BioArCh-Department of Archaeology

Chemical analysis of archaeological artefacts is used with increasing regularity to understand how wine was produced, traded, and consumed in the past and to shed light on its antiquity. Based both on an extensive review of the published literature and on new analyses, here we critically evaluate the diverse range of methodological approaches that have been used for wine identification. Overall, we conclude that currently none of the proposed chemical 'biomarkers' for wine provide unequivocal evidence. Nevertheless, valid interpretations may be offered if systematically supported by additional contextual data, such as archaeobotanical evidence. We found the extraction and detection method to be particularly crucial for successful identification. We urge the use of controls and quantification to rule out false positives. DNA sequencing offers potential for identifying wine and provides much higher taxonomic resolution, but work is needed to determine the limits of DNA survival on artefacts.

This palaeodietary study presents new carbon and nitrogen isotope data for human and animal skeletal remains
from the Middle Neolithic necropolis of Bòbila Madurell–Can Gambús (Vallès Occidental, Spain). The necropolis
is divided into two sectors, Bòbila Madurell and Can Gambús, which differ in terms of their demography and the
wealth of their tombs. This study examines each sector separately in order to assess how far these demographic
and grave good differences also correspond to diversity in the community. The results show that a diet based on
C3 terrestrial resources is found homogeneously in both sectors of the community. The protein component of the
diet consisted mainly of meat, milk and other dairy products from livestock as well as C3 plant protein from the
typical cereals and legumes grown in this period. The results also show the existence of slight intra-population
sex and age differences in the Can Gambús sector, while these are not perceptible in the Bòbila Madurell sector.
This allows inferences not only about the diet of the Neolithic communities that lived in the north-east of the
Iberian Peninsula but also about their customs, which would be reflected in social differentiation as regards
the consumption of certain kinds of food. These are important data that can be added in future studies of
socio-economic patterns in Neolithic societies in the rest of Europe.

This study presents new stable isotope (carbon and nitrogen) data from human and faunal remains from three Mesolithic shell middens (Cabeço das Amoreiras, Arapouco and Cabeço do Pez), located on the estuary of the Sado River, Portugal. The results have revealed a diet composed mainly of terrestrial C3 resources (from terrestrial animals and a small contribution from vegetable sources) and a proportion of marine resources close to 20%. These groups followed a subsistence pattern characterized by a variable settlement regime promoted by the availability of the resources in each region, and social and demographic factors that would induce human dietary diversification.

The Sado Valley results were compared with other European Mesolithic groups in order to provide a general view of the subsistence patterns of some of the last hunter-gatherer groups. The high degree of regionalization observed with the comparisons shows that it is impossible to characterise a single subsistence pattern for all European Mesolithic groups. In this sense, environmental characteristics, the geomorphology, the effectiveness of communities' adaptation, and the influence of social and demographic factors probably influenced Mesolithic subsistence patterns in Europe.

This palaeodietary study presents carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from human and faunal skeletal remains from the Copper Age settlement of Valencina de la Concepción–Castilleja de Guzmán, located in Seville, Spain. Montelirio, the only Valencina–Castilleja human group from which we have obtained reliable palaeodietary results, had a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources, including both plants and animals. The protein component of the diet consisted mainly of meat, milk and dairy products from livestock as well as C3 plant protein from cereals and pulses. This study compares data from Montelirio, the Copper Age group from Valencina–Castilleja, with the published data from other Iberian Late Neolithic–Copper Age (LN-CA) societies. This comparison reveals a homogeneous diet with some exceptions. Overall, the LN-CA diet in the Iberian Peninsula consisted mainly of animal proteins from meat, milk and dairy products from livestock as well as C3 plant sources from the characteristic agriculture of the societies of these periods. This study also demonstrates the minor use of aquatic resources from the Neolithic to the Copper Age period in the Iberian Peninsula.

This palaeodietary study presents new carbon and nitrogen isotope data for human and animal skeletal remains from the Middle Neolithic necropolis of Bòbila Madurell–Can Gambús (Vallès Occidental, Spain). The necropolis is divided into two sectors, Bòbila Madurell and Can Gambús, which differ in terms of their demography and the wealth of their tombs. This study examines each sector separately in order to assess how far these demographic and grave good differences also correspond to diversity in the community. The results show that a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources is found homogeneously in both sectors of the community. The protein component of the diet consisted mainly of meat, milk and other dairy products from livestock as well as C3 plant protein from the typical cereals and legumes grown in this period. The results also show the existence of slight intra-population sex and age differences in the Can Gambús sector, while these are not perceptible in the Bòbila Madurell sector. This allows inferences not only about the diet of the Neolithic communities that lived in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula but also about their customs, which would be reflected in social differentiation as regards the consumption of certain kinds of food. These are important data that can be added in future studies of socio-economic patterns in Neolithic societies in the rest of Europe.

