Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Tracking the elusive fallow deer

Published byShawn Lawson Modified over 7 years ago

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Tracking the elusive fallow deer"— Presentation transcript:

1 Tracking the elusive fallow deer
Exploring stable isotope evidence for imports during the Iron Age and Roman periods in Britain David Osborne

2 Fallow deer in Europe and their reintroduction to Britain
Iberia Mallorca Anatolia Sicily Rhodes PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

3 Sites in Britain Iron Age Roman
Vindolanda Binchester Carlisle Iron Age Roman Map adapted from Sykes et al. 2006, Tracking animals using strontium isotopes in teeth: the role of fallow deer (Dama dama) in Roman Britain, Antiquity 80, 948–959 (fig. 2) Scole Dickleburgh War Ditches Lydney Park Barnsley Park Monkton Fishbourne PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

4 Locating archaeological samples
Iron Age sites Lydney Park, Glos. War Ditches, Cambs. Roman sites Vindolanda, Northumberland Carlisle, Cumbria Binchester, Co. Durham Barnsley Park, Glos. Scole Dickleburgh, Norfolk/Suffolk PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

5 Antlers “The antlers of deer are so improbable that if they had not evolved in the first place they would never have been conceived even in the wildest fantasies of the most imaginative biologists”. Richard Goss (1983). Deer Antlers: regeneration, function and evolution. New York: Academic Press PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

6 Isotope measurements on antlers
δ13C, δ15N dietary information: plant consumption (C3/C4 photosynthetic pathways), marine signature, aridity Sampling along length of antler high-resolution data on change of diet during antler growth? Compare with results from archaeological specimens PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

7 Modern antlers from Phoenix Park, Dublin
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

8 Antler sample locations
spellers PROXIMAL coronet beam palm BROW TREZ trez tine brow tine DISTAL PALM PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

9 CO2-corrected δ13C, δ15N results
Carbon values corrected according to Long et al. 2005, Controlling for anthropogenically induced atmospheric variation in stable carbon isotope studies. Oecologia 146, 148–156. PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

10 δ15N against δ13C antlers shown by connecting paths
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

11 δ15N against δ13C antlers shown individually
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

12 δ13C and δ15N values along antlers
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

13 δ13C and δ15N change with known age
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

14 Age estimation from antlers
Is it possible to estimate animal age from their antlers? Rachel Billson used antler metrics such as beam width and circumference to estimate age range Billson, R. (2008). An investigation into the relationship between the size of antlers and age of animal in fallow deer (Dama dama) bucks, and the possibility of aging antlers recovered from archaeological excavations. Unpublished undergraduate dissertation, University College, London. PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

15 δ13C against predicted age
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

16 δ15N against predicted age
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

17 Modern and archaeological antler
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

18 Modern and archaeological antler and postcrania
PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

19 Summary Stable isotope analysis of antlers has not previously been very common Now have more knowledge of variation of C and N along antlers: results are tentative Cause? Perhaps fractionation effects during growth or bone remodelling? Differences from archaeological samples from other areas suggest SIA could be used with caution to detect imports PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

20 Further reading Miller, H., R. Carden, A. Lamb, R. Madgwick, D. Osborne, R. Symmons and N. J. Sykes (2014). Dead or alive? Investigating long-distance transport of live fallow deer and their body parts in antiquity. Environmental Archaeology, submitted. MSc dissertation Dama International Deer bone database PZAF 2014 20 June 2014

21 Acknowledgements Dr Naomi Sykes, Dr Richard Madgwick, Dr Holly Miller,
Frazer Bowen, Elizabeth Farebrother University of Nottingham Dr Ruth Carden National Museum of Ireland Prof Jane Evans, Dr Angela Lamb NIGL This research is supported by the AHRC (Standard Grant AH/I026456/1) University of Nottingham Individual Development Fund

Download ppt "Tracking the elusive fallow deer"

Similar presentations

Session 3: Advances in Our Understanding of Mars Searching for Evidence of Past or Present Life on Mars David J. Des Marais NASA, Ames Research Center.

Session 3: Advances in Our Understanding of Mars Searching for Evidence of Past or Present Life on Mars David J. Des Marais NASA, Ames Research Center.
Chapter 17: The History of Life

Chapter 17: The History of Life
Cattle on the hoof: using Sr isotope analysis to investigate cattle mobility in Late Neolithic Britain Sarah Viner (University of Sheffield) Jane Evans.

Cattle on the hoof: using Sr isotope analysis to investigate cattle mobility in Late Neolithic Britain Sarah Viner (University of Sheffield) Jane Evans.
SC.912.L.15.1 Evolution.

SC.912.L.15.1 Evolution.
Development of an optimal calibration strategy for trace gas measurements Mark Battle (Bowdoin College) Zane Davis, Ryan Hart, Jayme Woogerd, Jacob Scheckman,

Development of an optimal calibration strategy for trace gas measurements Mark Battle (Bowdoin College) Zane Davis, Ryan Hart, Jayme Woogerd, Jacob Scheckman,
ISOTOPES AND LAND PLANT ECOLOGY C3 vs. C4 vs. CAM.

