Human remains from Arma di Nasino (Liguria) provide novel insights into the paleoecology of early Holocene foragers in northwestern Italy.

We report the discovery and analysis of new Mesolithic human remains-dated to ca. 10,200-9000 cal. BP-from Arma di Nasino in Liguria, northwestern Italy, an area rich in Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic attestations, but for which little information on Early Holocene occupation was available.

Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community.

Social anthropology and ethnographic studies have described kinship systems and networks of contact and exchange in extant populations. However, for prehistoric societies, these systems can be studied only indirectly from biological and cultural remains. Stable isotope data, sex and age at death can provide insights into the demographic structure of a burial community and identify local versus non-local childhood signatures, archaeogenetic data can reconstruct the biological relationships between individuals, which enables the reconstruction of pedigrees, and combined evidence informs on kinship practices and residence patterns in prehistoric societies.

Micro-punches versus micro-slices for serial sampling of human dentine: Striking a balance between improved temporal resolution and measuring additional isotope systems.

Rationale: The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the application of serial sampling of human dentine in archaeology. Rapid development in the field has provided many improvements in the methodology, in terms of both time resolution as well as the ability to integrate more isotope systems in the analysis. This study provides a comparison of two common sampling approaches, allowing researchers to select the most suitable approach for addressing specific research questions.

A multi-proxy bioarchaeological approach reveals new trends in Bronze Age diet in Italy.

This study investigates changes in dietary practices and subsistence strategies in Bronze Age Italy integrating isotopic analyses with archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data. By investigating food habits, we contribute to reconstructing human lifestyles and highlighting possible links with the economic/social organization when the rise of stratified societies and new economic activities affected subsistence practices. Stable isotopes analyses in humans and animals were performed on 6 Italian sites dating from 2300 to 900 cal.