Radiocarbon and palaeodiet information has been obtained for two Neolithic necropolises in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula: Puig d’en Roca and Can Gelats (Girona, Spain). Although Puig d’en Roca is one of the most important necropolises in this period, it is also one of the least known as, following its excavation in the 1950s and 1960s, it has scarcely been restudied archaeologically. Can Gelats is one of the latest funerary sites of this period to be excavated and therefore is little known to the scientific community. Two key issues in the study of Neolithic communities in the western Mediterranean are addressed here. Few radiocarbon determinations have been obtained at funerary sites and they have usually been applied to a very small number of individuals in each cemetery (one or two dates). In a similar way, palaeodiet analysis of Neolithic cemeteries has rarely been attempted, and therefore the information presented here is of great importance to understand the diet in those societies. This paper presents a new series of dates for two of the most important Neolithic necropolises in north-east Iberia and approaches the subsistence patterns of the populations buried there.

The excavations carried out from 1983 to 1985 on an Andorran hillside by the former Andorra National Artistic Heritage Archaeological Research Service revealed one of the most important Neolithic sites in the Pyrenees. Directed by Xavier Llovera and Pere Canturri, the excavations uncovered a settlement with two interesting features: 1) it was located in a high mountain area, and 2) the same place possessed numerous domestic and funerary structures. Both factors have made La Feixa del Moro a key site in the prehistory of both the Pyrenees and the western Mediterranean in general. Three decades later, a pluridisciplinary team has begun a careful review of the documentation, studied the human remains and artefacts in the graves, carried out several forms of biochemical analysis and obtained new radiocarbon determinations for the individuals exhumed in two of the three burials in stone boxes (or cists). The objective is a better understanding of the first farming communities that settled in the Pyrenees.

The excavations carried out from 1983 to 1985 on an Andorran hillside by the formerAndorra National Artistic Heritage Archaeological Research Service revealed one of the mostimportant Neolithic sites in the Pyrenees. Directed by Xavier Llovera and Pere Canturri, theexcavations uncovered a settlement with two interesting features: 1) it was located in ahigh mountain area, and 2) the same place possessed numerous domestic and funerarystructures. Both factors have made La Feixa del Moro a key site in the prehistory of both Paleodietthe Pyrenees and the western Mediterranean in general. Three decades later, a pluridisci-plinary team has begun a careful review of the documentation, studied the human remainsand artefacts in the graves, carried out several forms of biochemical analysis and obtainednew radiocarbon determinations for the individuals exhumed in two of the three buri-als in stone boxes (or cists). The objective is a better understanding of the first farmingcommunities that settled in the Pyrenees

At the beginning of the 1980s, a series of archaeological interventions carried out by what was previously
called the ‘Servei d’Investigacions Arqueológiques del Patrimoni Artístic Nacional d’Andorra’ in a Pyrenean valley
in Andorra allowed the investigation of the Feixa del Moro site. In a high-altitude area below a series of abandoned
terraces, several dwellings and burial structures were located, all of them with chronologies ranging between the Early
and the Middle Neolithic (from the mid 5th millennium to the early 4th millennium cal. BC).
The distinctiveness of this site does not only lie in its geographical location, nor in the kind of structures discovered,
but also in the very good state of preservation of the human bone material recovered from the burials, making Feixa del
Moro one of the reference sites for the Neolithic in the Pyrenees and, in general, the Western Mediterranean.
So far, sites with a similar conservation of both bones and burial structures are really uncommon. Moreover, the concentration
in so small an area, and in the same stratigraphic unit, of such a diversity of evidence, including burials, silos
and hearths, is yet more unusual. There are no similar sites in Andorra, or even in the entire Pyrenees. The only other
burial site of comparable chronology discovered in the area is the Segudet site, and only a few high-altitude Neolithic
dwelling sites are known. Even if cist burials are quite common in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and in Southern
France, Feixa del Moro is the first that has been found at high altitude.
The archaeological work undertaken between 1983 and 1985 provided a picture of a farming community belonging to
the so-called ‘Sepulcros de fosa’ Culture, established in the very heart of the Pyrenees and, thus, highlighted the complexity
of Neolithic settlement patterns, even in mountainous zones. At the same time, several analyses of the archaeological
materials were already carried out, making Feixa del Moro a reference site for archaeological research even now.
Nevertheless, three decades later, new methodologies and the technical advances available are allowing archaeologists
to refine old interpretations, to reopen old debates and to carry out new analyses that can improve our
understanding of the past. In this respect, since 2011, within the research project ‘Aproximación a las primeras
comunidades neolíticas del NE peninsular a través de sus prácticas funerarias’ (HAR2011-23149), funded by the
Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness, a group of interdisciplinary researchers have begun to
study several Neolithic burial contexts in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, among which Feixa del Moro.
Following this perspective, in this paper, we present the outcome of the new analyses carried out on the burial
goods and of the biochemistry and radiocarbon analyses carried out on the human bone material from the three
cist burials of Feixa del Moro, with the aim of better understanding the early farming communities who settled
in the Pyrenees.
Since the last archaeological work carried out in the 1990s, large quantities of data have been lost. This has produced
a certain degree of confusion and misunderstanding that has been repeated in other studies undertaken a posteriori on
the site by other scholars. Some of these interpretations need to be revised. That it is why, within the current research
project, we are not only bringing in new analyses, but also re-examining all the old written and graphic information
available, as well as the state of the conserved archaeological material.
The data presented in this paper resume all the available information on the Feixa del Moro site, correcting old mistakes
and bias, updating the 1980s archaeological registers and presenting new analyses as well. Our aim is to ensure that
Feixa del Moro remains a reference site for the Pyrenean and Western Mediterranean Neolithic. At the same time, we
wish to encourage other researchers to undertake new analyses and to embrace new perspectives in order to improve
our understanding of Neolithic societies.

