An archaeological excavation in Valle da Gafaria (Lagos, Portugal), revealed two contiguous burial places outside the medieval city walls, dating from the 15(th)-17(th) centuries AD: one was interpreted as a Leprosarium cemetery and the second as an urban discard deposit, where signs of violent, unceremonious burials suggested that these remains may belong to slaves captured in Africa by the Po...

In order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the Skhul early modern humans, new analyses have been conducted, including the dating of four well-provenanced fossils by ESR and U-series. If the Skhul burials took place within a relatively short time span, then the best age estimate lies between 100 and 135 ka. This result agrees very well with TL ages obtained from burnt flint ...

In 2005 four outstanding multiple burials were discovered near Eulau, Germany. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of adults and children buried facing each other. Skeletal and artifactual evidence and the simultaneous interment of the individuals suggest the supposed families fell victim to a violent event. In a multidisciplinary approach, archaeological, anthropological, geochemical (r...

The inherent sampling and preservational biases of the archaeological record make it difficult to quantify prehistoric human diets, especially in coastal settings, where populations had access to a wide range of marine and terrestrial food sources. In certain cases, geochemical proxies such as stable isotope ratios may be utilized to provide robust estimates on the relative proportions of vario...

Reconstructing the history of elite communication in ancient China benefits from additional archaeological evidence. We combine textual analysis with new human stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data two Chu burials Jingzhou area to reveal significant dietary differences among nobles middle Warring States period ( c . 350 BC). This research provides important information on close interaction be...

We obtained stable isotope signatures ( C, N) and AMS radiocarbon dates for a small set of Dorset remains, Thule-era burials from northwest Hudson Bay and proto-historic burials from Southampton Island to assess the importance of whaling in eastern Canadian Arctic economies. Classic Thule occupation of the Eastern Arctic (ca. AD 1000–1350) coincided with the Medieval Warm Period and was thought...

Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for those considered at risk for becoming vampires. Excavations at the Drawsko 1 cemetery (17th-18th c. AD) have revealed multiple examples (n = 6) of such deviant burials amidst hundreds of normative interments. While historic records desc...

The burial of coffins may pose an environmental and health hazard since the metals that are used in coffin-making may corrode or degrade into harmful toxins. These may leach into the surrounding soils and groundwater. Very little research has been conducted world-wide on the mineral contamination potential of cemeteries, and virtually none in South Africa. The aim of the study is to determine w...