Leveraging IsoArcH for isotope paleopathology: The example of the dataset from the Jedlicka collection (Central Europe, 19th century CE).

The article introduces the enhancements made to the IsoArcH database for isotope paleopathology. This includes the addition of new metadata fields, which allow for describing abnormal anatomical or physiological conditions in humans and animals at either the individual or sample level. To showcase the novel features of the database, the article features a unique dataset of carbon and nitrogen isotope values obtained on bulk bone collagen from 42 clinically-documented cases of the Jedlicka pathological-anatomical reference collection, dating from the 19th century CE and curated at the National Museum in Prague, Czechia. The dataset includes 70 combined isotopic measurements from individuals who underwent anatomizations between 1841 and 1900 and had distinct bone diseases/disorders: i.e. syphilis, rickets, osteosarcoma, osteomyelitis, and healed fractures. Finally, the article highlights the value of the data in helping the isotope bioarchaeology and paleopathology communities in their understanding of disease processes.

When big data initiatives meet: Data sharing between THANADOS and IsoArcH for early medieval cemeteries in Austria.

This paper reports carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotope data obtained from bone collagen of humans from the early medieval cemeteries of Hemmaberg/Gora svete Heme and Oberleiserberg located in Austria. The Hemmaberg/Gora svete Heme cemetery, dating from the 8th to the 11th century, comprises 29 graves, from which 15 individuals were analyzed. The Oberleiserberg cemetery, established in the first half of the 11th century, includes 71 graves as well as several incidental finds of human bones, from which 75 samples were analyzed. Both cemeteries show comparable δ13C data (mean for Oberleiserberg: -17.5 ± 1.2 ‰, 1σ; mean for Hemmaberg: -16.4 ± 1.6‰, 1σ). However, the δ15N values of individuals from Oberleiserberg (mean: +10.4 ± 1.5‰, 1σ) are slightly higher than those of individuals from Hemmaberg/Gora svete Heme (mean: +8.8 ± 1.1‰,1σ). The δ34S values were only obtained on the individuals from Oberleiserberg, and show a mean value of -0.9 ± 2.0 ‰ (1σ). Beyond the isotopic data presented in this article, we lay the foundations for cooperation between the IsoArcH database (https://isoarch.eu) [1] and the THANADOS (https://thanados.net) [2] project. While IsoArcH primarily stores isotope-related datasets for bioarchaeology, THANADOS stores data on archaeologically and anthropologically researched burials. Moving forward, IsoArcH and THANADOS plan to work closely together to integrate their databases. This collaboration presents a promising opportunity for both projects to pool their resources and knowledge, offering a wealth of information for researchers and the general public who are interested in anthropology and archaeology.

The burning maze: The potential value of the human bony labyrinth in estimating sex of calcined remains.

Estimating sex from burnt human remains is a challenging task in bioanthropology, mainly due to their high level of alteration and fragmentation. Protected within the petrous part of the temporal bone, the bony labyrinth may be particularly valuable for assessing the sex of burnt remains. This prospective study aims at testing predictive models, already found reliable on unburnt bony labyrinths, to burnt specimens. Six discriminant functions were applied on six bony labyrinths of donated adult cadavers of known sex, before and after outdoor burning experiments. Comparisons between unburnt and burnt measurements were executed using Mann-Whitney U tests while shape and size differences induced by fire exposure were examined through a geometric morphometrics (GM) analysis. Predicted sex on unburnt bony labyrinths was consistent with known sex in five cases while a systematic misclassification for males was highlighted on burnt specimens. Higher values of shrinkage were found in males for two measurements included in the equations. GM analysis revealed significant differences in centroid size among males after calcination. Visualization of mean consensus of both female and male bony labyrinths evidenced a reduction in cochlear size and variations in the width and length of semicircular canals of burnt specimens. This exploratory study seems to confirm that designing sex estimation standards specifically for burnt bony labyrinth may be advisable. Understanding how the burning process could impact its morphology is highly recommended through further experiments on larger samples and in controlled environments.

