Univerza na Primorskem Fakulteta za matematiko, naravoslovje in informacijske tehnologije
Več informacij o projektu / More info about the project
Vsebina projekta / Project content
SLO
Z vodo prepojeni sedimenti omogočajo ohranitev različnih organskih ostankov in tako zagotavljajo pomembne in edinstvene arheološke najdbe. Na Ljubljanskem barju v Sloveniji, najbolj jugovzhodnem območju razširjenosti obalpskih jezerskih naselbin v Evropi, je odkritih več kot 40 kolišč. Stare gmajne veljajo za eno najpomembnejših v eneolitiku. Izkopavanja na tem najdišču so pomembna za reševanje kulturne dediščine tega območja, ki je ogroženo zaradi kmetijskih dejavnosti in izsuševanja tal na Ljubljanskem barju. Po odkritju kolišča Stare gmajne so sledila manjša arheološka sondiranja v letih 2006 in 2007, ki so pokazala impresivne najdbe, kot so najstarejše leseno kolo z osjo in izjemno fino spredena preja, ki poleg visokih koncentracij ostalih rastlinskih in živalskih (tudi ribjih, ptičjih, pasjih) ostankov vsi dokazujejo pomembnost te ogrožene (do sedaj še vedno z vodo prepojene!?) arheološke naselbine. Šestnajst zelo dobro ohranjenih nezoglenelih iztrebkov (koprolitov) z najdišča Stare gmajne je glavna tema tega projekta. Koproliti so dragoceni arhivi, ki podajajo podatke o prehrani, zdravju, sezonskosti iztrebljanja, okoljskem stanju idr. Ta študija je namenjena premostitvi vrzeli pri koprolitskih preiskavah, saj so nezogleneli in izjemno dobro ohranjeni človeški ali pasji koproliti izjemno redko ohranjeni in najdeni. Vsebino koprolitov bomo natančno preučili z multidisciplinarnimi pristopi: genetika, biomarkerji, palinologija, paleoparazitologija, arheobotanika in arheozoologija. Poleg okoljskih, sezonskih informacij in neposrednih informacij o paleodieti ter zdravju, bo indiciran tudi biološki izvor iztrebka: človeški ali pasji. Slovenski arheološki inštitut ZRC SAZU bo pokril arheološke, arheobotanične, palinološke in delno tudi arheozoološke raziskave. Palaeoparazitološke preiskave gastrointestinalnega trakta bodo opravljene v laboratoriju Chrono-Environment v Besançonu, Francija. Ekstrakcija mt-DNK in radiokarbonsko datiranje na šestih bolje ohranjenih koprolitih bo opravljeno s pomočjo partnerjev na Univerzi na Primorskem v Sloveniji in v radiokarbonskih laboratorijih: Poznan ali BetaAnalytic. Avstrijski arheološki inštitut je odgovoren za identifikacijo ostankov dvoživk, plazilcev in rib. Hipoteza je, da so v pasjem iztrebku ohranjeni predvsem kostni (pogosto ribji) ostanki, medtem ko naj bi človeški iztrebki vsebovali večinoma rastlinske ostanke poljščin. Analize biomarkerjev bodo izvedene na Inštitutu za kemijske tehnologije in analitiko na Dunaju. Poleg dragocenega vpogleda v prehranske navade prebivalstva (ali psa) bronaste dobe, bodo te multidisciplinarne raziskave vodile do znanstveno uporabnih standardov za raziskovalni potencial in diskriminacijo človeških in pasjih kopolitov.
ANG
Waterlogged conditions preserve various organic remains and provide important archaeological information. More than 40 pile-dwelling sites are documented at Ljubljansko barje in Slovenia, the southeastern region of the Circum-Alpine lake-shore sites in Europe. Stare gmajne is one of the most important sites in the Late Neolithic. Excavations are important to rescue the cultural heritage of this important site, which is threatened by destruction due to agricultural activities and drying-up. The discovery of Stare gmajne site was followed by small archaeological excavations in 2006 and 2007 that revealed impressive finds, such as the oldest wooden wheel with an axle and exceptionally refined fibers of yarn, which beside high concentrations of plant, fish, bird, dog (and other mammals), reptile and amphibian remains, evidence the importance of this threatened (till now still!?) waterlogged site. Sixteen very well preserved uncarbonised faeces from Stare gmajne site are in focus of this project. Faeces are valuable archives offering data about diet and nutrition, health, seasonality and environmental exploitation. This study aims to bridge a gap in coprolite examinations as uncarbonised and exceptionally well preserved dog or human coprolites are rarely preserved. The digested content will be studied in a multidisciplinary approach investigating genetical, biomarkers, palynological, palaeoparasitological, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological features. Beside environmental-, seasonal information and direct information about the paleodiet and the health, the biological human or canine origin will be indicated. The Slovenian Institute of Archaeology ZRC SAZU will cover the archaeozoological, archaeobotanical and palynological fields. The gastrointestinal palaeoparasitological investigations will be carried out at the Chrono-Environment Laboratory in Besançon. mtDNA extraction and radiocarbon dating will be performed on the six best-preserved coprolites by partners at the University of Primorska, Slovenia and Poznan or Beta Analytic radiocarbon laboratories. The Austrian Archaeological Institute is responsible for the identification and recording of amphibian, reptile and fish bones, with a special focus on macro-remains out of the coprolites. The hypothesis is that dog faeces consist mainly of a bony structure including frequent fish head bones, while human excrements shall content mainly crop remains. Analyses of the faecal biomarker will be conducted at the Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Vienna University of Technology. In addition to presenting valuable insight into the nutritional and dietary habits of the population (or dogs) of the Bronze Age, this multidisciplinary research will lead to scientific usable standards for the research potential as well as discrimination of human and canine coprolites.