About this Research Topic
Recent advances in both the methodological and technological applications of compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) have redefined the way in which we study the role climatic and environmental variability had in shaping past human, and other hominin, behavioural, morphological, and technological adaptations. The utilization of CSIA for δ2H, δ13C, or δ15N demonstrates the importance of developing transdisciplinary research amongst archaeologists, climate scientists, ecologists, geologists, palaeoanthropologists, and palaeobiologists. This has also improved our ability to explore multiple angles of human- environment interactions in the past, specifically through plant ecology and water availability (plant waxes), fire history (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Levoglucosan), dietary patterns (lipid residue analysis), and population dynamics (faecal biomarkers). Furthermore, CSIA and specific biological marker molecules offer applicability across diverse temporal and spatial scales previously unattainable with traditional palaeo-proxies.
For this Research Topic in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, we invite papers focusing on the utilization of biomarkers (plant-waxes, bacterial or archaeal lipids, sterols and stanols, PAHs, steranes and hopanes, etc,) and stable isotope analysis to archaeological research with climate or environmental focuses. This includes studies focusing on both archaeological sites and broader regional contexts (e.g., closely associated lake or marine cores). This collection's focus is on the ability of CSIA to provide high-resolution temporal and spatial insights into such things as palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental influences on human biological and cultural change, dietary adaptations, fire history and use, population dynamics, and microevolutionary changes associated with ecological variability. This issue further aims to explore the long-term impact humans have on their environments through land-use modifications and the evolutionary pressures human activity has imparted on coexisting biological communities. We welcome submissions from around the world, stretching in time from the Pliocene through to the Holocene.
For this Research Topic in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, we invite papers focusing on the utilization of biomarkers (plant-waxes, bacterial or archaeal lipids, sterols and stanols, PAHs, steranes and hopanes, etc,) and stable isotope analysis to archaeological research with climate or environmental focuses. This includes studies focusing on both archaeological sites and broader regional contexts (e.g., closely associated lake or marine cores). This collection's focus is on the ability of CSIA to provide high-resolution temporal and spatial insights into such things as palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental influences on human biological and cultural change, dietary adaptations, fire history and use, population dynamics, and microevolutionary changes associated with ecological variability. This issue further aims to explore the long-term impact humans have on their environments through land-use modifications and the evolutionary pressures human activity has imparted on coexisting biological communities. We welcome submissions from around the world, stretching in time from the Pliocene through to the Holocene.
Keywords: Compound Specific Isotope Analysis, CSIA, Biomarkers, Stable Isotope Analysis
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