Strontium isotopes and concentrations in cremated bones suggest an increased salt consumption in Gallo-Roman diet.

The high temperatures reached during cremation lead to the destruction of organic matter preventing the use of traditional isotopic methods for dietary reconstructions. Still, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) and concentration ([Sr]) analyses of cremated human remains offer a novel way to assess changing consumption patterns in past populations that practiced cremation, as evidenced by a large amount of new data obtained from Metal Ages and Gallo-Roman human remains from Destelbergen, Belgium. The Gallo-Roman results show significantly higher [Sr] and a narrower interquartile range in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7093-0.7095), close to the value of modern-day seawater (0.7092). This contrasts with the Metal Ages results, which display lower concentrations and a wider range in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7094-0.7098). This typical Sr signature is also reflected in other sites and is most likely related to an introduction of marine Sr in the form of salt as a food preservative (e.g. salt-rich preserved meat, fish and fish sauce). Paradoxically, this study highlights caution is needed when using 87Sr/86Sr for palaeomobility studies in populations with high salt consumption.

Strontium isotope analyses of archaeological cremated remains - new data and perspectives.

Cremated human remains are commonly found in the archaeological records, especially in Europe during the Metal Ages and the Roman period. Due to the high temperatures reached during cremation (up to 1000°C), most biological information locked in the isotopic composition of different tissues is heavily altered or even destroyed. The recent demonstration that strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) remain unaltered during cremation and are even very resistant to post-burial alterations (which is not the case in unburned bone), opened new possibility for palaeomobility studies of ancient populations that practice cremations as a funerary ritual. This paper summarizes strontium isotopic data produced over the last decade which is then deposited on the open-access platform IsoArcH (https://isoarch.eu/) for any interested parties to use. It is the first time isotopic data on cremated remains is introduced in this database, significantly extending its impact on the scientific community.

Stable isotope data and radiocarbon dates from Brazilian bioarchaeological samples: An extensive compilation.

Three decades have passed since the publication in 1991 of the first use of stable isotope analysis applied to a Brazilian archaeological context. Despite being still mainly applied to palaeodietary research, stable isotope analysis in archaeology has been diversified in Brazil. In the last five years, an increasing number of studies has addressed various issues. Such issues are related to population mobility, social differentiation, health and children care, changes and resilience of cultural practices, and identification of the origin of enslaved populations brought by force from the African continent, among others. However, research in this area is still incipient when compared to the large territory of Brazil (WGS 84: -33˚ to 5°N, -73˚ to -34˚E), the diversity of socio-cultural contexts of pre-colonial and indigenous societies, and the country's historical formation process. In terms of radiocarbon dates, data are also sparse and lack essential information as the material used for dating, as this information could be related to necessary corrections, e.g., the marine reservoir effect. The first radiocarbon dates of Brazilian archaeological material are reported, however, since the 1950s and have been more frequently reported in publications across Brazil since the installation of the first Brazilian radiocarbon laboratory (CENA/USP) in 1990 and the first Latin American 14C-AMS facility (LAC-UFF) in 2012. Thus, the purpose of this compilation was to gather all dispersed, and often fragmented, data from analyses of stable and radioactive (focusing on radiocarbon) isotopes carried out in Brazilian archaeological contexts. We compiled data from 1991 until the end of November 2021. The data included here contain information from 71 archaeological sites, 556 humans, 219 animals and 2 plants. Isotopic analyses were performed on 832 organic samples, mainly paired δ13C and δ15N plus δ34S measurements, and on 265 mineral samples, mainly δ13C, δ18O and 86Sr/87Sr measurements. Sr concentrations for 49 mineral samples were also compiled. Radiocarbon or relative dates span from 18 kyr BP to the present. All data from this compilation are deposited in open access on the IsoArcH platform (https://doi.isoarch.eu/doi/2021.005). This extensive work aims to point out the gaps in stable isotopes and radiocarbon dates provided for Brazilian archaeological contexts that could be further explored. Besides, it aims to promote easy access to numerous analyses that, otherwise, would be hard to obtain. Lastly, it seeks to broaden the interdisciplinary collaboration in Brazil and strengthen the international collaboration among peers.

