Ridanäs was an important port of trade on the island of Gotland, Sweden, in use during the 7-11th centuries, AD. Excavations have revealed the presence of two Viking Age (800-1070 AD) graveyards containing over 80 individuals. This study examined the remains of 60 of these individuals buried in the Viking graveyards. Strontium isotope analysis was used to determine whether they were local or non-local to the trading port. It was hypothesized that the Ridanäs population would consist of locals and non-locals who came to Gotland to take advantage of its successful trade economy. 13 archaeological fauna samples were analyzed in order to define the local bioavailable strontium isotope baseline range. Results showed that only 4 of the 60 individuals were non-local to Gotland, indicating that non-locals did not seek long-term residency at this port of trade.

Thesis (M.S.F.S.) / Positive identification of skeletonized human remains is a difficult task when dental records and/or DNA are unavailable. Through archaeological research, strontium (Sr) isotope analysis has successfully been used to trace an individual back to their place of birth using cortical bone and tooth enamel. This method has the potential, in forensic anthropological science, to help narrow down the search for missing persons to a specific geographical location. It has not been tested thoroughly on modern populations though, which is needed before applying in a forensic setting. This study used dental enamel from teeth of 78 individuals in the New England region of the United States (U.S.). The birthplaces represented by these individuals include New England and the greater Northeast of the U.S., Northwest region of the U.S., Central America, Caribbean Islands, West Africa, and Europe. Local faunal and water samples were also collected for local range comparisons. The samples were cleaned, approximately 10 mg of enamel removed from each tooth, acid washed, dried, and dissolved in nitric acid before analyzing the samples using a thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) for analysis of 87Sr/86Sr ratios. The human 87Sr/86Sr ratios were grouped by geographical region. An analysis of variance was used to test for regional variation and significant differences were found. The samples from the U.S. (excluding those from the Northwest) were significantly different from the samples in Central America, Caribbean Islands, West Africa, and Europe. Central American samples were also significantly different from the other groups. No significant differences were observed between the Caribbean Islands, West Africa and Europe. A significant difference was seen between the strontium ratios in the West Africa group based on bottled water vs. tap water that individuals reported drinking. The faunal samples from Pembroke, MA and water sample from Braintree, MA were not significantly different from the New England human samples, but the Brighton, MA water sample was significantly different. Based on the data, regional differences in 87Sr/86Sr ratios are detectable using strontium isotope analysis, yet a larger sample size for each of the regions is needed to strengthen the statistical results. The results suggest that the differences observed are due to a combination of geological effects and influences from the globalization of food. Further research is warranted by combining the analysis of hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopes to the strontium analysis. This will complement the strontium data by providing more insight to the local drinking water and potential effects of an increasingly homogenous diet within cultural regions.

During the Medieval period of Denmark, economic and trade relations grew inter-regionally, with culture, ideas, and products being transferred on a more regular basis through the 11th to 13th centuries. Beginning around 1050 AD and lasting until AD 1536, the country faced drastic climatic changes, shifting economic and agricultural practices, and disease outbreaks (most notably the bubonic plague). The current study seeks to investigate mobility during this period from two medieval cemeteries around Horsens, Denmark: the rural site of Sejet and the urban site of Ole Wormsgade, both used throughout the 12th to 16th centuries. A previous isotopic analysis using oxygen indicated that some movement was seen at these sites, with three individuals identified as potential migrants from other Scandinavian regions. This study compares the existing oxygen isotopic data with variations in 87Sr/86Sr ratios from these samples. Such ratios represent local bedrock baselines of strontium, which are slightly different between eastern and western Denmark. ICP-MS was used to measure 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and results are interpreted in the context of climatic changes and shifting socioeconomic practices. The results suggest that longer-distance movements into Denmark were seen during the Early Medieval Period. The potential migrant identified in this research points to movement towards the rural population at Sejet, and could possibly connect this migration with marriage rules influencing immigration at the time. This research demonstrates that movement during the medieval period of Denmark was a complex, dynamic, and multilinear process during a time of increasing urbanization. / October 2015

