Early Neolithic pastoral land use at Alsónyék-Bátaszék, Hungary (Starčevo culture): New insights from stable isotope ratios.

The earliest introduction of livestock (cattle, goats, sheep, pigs) into the Carpathian Basin was an important step towards farming expansion into continental Europe. This spread beyond the environments of the southern Balkans was accompanied by a reduction in the spectrum of cultivated crops, changes in the relative representation of different domestic animals, and, most likely, adaptations of husbandry practices. How the earliest farmers in the Carpathian Basin kept their domestic stock is still understudied.

Mercury speciation in Scottish raptors reveals high proportions of inorganic mercury in Scottish golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos): Potential occurrence of mercury selenide nanoparticles.

Knowledge of the uptake and fate of mercury (Hg) compounds in biota is important in understanding the global cycling of Hg and its transfer pathways through food chains. In this study, we analysed total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in 117 livers of Scottish birds of prey that were found across Scotland and submitted for post-mortem examination through the Raptor Health Scotland project between 2009 and 2019. Statistical comparisons focussed on six species (barn owl, Tyto alba; Eurasian common buzzard, Buteo buteo; golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos; hen harrier, Circus cyaneus; Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus; and tawny owl, Strix aluco) and showed that golden eagles had a statistically lower fraction of MeHg compared to other raptor species.

A combined chemical imaging approach using (MC) LA-ICP-MS and NIR-HSI to evaluate the diagenetic status of bone material for Sr isotope analysis.

This paper presents a combination of elemental and isotopic spatial distribution imaging with near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) to evaluate the diagenetic status of skeletal remains. The aim is to assess how areas with biogenic n(Sr)/n(Sr) isotope-amount ratios may be identified in bone material, an important recorder complementary to teeth. Elemental (C, P, Ca, Sr) and isotopic (n(Sr)/n(Sr)) imaging were accomplished via laser ablation (LA) coupled in a split stream to a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-QMS) and a multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC ICP-MS) (abbreviation for the combined method LASS ICP-QMS/MC ICP-MS).