These boots are made for burnin': Inferring the position of the corpse and the presence of leather footwears during cremation through isotope (δ13C, δ18O) and infrared (FTIR) analyses of experimentally burnt skeletal remains.

Cremation is a complex mortuary practice, involving a number of activities of the living towards the dead before, during, and after the destruction of the bodily soft tissues by fire. The limiting information concerning these behavioral patterns obtained from the pyre remains and/or cremation deposits prevents the reconstruction of the handling of the corpse during the burning process. This pioneering study tries to determine the initial positioning of the corpse in the pyre and assess whether the deceased was wearing closed leather shoes during cremation through isotopic (δ13C, δ18O) and infrared (ATR-FTIR) analyses of experimentally burnt pig remains, used as a proxy for humans. The results obtained show that both the position of feet on or within the pyre and the presence of footwears may moderately-to-highly influence the oxygen isotope ratios of bone apatite carbonates and the cyanamide content of calcined bone in certain situations. By forming a protective layer, shoes appear to temporarily delay the burning of the underlying pig tissues and to increase the heat-shielding effect of the soft tissues protecting the bone mineral fraction. In such case, bioapatite bone carbonates exchange oxygen with a relatively more 18O-depleted atmosphere (due to the influence of lignin-derived oxygen rather than cellulose-derived oxygen), resulting in more pronounced decrease in the δ18Ocarb values during burning of the shoed feet vs. unshoed feet. The shift observed here was as high as 2.5‰. A concomitant isotopic effect of the initial location of the feet in the pyres was also observed, resulting in a top-to-bottom decrease difference in the δ18Ocarb values of shoed feet of about 1.4‰ between each deposition level tested. Finally, the presence of cyanamide (CN/P ≥ 0.02) seems to be indicative of closed footwear since the latter creates favorable conditions for its incorporation into bone apatite.

Revisiting metric sex estimation of burnt human remains via supervised learning using a reference collection of modern identified cremated individuals (Knoxville, USA).

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to increase the rate of correctly sexed calcined individuals from archaeological and forensic contexts. This is achieved by evaluating sexual dimorphism of commonly used and new skeletal elements via uni- and multi-variate metric trait analyses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two skeletal traits were evaluated in 86 individuals from the William M. Bass donated cremated collection of known sex and age-at-death. Four different predictive models, logistic regression, random forest, neural network, and calculation of population specific cut-off points, were used to determine the classification accuracy (CA) of each feature and several combinations thereof. RESULTS: An overall CA of ≥ 80% was obtained for 12 out of 22 features (humerus trochlea max., and lunate length, humerus head vertical diameter, humerus head transverse diameter, radius head max., femur head vertical diameter, patella width, patella thickness, and talus trochlea length) using univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis showed an increase of CA (≥ 95%) for certain combinations and models (e.g., humerus trochlea max. and patella thickness). Our study shows metric sexual dimorphism to be well preserved in calcined human remains, despite the changes that occur during burning. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the potential of machine learning approaches, such as neural networks, for multivariate analyses. Using these statistical methods improves the rate of correct sex estimations in calcined human remains and can be applied to highly fragmented unburnt individuals from both archaeological and forensic contexts.

Estimating age-at-death in burnt adult human remains using the Falys-Prangle method.

