Movement of agricultural products in the Scandinavian Iron Age during the first millennium AD: 87Sr/86Sr values of archaeological crops and animals in southern Sweden. Issue 1 (1st January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Larsson, Mikael; Magnell, Ola; Styring, Amy; Lagerås, Per; Evans, Jane
• Is Part Of: Science and technology of archaeological research. Volume 6:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 96
• Page End: 112
• Publication Date: 2020-01-01
• Subjects: Strontium isotopes -- cereal grain -- tooth enamel -- Scandinavian Iron Age -- agriculture -- mobility; Archaeology -- Methodology -- Periodicals; 930.10721
• DOI: 10.1080/20548923.2020.1840121
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2054-8923

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we examine the exchange of crops and livestock through the application of strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) isotope analysis on cereal grains and faunal tooth enamel from the regional center of Uppåkra and three nearby settlements in Scania, southern Sweden, dating to the first millennium AD. Around a third of the fauna have non-local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values, indicating the import of livestock from several different regions. After cleaning, almost all of the cereal grains have non-local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values, which is surprising given the nearby abundance of fertile agricultural soils. We therefore suggest considering non-locally grown crops to be those whose 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values fall outside the normal distribution; if this approach is used, around 20% of the analyzed crop samples are interpreted as having grown non-locally. This study demonstrates the potential of combining strontium isotopic data of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological material for gaining insights into the movement of agricultural products in prehistory. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: