Pottery use at the transition to agriculture in the western Mediterranean : evidence from biomolecular and isotopic characterisation of organic residues in Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels
Recent research has attributed the introduction of agriculture in the western Mediterranean to several rapid waves of âmaritime pioneer colonisationâ, followed by indigenous adoption. Impressed/Cardial Wares are thought to have spread simultaneously with domesticates through this region, and are hypothesised to have been used to process domestic plant and animal products. To test this hypothesis, organic residue analysis (ORA) has been applied to 301 Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels recovered from 14 Early and Middle Neolithic sites in the western Mediterranean, to determine their content and function. ORA is a well established technique that can provide direct and sometimes specific evidence of an artefactâs function by analysing lipid residues trapped within its matrix. Characterisation of these fatty residues was carried out using Gas Chromatography (GC), GC-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and GC-combustion-Isotope Ratio MS (GC-c-IRMS). The latter is especially useful, since it allows the ÎŽ13C values of two particular fatty acids, C16:0 and C18:0, to be measured. Because of variations in the way these two fatty acids are biosynthesised and routed in different organisms, the difference between their ÎŽ13C
Debono Spiteri, Cynthianne
Pottery use at the transition to agriculture in the western Mediterranean : evidence from biomolecular and isotopic characterisation of organic residues in Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels. Recent research has attributed the introduction of agriculture in the western Mediterranean to several rapid waves of âmaritime pioneer colonisationâ, followed by indigenous adoption. Impressed/Cardial Wares are thought to have spread simultaneously with domesticates through this region, and are hypothesised to have been used to process domestic plant and animal products. To test this hypothesis, organic residue analysis (ORA) has been applied to 301 Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels recovered from 14 Early and Middle Neolithic sites in the western Mediterranean, to determine their content and function. ORA is a well established technique that can provide direct and sometimes specific evidence of an artefactâs function by analysing lipid residues trapped within its matrix. Characterisation of these fatty residues was carried out using Gas Chromatography (GC), GC-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and GC-combustion-Isotope Ratio MS (GC-c-IRMS). The latter is especially useful, since it allows the ÎŽ13C values of two particular fatty acids, C16:0 and C18:0, to be measured. Because of variations in the way these two fatty acids are biosynthesised and routed in different organisms, the difference between their ÎŽ13C
pottery use transition_agriculture western_mediterranean evidence biomolecular isotopic characterisation organic_residue impressed ware person vessel recent attribute introduction agriculture western_mediterranean several rapid wave maritime pioneer colonisation follow indigenous adoption impressed person think spread simultaneously domesticate region hypothesise used process domestic plant animal_product test_hypothesis organic_residue analysis apply impressed ware person vessel recover early_middle neolithic_sit western_mediterranean determine content function well_establish technique provide direct sometimes specific evidence artefact function analyse lipid residue trap within matrix characterisation residues carry use gas_chromatography mass_spectrometry isotope_ratio latter especially useful since allows value particular measure variation way rout different organism difference