ISOTOPES AND LAND PLANT ECOLOGY C3 vs. C4 vs. CAM.
Reconstructing Ancestral Puebloan Diets in the Middle San Juan River, New Mexico through Stable Isotope Analysis Beau R. DeBoer – Eastern New Mexico University.

Reconstructing Ancestral Puebloan Diets in the Middle San Juan River, New Mexico through Stable Isotope Analysis Beau R. DeBoer – Eastern New Mexico University.
Bivalve Growth Rate and Isotopic Variability Across the Barents Sea Polar Front Michael L. Carroll Akvaplan-niva, Tromsø Norway William Ambrose, William.

Bivalve Growth Rate and Isotopic Variability Across the Barents Sea Polar Front Michael L. Carroll Akvaplan-niva, Tromsø Norway William Ambrose, William.
The Fate of Combustion-Derived Carbon Deposition in Urban Soil Yevgeniy Marusenko 1, Pierre Herckes 2 and Sharon J. Hall 1 Urban soils are increasingly.

The Fate of Combustion-Derived Carbon Deposition in Urban Soil Yevgeniy Marusenko 1, Pierre Herckes 2 and Sharon J. Hall 1 Urban soils are increasingly.
Diets of two human-subsidized predators, common raven and glaucous gull, on Alaska’s Coastal Plain Abby N. Powell, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Cooperative.

Diets of two human-subsidized predators, common raven and glaucous gull, on Alaska’s Coastal Plain Abby N. Powell, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Cooperative.
Carbon Isotope Variations in Aquatic Plants: Applications Onshore-Offshore (Benthic vs. Pelagic?) Kelp forest ecology Decreased productivity in the Bering.

Carbon Isotope Variations in Aquatic Plants: Applications Onshore-Offshore (Benthic vs. Pelagic?) Kelp forest ecology Decreased productivity in the Bering.
Mastodon Matrix Lab Research Partnership with The Paleontological Research Institution Images used with permission from the Paleontological Research Institution.

Mastodon Matrix Lab Research Partnership with The Paleontological Research Institution Images used with permission from the Paleontological Research Institution.
Effects of soybean foliage grown under elevated CO 2 on the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica (Newman) Bridget F. O’Neill*, Evan H. DeLucia 1, Arthur.

Effects of soybean foliage grown under elevated CO 2 on the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica (Newman) Bridget F. O’Neill*, Evan H. DeLucia 1, Arthur.
Studentd15NAIRd13CPDBStudentd15NAIRd13CPDBStudentd15NAIRd13CPDBStudentd15NAIRd13CPDB 19.7-17.51118.4-18.51597.4-20.62569.8-18.4 29.2-18.71139.8-18.31609.0-18.72579.9-17.9.

Studentd15NAIRd13CPDBStudentd15NAIRd13CPDBStudentd15NAIRd13CPDBStudentd15NAIRd13CPDB
The STAGES Supercluster: A challenge for semi-analytical models? Rhys Rhodes The University of Nottingham 25 th June 2008 Meghan Gray and Frazer Pearce.

The STAGES Supercluster: A challenge for semi-analytical models? Rhys Rhodes The University of Nottingham 25 th June 2008 Meghan Gray and Frazer Pearce.
Why study Archaeology at Durham University? Higher Education Advisers Conference, 15/XII/2010 John Chapman.

Why study Archaeology at Durham University? Higher Education Advisers Conference, 15/XII/2010 John Chapman.
Archaeological applications of stable isotope analysis: subsistence and residential mobility in the Chao Valley of Peru Jonathan D. Bethard, MA Department.

Archaeological applications of stable isotope analysis: subsistence and residential mobility in the Chao Valley of Peru Jonathan D. Bethard, MA Department.
Fig. 2.1. Linear relationships of H,C,N,O and S heavy isotope contents to  values. Large natural abundance  variations from - 100 to +100o/oo correspond.

Fig Linear relationships of H,C,N,O and S heavy isotope contents to  values. Large natural abundance  variations from to +100o/oo correspond.
Rachel Grandpre 1, Elisabeth Sikes 2, Samantha Burgess 3, Thomas Guilderson 4 1 Smith College, Northampton, MA; 2 Rutgers University, Institute of Marine.

Rachel Grandpre 1, Elisabeth Sikes 2, Samantha Burgess 3, Thomas Guilderson 4 1 Smith College, Northampton, MA; 2 Rutgers University, Institute of Marine.
A generalized scaling approach to improve variety selection in orchard fruit Zachary T. Brym, Dept. of Biology and Ecology Center, Utah State University.

A generalized scaling approach to improve variety selection in orchard fruit Zachary T. Brym, Dept. of Biology and Ecology Center, Utah State University.

Similar presentations

Ads by Google