Bioarchaeological analysis of Late Neolithic inhumations from a dolmen in Switzerland

Lösch, Sandra; Siebke, Inga Katharina Elisabeth; Furtwängler, Anja; Steuri, Noah; Hafner, Albert; Ramstein, Marianne; Krause, Johannes (15 April 2020). Bioarchaeological analysis of Late Neolithic inhumations from a dolmen in Switzerland (Unpublished). In: 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Los Angeles.

We investigated inhumations from the Neolithic dolmen of Oberbipp in the context of contemporaneous remains from Switzerland in the framework of an interdisciplinary project. Apart from answering archaeological and physical-anthropological questions, the aim was to shed light on their diet, social stratification, migration, kinship, population genetics and phenotype.The analysis of the commingled remains, which date to the Late and Final Neolithic, revealed a MNI of 42 with both sexes and all age classes represented. We analyzed the stable isotopes delta13C, delta15N, delta 34S as well as ancient DNA. Nitrogen isotope ratios were homogenous for males and females within the dolmen but differed significantly from other contemporaneous sites. Therefore, we hypothesize similar diets and thus an equal social status of both sexes. In general, their diet was rich in carbohydrates compared to other sites, which is also reflected by caries intensities. Animal products seem to have been less important than food derived from agriculture, and additionally, all investigated individuals were lactose-intolerant. The results from population genetics show that the Oberbipp individuals possessed ancestry components from two sources: Western Hunter-Gatherers and Neolithic Anatolian Farmers. However, the sulphur isotope ratios, which were compared to regional animal data, suggest some local mobility.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Abstract)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences > Pre- and Early History
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Anthropology
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine

Graduate School:

Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB)

UniBE Contributor:

Lösch, Sandra, Siebke, Inga Katharina Elisabeth, Steuri, Noah David, Hafner, Albert

Subjects:

900 History > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)
500 Science > 560 Fossils & prehistoric life
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

Funders:

[42] Schweizerischer Nationalfonds

Language:

English

Submitter:

Sandra Lösch

Date Deposited:

16 Jul 2020 09:08

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:39

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/145210

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback