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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Maarten van Hardenbroek van AmmerstolORCiD, Dr Helen Mackay, Professor Andrew HendersonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Direct evidence of ancient human occupation is typically established through archaeological excavation. Excavations are costly and destructive, and practically impossible in some lake and wetland environments. We present here an alternative approach, providing direct evidence from lake sediments using DNA metabarcoding, steroid lipid biomarkers (bile acids) and from traditional environmental analyses. Applied to an early Medieval Celtic settlement in Ireland (a crannog) this approach provides a site chronology and direct evidence of human occupation, crops, animal farming and on-site slaughtering. This is the first independently-dated, continuous molecular archive of human activity from an archeological site, demonstrating a link between animal husbandry, food resources, island use. These sites are under threat but are impossible to preserve in-situ so this approach can be used, with or without excavation, to produce a robust and full site chronology and provide direct evidence of occupation, the use of plants and animals, and activities such as butchery.
Author(s): Brown AG, Van Hardenbroek M, Fonville T, Davies K, Mackay H, Murray E, Head K, Barratt P, McCormick F, Ficetola GF, Gielly L, Henderson ACG, Crone A, Cavers G, Langdon PG, Whitehouse NJ, Pirrie D, Alsos IG
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Scientific Reports
Year: 2021
Volume: 11
Online publication date: 03/06/2021
Acceptance date: 04/05/2021
Date deposited: 11/06/2021
ISSN (electronic): 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91057-x
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91057-x
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