York Osteoarchaeology (United Kingdom)

Archaeological dental calculus can provide detailed insights into the ancient human oral microbiome. We offer a multi-period, multi-site, ancient shotgun metagenomic dataset consisting of 174 samples obtained primarily from archaeological dental calculus derived from various skeletal collections in the United Kingdom. This article describes all the materials used including the skeletons' historical period and burial location, biological sex, and age determination, data accessibility, and additional details associated with environmental and laboratory controls. In addition, this article describes the laboratory and bioinformatic methods associated with the dataset development and discusses the technical validity of the data following quality assessments, damage evaluations, and decontamination procedures. Our approach to collecting, making accessible, and evaluating bioarchaeological metadata in advance of metagenomic analysis aims to further enable the exploration of archaeological science topics such as diet, disease, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

RationaleDental calculus (mineralised dental plaque) is composed primarily of hydroxyapatite. We hypothesise that the carbonate component of dental calculus will reflect the isotopic composition of ingested simple carbohydrates. Therefore, dental calculus carbonates may be an indicator for sugar consumption, and an alternative to bone carbonate in isotopic palaeodiet studies.MethodsWe utilised Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance analysis to characterise the composition and crystallisation of bone and dental calculus before isotope analysis of carbonate. Using a Sercon 20‐22 mass spectrometer coupled with a Sercon GSL sample preparation system and an IsoPrime 100 dual inlet mass spectrometer plus Multiprep device to measure carbon, we tested the potential of dental calculus carbonate to identify C4 resources in diet through analysis of δ13C values in paired bone, calculus and teeth mineral samples.ResultsThe modern population shows higher δ13C values in all three tissue carbonates compared to both archaeological populations. Clear differences in dental calculus δ13C values are observed between the modern and archaeological individuals suggesting potential for utilising dental calculus in isotope palaeodiet studies. The offset between dental calculus and either bone or enamel carbonate δ13C values is large and consistent in direction, with no consistent offset between the δ13C values for the three tissues per individual.ConclusionsOur results support dental calculus carbonate as a new biomaterial to identify C4 sugar through isotope analysis. Greater carbon fractionation in the mouth is likely due to the complex formation of dental calculus as a mineralized biofilm, which results in consistently high δ13C values compared to bone and enamel.

The analysis of dental calculus (mineralised dental plaque) has become an increasingly important facet of bioarchaeological research. Although microscopic analysis of microdebris entrapped within dental calculus has revealed important insights into the diet, health, and environment of multiple prehistoric populations, relatively few studies have examined the contributions of this approach to more recent historical periods. In this study, we analyze dental calculus from an English Post-Medieval, middle-class urban skeletal assemblage from Manchester, England using light microscopy. We characterize all types of microremains, observing heavily damaged starch and plant material, high quantities of fungal and yeast spores, the presence of wood particles, plant (cotton) and animal (wool) fibres, as well as limited quantities of microcharcoal and burnt debris. We observe the presence of non-native, imported plant products, including New World maize and potentially tapioca starch. We compare our results to similar studies from earlier time periods to reveal the impacts of the significant economic, social and environmental changes occurring during the Industrial period in England, including changes in food processing, food access, food storage, and air quality. We conclude by outlining important methodological considerations for the future study of Post-Medieval dental calculus and propose potential areas of future research.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, England underwent a period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. The detrimental effects of urban living conditions and child factory labor on the health of children during this time has been the subject of considerable debate and investigation by historians. It is generally understood that growing up in a rural environment was more conducive to healthy growth and development than within an industrial town. This study presents the first direct comparison of the bioarchaeological evidence for non-adult health from contemporaneous urban and rural sites from the north of England. Rural skeletal assemblages from this period are rare, and most published studies are biased toward urban sites in the south of the country. Contrary to expectations, results revealed equal prevalence rates of metabolic and dental disease at both sites, but skeletons from the rural site had greater evidence of growth disruption and respiratory disease. Evidence for specific infectious disease and medical care in response to trauma were also identified. Our interpretations of rural/urban health during this period must take into account the dire consequences of social inequalities and economic migration. There is a tendency for the latter to be characterized as unidirectional—from country to town—without due consideration of rural industry and child migrant workers. Durante los siglos XVIII y XIX Inglaterra experimentó un período acelerado de urbanización e industrialización. Los efectos perjudiciales de las condiciones de vida urbana y del trabajo infantil obrero en la salud de los niños durante este período han sido objeto de considerables debates e investigación por parte de los historiadores. En general, se entiende que el crecer en un ambiente rural era más propicio para un crecimiento y desarrollo saludables, en comparación con el ambiente al interior de las ciudades industrializadas. Este estudio presenta la primera comparación directa de la evidencia bioarqueológica respecto a la salud de individuos no-adultos provenientes de sitios urbanos y rurales contemporáneos del norte de Inglaterra. Las colecciones de restos óseos rurales de este período son escasas, y la mayoría de los estudios publicados están sesgados hacia los sitios urbanos del sur del país. Contrario a las expectativas, los resultados revelaron tasas de prevalencia similares en ambos sitios en cuanto a desórdenes metabólicos y enfermedades dentales, pero los esqueletos del sitio rural presentaron mayor evidencia de alteraciones del crecimiento, y enfermedades respiratorias. También se encontró evidencia de enfermedades infecciosas específicas y tratamiento médico como respuesta a traumas. Nuestras interpretaciones de la salud rural/urbana durante este período deben tener en cuenta las nefastas consecuencias de las desigualdades sociales y la migración económica. Existe una tendencia a caracterizar esta última de manera unidireccional—del campo a la ciudad—sin la debida consideración de la industria rural y de los niños trabajadores migrantes.

