Isotope Analysis

5 reports
Isotope Analysis is an archaeological method used to locate, date, document, sample, or interpret material evidence. Valid use requires chronological method, laboratory preparation, and interpretive uncertainty, with transparent assumptions and checks against bias or model misspecification.

Readers following Isotope Analysis encounter sampling and context; calibration or reference data; and spatial or chronological resolution. The strength of statements about sampling and context depends on how well integration with excavation records is supported by calibration standards; confidence is limited by the fact that disturbance, contamination, and incomplete context can narrow what the method establishes.

Bronze Age Tomb in UAE Used for Over a Millennium Revealed

Archaeologists have excavated a communal tomb at Qattarah Necropolis in Al Ain, UAE, showing continuous use from the Wadi Suq period through the Iron Age. Isotope and ancient DNA analysis may clarify population origins and burial practices

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Roman Military Camp in Slovakia Reveals Unusual Soldier Burials

Archaeologists have identified a large Roman military camp near Šurany, Slovakia, containing hastily buried remains of soldiers and military equipment, offering new evidence for Roman campaigns during the Marcomannic Wars

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Isotope Evidence Reveals Maize-Based Farming in Ancient Brazilian Cerrado

Analysis of stable isotopes from over 100 individuals across 37 archaeological sites in Brazil's Cerrado shows that some large precolonial communities relied on maize-based polyculture, challenging assumptions about Indigenous subsistence in tropical South America

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Ancient Egyptian Princesses Show Evidence of Skilled Archery

Bioarchaeological analysis of Middle Kingdom royal women from Dahshur reveals skeletal adaptations consistent with regular archery and hunting, challenging assumptions that weapons in their tombs were only symbolic

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Isotope and DNA Evidence Trace St. Helena Burials to West Africa

Researchers have analyzed teeth and DNA from over 150 individuals buried on St. Helena after liberation from slave ships, revealing diverse childhood origins across West and Central Africa and highlighting the scale of forced displacement

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