Assessing bio-cultural impacts on British biodiversity AD 0-1000

英国皇家动物研究所资助的一系列研究项目探索了特定英国动物(如休闲鹿、棕兔、兔子、老鼠、鸡、家猫和野猫)的深层历史。总而言之，这些项目的结果突出表明，‘黑暗时代’的冷期(公元6世纪)似乎代表了一次大规模灭绝事件，许多物种从动物考古学记录中消失(见图2)。基因研究证实，罗马时期的一些动物已经灭绝，后来在公元1000年左右被不同的种群取代。这些灭绝的规模和驱动因素尚不清楚--许多其他物种可能受到了气候和/或文化变化的影响。了解这些生物多样性古代变化的时间和环境提供了一个证据基线，可以对照现代动物管理问题(例如，灭绝、重新野生和入侵物种)进行审查。然而，由于难以区分野生和家养物种的考古遗迹，重建英国一些最具标志性的灭绝物种(例如野猪、狼和野猫)的深刻历史变得困难。结合动物考古学和同位素分析提供了识别这些物种的可能性，并因此跟踪这些物种的动态。这个项目将探索英国动物生物多样性变化的规模和驱动因素，重点放在1000年期间(公元0-1000年)，经历了与现在类似的巨大的气候、文化和经济变化。它将使用以下方法在多标量水平上完成这一工作：综合现有的英国动物群(公元0-1000)的动物考古学、古气候学和生物分子数据，并选择一个或多个物种(例如野猫、野猪或狼)作为详细的案例研究。分析科茨沃尔德考古(以及其他商业单位和博物馆)持有的新发掘和存档的材料，以选择案例研究物种的遗骸并与之联系起来。在动物考古学和稳定同位素分析(碳、氮、基于釉质的同位素分析(锶和氧)以检查动物的流动性和捕获性。建立多标度数据模型以探索动物考古记录中物种存在/缺失的最有可能的生物文化因素。选定的候选人将通过领导案例研究物种的选择来塑造项目。*在科茨沃尔德考古学为期18个月的安置期间，学生将在商业环境下进行动物考古研究，同时获取和采样将构成其同位素分析基础的材料。这名学生将在加的夫大学和英国地质调查局(BGS)至少呆上四周，在那里他们将接触到样品制备和质谱分析实验室。

A series of UKRI-funded research projects have explored the deep-time history of particular British fauna (e.g. fallow deer, brown hares, rabbits, rats, chickens, domestic and wild cats). Together the results from these projects have highlighted that the 'Dark Age' Cool Period (~6th century AD) appears to represent a mass extinction event, whereby many species disappear from the Zooarchaeological record (see Fig 2). Genetic research has confirmed that some animals present in the Roman period became extinct and were later replaced with different populations around 1000 AD. The scale and drivers of these extinctions are unclear - many other species may have been impacted by climatic and/or cultural change.Understanding the timing and circumstances of these ancient shifts in biodiversity provides an evidentiary baseline against which modern animal management issues (e.g. extinctions, rewilding and invasive species) can be examined. However, reconstructing the deep history of some of Britain's most iconic extinct species (for instance wild boar, wolves and wild cat) is made difficult by problems of differentiating the archaeological remains of wild and domestic variants. Combined zooarchaeological and isotope analysis offers the possibility of identifying, and therefore tracking the dynamics of, these species.This project will explore the scale of, and drivers responsible for, shifts in British animal biodiversity, focusing on the 1000-year period (AD 0-1000) which saw dramatic climatic, cultural and economic shifts akin to those being experienced in the present. It will do this at a multi-scalar level using the following approaches:Synthesising existing zooarchaeological, palaeoclimatological and biomolecular data for British fauna (AD 0 - 1000) and selecting one or more species (e.g. wild cat, wild boar or wolves) as detailed case-studies.Analysing newly excavated and archived material held by Cotswold Archaeology (and other commercial units and museums) to select and contextualise the remains of the case-study species.Undertaking zooarchaeological and stable isotope analysis (carbon, nitrogen, sulphur) of the case-study species to differentiate wild and domestic animals (e.g. wild boar versus domestic pig) on the basis of skeletal morphology and dietary niche.Enamel-based isotope analysis (strontium and oxygen) to examine animal mobility and catchment.Model the multiscalar data to explore the bio-cultural factors most likely responsible for species presence/absence in the zooarchaeological record.The selected candidate will shape the project by leading on the selection of the case-study species.* During an 18-month placement at Cotswold Archaeology the student will undertake zooarchaeological research within a commercial setting, whilst accessing and sampling the materials that will form the basis of their isotope analysis. The student will spend a minimum of four weeks at both Cardiff University and the British Geological Survey (BGS) where they will access sample preparation and mass spectrometry labs.