The purported migrations that have formed the peoples of Britain have been the focus of generations of scholarly controversy. However, this has not benefited from direct analyses of ancient genomes. Here we report nine ancient genomes (∼1 ×) of individuals from northern Britain: seven from a Roman era York cemetery, bookended by earlier Iron-Age and later Anglo-Saxon burials. Six of the Roman genomes show affinity with modern British Celtic populations, particularly Welsh, but significantly diverge from populations from Yorkshire and other eastern English samples. They also show similarity with the earlier Iron-Age genome, suggesting population continuity, but differ from the later Anglo-Saxon genome. This pattern concords with profound impact of migrations in the Anglo-Saxon period. Strikingly, one Roman skeleton shows a clear signal of exogenous origin, with affinities pointing towards the Middle East, confirming the cosmopolitan character of the Empire, even at its northernmost fringes.

This paper seeks to refine understandings of the cultural life of caves—especially later prehistoric caves—in Sardinia, with particular reference to the themes of landscape and ritual performance. It also highlights significant local diversity within this category of archaeological site, drawing upon the results of archaeological research into an extraordinary group of over ten ritual caves in the territory of Seulo in central Sardinia, including a series of twenty new radiocarbon dates.

The use of ancient DNA in paleopathological studies of tuberculosis has largely been restricted to confirmation of disease identifications made by skeletal analysis; few attempts at obtaining genotype data from archaeological samples have been made because of the need to perform different PCRs for each genetic locus being studied in an ancient DNA extract. We used a next generation sequencing approach involving hybridization capture directed at specific polymorphic regions of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome to identify a detailed genotype for a historic strain of M. tuberculosis from an individual buried in the 19th century St. George's Crypt, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. We obtained 664,500 sequencing by oligonucleotide ligation and detection (SOLiD) reads that mapped to the targeted regions of the M. tuberculosis genome; the coverage included 218 of 247 SNPs, 10 of 11 insertion/deletion regions, and the repeat elements IS1081 and IS6110. The accuracy of the SOLiD data was checked by conventional PCRs directed at 11 SNPs and two insertion/deletions. The data placed the historic strain of M. tuberculosis in a group that is uncommon today, but it is known to have been present in North America in the early 20th century. Our results show the use of hybridization capture followed by next generation sequencing as a means of obtaining detailed genotypes of ancient varieties of M. tuberculosis, potentially enabling meaningful comparisons between strains from different geographic locations and different periods in the past.