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IMC 2021: Sessions

Session 702: Dust, Diet, and Isotopes: Scientific Analysis of Material Evidence

Tuesday 6 July 2021, 14.15-15.45

Moderator/Chair:David Stocker, Univeristy of Leeds
Paper 702-aHike to Holy Heights: Movement of the Non-Local Saint-Jean-de-Todon Elite
(Language: English)
Jane Holmstrom, Department of Anthropology University of Central Florida
Index terms: Anthropology, Archaeology - General, Religious Life
Paper 702-bElemental and Isotopic Analysis of Dust for Authentication of Historic Manuscripts: Part I
(Language: English)
Johanna Irrgeher, Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine und Analytische Chemie, Montanuniversität Leoben
Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Archives and Sources, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 702-cElemental and Isotopic Analysis of Dust for Authentication of Historic Manuscripts: Part II
(Language: English)
Patricia Engel, Department für Bauen und Umwelt, Zentrum für Kulturgüterschutz, University for Continuing Education, Krems
Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Archives and Sources, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

Paper -a:
Dietary differences as a result of social status became more divergent as the Christian church evolved during the European Medieval period. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of individuals (n=50) buried on the Lacau plateau at the Saint-Jean de Todon cemetery in France (9th to 13th century) has illustrated dietary differences likely linked to hierarchy within this elite group. This is further exemplified through the results of oxygen isotope analysis which indicates that these individuals were also non-locals who moved to the area sometime after childhood.

Paper -b & Paper -c:
Dust is an indicator of the time and place where a certain manuscript was made. A team of University of Continuing Education Krems and Montanuniversität Leoben received the permission to collect dust from early documents from the Monastery of Kremsmünster and Zwettl Monastery. Dust samples were analyzed for their elemental composition as well as strontium isotope ratio signatures as intrinsic indicators to study the authenticity and origin of historical parchment and paper documents. In this paper, we present preliminary results and discuss the potential and limitations of the method.

Paper -b & Paper -c authors are Patricia Engel (Department für Bauen und Umwelt / Zentrum für Kulturgüterschutz, Donau-Universität Krems), Johanna Irrgeher (Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine und Analytische Chemie, Montanuniversität Leoben), Christine Opper (Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine und Analytische Chemie, Montanuniversität Leoben), and Thomas Prohaska (Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine und Analytische Chemie, Montanuniversität Leoben).