Objectives: The study of subsistence strategies among Neolithic communities in north-east Iberia,
late-fifth to early-fourth millennia cal BC, enables a more in-depth study of the activities and
behavior of the inhabitants of this region, where paleodiets have been little studied. The objectives
of this study are, therefore, to determine the diet and subsistence patterns of those communities
and to consider whether any relation existed between their subsistence strategies and environmental,
geographic, and/or social factors.
Materials and Methods: Bone samples from 25 middle Neolithic human individuals at seven
archeological sites and comparative faunal samples were analyzed, and compared with contemporary
series in Mediterranean Europe. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) of bone
collagen were studied to determine the dietary patterns.
Results: Dietary habits proved to be similar between communities, apart from some interpopulational
variations in subsistence strategies. Their diet was based on C3 terrestrial resources with a
major vegetal protein component.
Discussion: The reported variations in interpopulational subsistence strategies among the compared
Mediterranean societies do not seem to be directly related to the settlement region.
Together with archeological data, this indicates the influence of socioeconomic factors in the Neolithic
human diet. A general tendency toward a lesser use of aquatic resources is seen in this
period in Iberia and the rest of the Mediterranean, as also documented for contemporary communities
in the west and north of Europe. The data obtained will be important for further studies
of socioeconomic patterns in European Neolithic societies.

El estudio paleodietético a partir de los isótopos estables del carbono y del nitrógeno de los restos esqueléticos humanos y de fauna del tholos de Montelirio (Valencina de la Concepción–Castilleja de Guzmán, Sevilla) permite una aproximación a la dieta de la comunidad representada en esta tumba, lo cual puede hasta cierto punto extrapolarse al modo de vida de las sociedades calcolíticas que habitaban o frecuentaban el asentamiento de Valencina. La dieta de los individuos humanos de Montelirio se componía básicamente de
recursos terrestres procedentes de una estrategia de subsistencia basada en la agricultura y la ganadería.
El componente proteico de su dieta consistía principalmente en el consumo de plantas C3 de cultivo, como el trigo y la cebada, y del consumo de leche y derivados lácteos procedentes del ganado doméstico. Este estudio demuestra, no solo el uso extensivo de prácticas agrícolas sino también la escasa presencia de los
recursos acuáticos.

Stable isotope investigations of the Prehistory of the Western Mediterranean have increased exponentially during the last decade. This region has a high number of Mesolithic and Neolithic carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio data available compared with other world areas, resulting from the interest in the " transition " between hunter-gathering and farming. This type of analysis is important as one of the few tools that give direct information on the poorly understood dietary transition from hunter-gatherer to agro-pastoralist subsistence in the Mediterranean Basin. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis on bulk collagen are especially useful for exploring marine vs. terrestrial protein input and therefore assess marine resource exploitation by these two different lifestyles. Gathering together all isotopic data for these chronologies we show that the Western Mediterranean underwent a unique/distinct Neolithisation process. These data show a gradual dietary shift in aquatic resource consumption during the transition to farming that contrasts to elsewhere in Europe.

Gerard Remolins, Juan F. Gibaja, María Fontanals, Patricia Martín, Alba Masclans, Niccolo Mazzuco, Millán Mozota, Francisco Javier Santos, Xavier Terradas, Xavier Oms, Mònica Oliva, Stéphanie Duboscq, M. Eulàlia Subirà, Xavier Llovera
Les sepultures de la Feixa del Moro
Monografies del MAC 2, Barcelona 2018,
ISBN: 978-84-393-9811-0 (PÀG. 185-195)