_____  

From: Mark Van Strydonck [mailto:mark.vanstrydonck@kikirpa.be] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 2:23 AM
To: pirwin@mail.utexas.edu
Subject: stable isotopes.Oekraïne

 



 

 
31 August 2007

Dr. Adam Rabinowitz

The Institute of Classical Archaeology


The University of Texas at Austin


3926 W. Braker Lane, Ste. 1.406

Austin, TX 78759


USA


Ref. : 2006.09223

 

Stable Isotopes Report

 

Dear Dr. Rabinowitz, 

Herby the results the stable isotope measurements on the bones from the
Chersonesos.

 

CHERSONESOS (UKRAINE)

 


 

d15N

d13C

C/N


carp 1

8,32

-23,86

3,3


carp 2

9,39

-21,48

4,3


carp 3

8,59

-24,67

3,3


carp 4

8,77

-24,58

5,1


 

 

 

 


catfish 1

15,75

-17,08

3,3


catfish 2

10,41

-23,16

3,1


catfish 3

14,22

-18,53

3,7


 

 

 

 


cattle 1

6,79

-20,43

3,2


cattle 2

6,45

-20,60

3,2


cattle 4

6,10

-20,44

3,2


cattle 3

7,42

-19,61

3,2


 

 

 

 


dog 1

10,34

-18,18

3,1


dog 2

10,82

-18,15

3,3


dog 3

8,65

-17,05

3,3


dog  4

9,03

-18,20

3,1


 

 

 

 


goat 1

3,74

-20,12

3,2


goat 2

4,68

-20,64

3,2


goat 3

7,84

-18,62

3,2


goat 4

8,58

-20,08

3,2


 

 

 

 


horse1

5,65

-20,61

3,2


horse 2

4,85

-20,68

3,1


horse 3

4,60

-20,97

3,1


horse 4

5,97

-18,52

3,2


 

 

 

 


mullet 2

7,00

-6,02

3,6


mullet3

5,35

-5,68

3,2


 

 

 

 


pig 1

6,95

-19,03

3,2


pig 2

5,44

-20,89

3,2


pig 3

3,88

-19,47

3,2


pig 4

8,76

-18,41

3,2


 

 

 

 


ray 1

8,57

-15,77

3,4


ray 2

*

*

8,0


ray 3

8,77

-16,06

3,4


ray 4

9,23

-17,81

3,7


 

 

 

 


sander 1

13,03

-20,82

3,2


sander 4

15,28

-17,92

3,5


 

 

 

 


shad 2

13,37

-11,57

3,3


 

 

 

 


sheep goat 1

6,90

-19,82

3,1


sheep 2

6,50

-18,90

3,2


sheep 3

6,79

-19,49

3,3


sheep 4

7,33

-19,71

3,1


 

 

 

 


sturgeon 1

8,51

-23,07

3,2


sturgeon 2

10,86

-21,02

3,4


sturgeon 3

10,62

-22,11

3,2


 

 

 

 


turbot 1

11,44

-16,04

3,4


turbot 2

10,72

-14,97

3,4


turbot 3

10,26

-17,30

4,0


turbot 4

12,60

-16,33

3,4



 

Remark:

1)      Sander 3 didn’t yield a reliable measurement due to a too small
sample.

2)      The other samples, not mentioned in the table, didn’t yield any
collagen.

3)      Ray 2 has a C/N=8 and for archaeological bones this ratio should be
below 3.6 (De Niro, 1985), while higher values of this ratio indicate humic
intrusion.

4)      Some C/N ratios are marked in yellow as their C/N is higher than 3.6
and indicates the presence of humic acids. Several samples of every specie
were measured and the stable isotopes of the samples with a C/N higher than
3.6 are in agreement with the stable isotopes of the samples with a good
C/N. The assumption is that the humic acids come from the humification of
the bones and are not intrusive an had little or no influence on the stable
isotope ratios.

5)      Mullet 2 and Ray 4 were very small samples and only a standard
correction was applied. Normally a blank correction applied on the samples
as well as on the standards. But very small samples have low signal and the
blank correction causes a big shift in the stable isotopes and yield bad
results. Furthermore the results of the mullet samples are in agreement with
other datasets.  

 

 


Bibliography


 

De Niro, M.J.,985. Post-Mortem preservation and alteration of in vivo bone
collagen isotope ratios in relation to palaeodietary construction, Nature,
317: 806-809.

 

 

All the best,

 

 

Mark Van Strydonck/Mathieu Boudin

Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage

C14-lab

Jubelpark 1

1000 Brussel


BELGIUM


 

 

P.S.: this mail is confirmed by letter