Author, as appears in the article.: Vázquez C; Vallejo A; Vergès JM; Barrio RJ
Department: Història i Història de l'Art
URV's Author/s: Vergès Bosch, Josep Maria
Keywords: Livestock Faecal matter Domestication Diet Chain fatty-acids Biomarkers plant wax components organic-matter sources n-alkanes livestock leaf wax fecal sterols faecal matter diet cuticular wax composition markers carbon isotopic composition biomarkers bile-acids
Abstract: Faecal matter is commonly recovered from archaeological sites related to human/animal activity. The identification of its source is essential to understand the domestication process and the relationship between humans and domestic animals in ancient times. Additionally, faecal matter is useful for determining the diet of animals. Therefore, the use of an appropriate biomarker is essential. The ratios of 5β-Stanols and bile acid biomarkers are most commonly used to identify the biogenic origin of faecal matter. However, other biomarkers such as archaeol can be a good proxy for ruminants. Conversely, plant-based diet of the animals can be discerned by analysis of faecal matter. n-Alkanes are the most common proxies of the animal diet, followed by long-chain fatty acids and long-chain alcohols, and the interest in the analysis of carbon isotopes has recently increased owing to the possibility of distinguishing animal diets. In this review, we describe the identification of faecal and diet biomarkers in animals. Ratios and proxies used in archaeological fields are also described and discussed to determine the best approach for accurate identification.
Thematic Areas: Science and technology studies History Geociências Ciencias sociales Ciencias humanas Archeology (arts and humanities) Archeology Archaeology
licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
Author's mail: josepmaria.verges@urv.cat
Record's date: 2024-07-27
Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Link to the original source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X21004326
Licence document URL: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/
Papper original source: Journal Of Archaeological Science: Reports. 40
APA: Vázquez C; Vallejo A; Vergès JM; Barrio RJ (2021). Livestock activity biomarkers: Estimating domestication and diet of livestock in ancient samples. Journal Of Archaeological Science: Reports, 40(), -. DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103220
Article's DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103220
Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Journal publication year: 2021
Publication Type: Journal Publications
Repositori URV