Publications by authors named "J A DUDGEON"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates ancient microbiomes in archaeological dental calculus from 102 individuals across 10 Pacific islands and one island in Southeast Asia over ~3000 years, revealing insights into human migration patterns.
- DNA from oral microbiomes in dental calculus is better preserved than human DNA from bones, allowing for a clearer analysis of historical microbial communities.
- The oral microbial communities from the Pacific and Island Southeast Asia are distinct from those in Europe, Africa, and Asia, indicating that geographic factors influence the composition of these ancient microbiomes.
Remote islands in the Pacific Ocean (Oceania) experienced dramatic environmental transformations after initial human settlement in the past 3,000 yr. Here, human causality of this environmental degradation has been unquestioned and viewed as evidence of the inherent destructive tendencies of human societies in both archaeological and popular discourse. We use charcoal and stable carbon isotopes from deep soil cores to reconstruct the dynamics of fire activity and deforestation across the Sigatoka River valley on the leeward (dry) side of Viti Levu, Fiji.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, a microbial fuel cell was integrated into a hydroponic system (MFC-Hyp) using a ceramic membrane as a separator. The MFC-Hyp is a passive system that allows the transport of nutrients from wastewater in the microbial fuel cell (MFC) to water in the hydroponic vessel (Hyp) through a ceramic membrane separator, with no external energy input. The performance of this system was examined using potato-process wastewater as a source of energy and nutrients (K, P, N) and garlic chives () as a hydroponic plant.
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- - The study examines the use of stable isotope ratio analyses in understanding the prehistoric diet of Rapa Nui, comparing bone collagen, carbonate isotopes, and compound-specific isotope analyses (CSIA) of amino acids for more accurate dietary reconstructions.
- - Researchers analyzed carbon isotopes in bone carbonate from 28 prehistoric human teeth and modern plant samples to assess the dietary habits, revealing a primarily terrestrial diet with variable marine resource consumption over time.
- - Findings suggest that previous assumptions of high marine food intake may need reevaluation, as they reflect the carbon assimilated rather than actual consumption; further understanding of isotopic processes and endmember values is crucial for accurate dietary assessments.
During the European Middle Ages, the opening of long-distance Asian trade routes introduced exotic goods, including ultramarine, a brilliant blue pigment produced from lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan. Rare and as expensive as gold, this pigment transformed the European color palette, but little is known about its early trade or use. Here, we report the discovery of lapis lazuli pigment preserved in the dental calculus of a religious woman in Germany radiocarbon-dated to the 11th or early 12th century.
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