OBJECTIVES: The Falys-Prangle-method assesses age-related morphological changes to the sternal clavicle end (SCE), enabling the observation of mature adults from the 5th decade onwards in unburnt human skeletal remains. The aim of this study is to investigate the applicability of the Falys-Prangle-method on burnt human remains. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two SCE of 40 cremated individuals (out of 86) from the William M. Bass collection of the Forensic Anthropology Center (Knoxville, Tennessee) of known age-at-death and sex are available for assessment. Surface topography, porosity, and osteophyte formation are evaluated, after which the calculated composite score is associated with the corresponding age range as described by Falys and Prangle. The method is also applied on an archaeological case study from Oudenburg, Belgium, dating to the Roman period. RESULTS: The assessed age ranges strongly agree with the true age ranges (α = 0.828), suggesting the Falys-Prangle-method to be applicable on burnt human remains. The case study from Oudenburg yields markedly improved age-at-death estimates, significantly enhancing our understanding of the age distribution within this community. DISCUSSION: Information on age-at-death is key in the construction of biological profiles of past individuals. The mature adult is often invisible in the archaeological record since most macroscopic age estimation methods do not distinguish beyond 46+ years old. Our study stresses the usefulness of a large-scale application of the Falys-Prangle-method, which will increase the visibility of mature adults, especially in archaeological burnt human skeletal collections, where such information is, at present, extremely difficult to obtain.

An isotopic case study of individuals with syphilis from the pathological-anatomical reference collection of the national museum in Prague (Czech Republic, 19th century A.D.).

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims at investigating the possible existence of isotopic offsets in δ13Ccol and δ15Ncol values in relation to tertiary syphilis. MATERIAL: Based on materials from the 19th c. A.D. deriving from the pathological-anatomical reference collection (the Jedlicka collection) of the National Museum in Prague (Czech Republic), a comparative approach of ten individuals with syphilis and nine without the disease was undertaken. METHODS: Bone powder samples were defatted according to the protocol of Liden et al. (1995). Bone collagen was extracted following the protocol of Bocherens et al. (1991). RESULTS: Our results show that individuals with syphilis have lower δ13Ccol values than individuals without the disease; the observed difference between the two groups is about 0.3-0.4‰, which is relatively small but still meaningful. However, no difference between δ15Ncol values of the two groups has been noticed. CONCLUSIONS: Either diets prescribed by physicians to syphilitic patients or nutritional stress caused by cyclic appetite disturbance due to the disease itself or the administered medical treatment appeared to be possible explanations of the observed isotopic pattern. Overall, the response of the two isotopic proxies could argue for relatively limited nutritional restrictions. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study examining bone collagen isotopic response to syphilis based on clinically documented human skeletal materials. LIMITATIONS: The sample sizes are relatively small and cautiousness must be taken regarding the interpretations of the data. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Compound-specific stable isotope investigations and analysis of mercury content could be helpful to better understand the observed isotopic effects.

Life history of the individuals buried in the St. Benedict Cemetery (Prague, 15th-18th centuries): insights from (14)C dating and stable isotope (δ(13)C, δ(15)N, δ(18)O) analysis.

Funerary practices and bioarchaeological (sex and age) data suggest that a mortality crisis linked to an epidemic episode occurred during the fifth phase of the St. Benedict cemetery in Prague (Czech Republic). To identify this mass mortality episode, we reconstructed individual life histories (dietary and mobility factors), assessed the population's biological homogeneity, and proposed a new chronology through stable isotope analysis (δ(13)C, δ(18)O and δ(15)N) and direct radiocarbon dating. Stable isotope analysis was conducted on the bone and tooth enamel (collagen and carbonate) of 19 individuals from three multiple graves (MG) and 12 individuals from individual graves (IG). The δ(15)N values of collagen and the difference between the δ(13)C values of collagen and bone carbonate could indicate that the IG individuals had a richer protein diet than the MG individuals or different food resources. The human bone and enamel carbonate and δ(18)O values suggest that the majority of individuals from MG and all individuals from IG spent most of their lives outside of the Bohemian region. Variations in δ(18)O values also indicate that all individuals experienced residential mobility during their lives. The stable isotope results, biological (age and sex) data and eight (14)C dates clearly differentiate the MG and IG groups. The present work provides evidence for the reuse of the St. Benedict cemetery to bury soldiers despite the funeral protest ban (1635 AD). The Siege of Prague (1742 AD) by French-Bavarian-Saxon armies is identified as the cause of the St. Benedict mass mortality event.