettböle. Most of the individuals may be suggested to have originated, and subsided on a diet, from within the Åland archipelago. It is also possible that some of the studied individuals moved there from different regions.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Quaternary Science Reviews
volume
328
article number
108548
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85186116778
ISSN
0277-3791
DOI
10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108548
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
27d6fcda-781c-4d55-b8e7-21dc105e0042
date added to LUP
2024-03-14 10:31:33
date last changed
2024-03-14 10:32:51
@article{27d6fcda-781c-4d55-b8e7-21dc105e0042,
  abstract     = {{<p>The input of strontium from aquatic resources in an omnivorous diet has been researched to a lesser degree than that of terrestrial sources, which, in specific sociocultural settings, complicates the study of provenance and mobility. To address this lack of research and to investigate forager mobility in an archipelago environment, where access to terrestrial resources was limited and earlier studies have indicated a dependence on marine resources, we targeted the mid-Neolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers from the site Jettböle on the Åland Islands. Using laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, we analysed the <sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr ratios in the enamel of human and dog teeth and contextualized the data with bioavailable Sr measurements from various water and animal enamel sources. The results show that utilization and consumption of aquatic resources have had a major impact on the Sr ratios of both humans and dogs from Jettböle. The data indicate significant differences from the local terrestrial bioavailable Sr ratios, even if the studied individuals likely grew up in the area. Our results suggest that investigations of Sr isotope ratios may be especially challenging for PWC individuals and other coastal living groups. By comparing both Sr ratios and the sequential measurement pattern from the investigated subjects to other human groups and animals it has, nevertheless, been possible to offer a tentative interpretation of both the origin and mobility patterns of humans and dogs from Jettböle. Most of the individuals may be suggested to have originated, and subsided on a diet, from within the Åland archipelago. It is also possible that some of the studied individuals moved there from different regions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Boethius, Adam and Storå, Jan and Gustavsson, Rudolf and Kielman-Schmitt, Melanie}},
  issn         = {{0277-3791}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Quaternary Science Reviews}},
  title        = {{Mobility among the stone age island foragers of Jettböle, Åland, investigated through high-resolution strontium isotope ratio analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108548}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108548}},
  volume       = {{328}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}