Yes / The Early Bronze Age round barrows at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire and Gayhurst, Buckinghamshire contained remarkably large quantities of cattle (Bos taurus) remains. At Irthlingborough, at least 185 skulls with smaller numbers of mandibles, shoulder blades and pelves were found together with a small number of skeletal elements from aurochs (Bos primigenius). In contrast, the remains from Gayhurst are dominated by the limb bones from more than 300 animals. This study employed strontium isotope ratio analysis of cattle tooth enamel from 15 cattle and one aurochs to investigate the diversity of the animals’ origins at both sites and provide insights into Early Bronze Age funerary practices. Although strontium results show that most of the cattle and the aurochs included in this study were consistent with local origins, one animal from each barrow was born remotely, most likely in western Britain. In addition, a second Gayhurst animal was consistent with origins in a region of chalk rather than the local Jurassic sediments.

Applications of lead and strontium isotope analysis were made on archaeological materials from three different contexts in both the Old and New Worlds. These materials comprised pre-Hispanic glaze painted ceramics from Arizona, U.S.A., glass beads from late first millennium AD Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria, and copper-based metals from early first millennium AD Kissi, Burkina Faso. All materials contain lead at major, minor, or trace concentrations, and lead isotope analysis was employed to determine a provenance for that lead. Strontium isotope analysis also was applied to glass beads from Igbo-Ukwu to determine provenance(s) for strontium found in the glass. Furthermore, application of elemental composition analysis was or had been employed on all samples for additional data comparisons within assemblages and with comparable archaeological materials.Results of these analyses determined, in most cases, regional provenance with high degrees of confidence for lead contained in the analyzed samples. Strontium and elemental composition analysis data also proved valuable in confirming the regional provenance of the raw glass used to produce the glass beads. Leads in the glaze paints from Arizona, which demonstrated a range of resources exploitation, were confidently restricted to a few regions for their procurement. Likewise leads in most glass beads from Igbo-Ukwu were confidently restricted to two main source regions, with a third strong contender also being identified. The elemental composition and strontium isotope data determined with confidence the production regions for the primary raw glasses used to make the glass beads. Finally, leads in copper-based metals from Burkina Faso also were restricted to a few regions, although some inconclusiveness in provenance determination was attributed to mixing of metals from difference sources.These results confirm the utility of heavy isotope analysis of archaeological materials for provenance determination. The combination of these data with elemental composition analyses further confirm the interpretive strength of combining independent but related sets of analytical data for exploring questions of archaeological provenance. With improvements in instrument technology and application in the past two decades, very high precision and high accuracy analyses can be made which eliminate some earlier concerns of heavy isotope applications in archaeology.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate different scales of mobility and social networks in Southern Scandinavia around 7000 BC. An essential basis for this work is the hypothesis that the conical core pressure blade technology, a specific method for producing lithic blades, reached Scandinavia from the east. The process has been discussed and verified in several earlier studies. The study is based on investigations of lithic material and bone tools, as well as human skeletal remains; a multidisciplinary strategy has been applied, which combines technological analyzes of archaeological material with isotope analyzes of human teeth. Materials and data have been collected from a total of 111 sites located mainly in Scandinavia, but also in Finland, the Baltic countries and Russia. The Mesolithic site Norje Sunnansund in Blekinge, southern Sweden is in focus. Analyzes of the chaîne opératoire of lithic and osseous production make it possible to study technological processes as the transmission of culturally conditioned patterns; these patterns underlie the formative principles of each technology complex. By identifying specific traditional knowledge built into the material process, it becomes possible to define prehistoric human traditions and thereby study human interactions and migrations between geographical regions. The analyzes of strontium isotopes in human teeth from Norje Sunnansund enables an additional individual provenancing since the isotopes reflect a geographical-geological variation. The study provides a higher resolution of the arrival and spreading of the pressure blade technology from the northeast. It also strengthens the picture of a Mesolithic society in Southern Scandinavia based on geographically extensive social networks. An increased regionalization and territorialization has previously been proposed for western Scandinavia around 8800-7500 BC. The study confirms that during this period the population seem to consist of several subgroups related to specific territories, but with close and regular contact within a more extensive social network. This fits well with the picture of a group that may have inhabited Norje Sunnansund for extended periods, while social contacts were maintained over longer distances.