The gladiator cemetery discovered in Ephesus (Turkey) in 1993 dates to the 2^nd and 3^rd century AD. The aim of this study is to reconstruct diverse diet, social stratification, and migration of the inhabitants of Roman Ephesus and the distinct group of gladiators. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur isotope analysis were applied, and inorganic bone elements (strontium, calcium) were determined. In total, 53 individuals, including 22 gladiators, were analysed. All individuals consumed C₃ plants like wheat and barley as staple food. A few individuals show indication of consumption of C₄ plants. The δ¹³C values of one female from the gladiator cemetery and one gladiator differ from all other individuals. Their δ³⁴S values indicate that they probably migrated from another geographical region or consumed different foods. The δ¹⁵N values are relatively low in comparison to other sites from Roman times. A probable cause for the depletion of ¹⁵N in Ephesus could be the frequent consumption of legumes. The Sr/Ca-ratios of the gladiators were significantly higher than the values of the contemporary Roman inhabitants. Since the Sr/Ca-ratio reflects the main Ca-supplier in the diet, the elevated values of the gladiators might suggest a frequent use of a plant ash beverage, as mentioned in ancient texts.

The identification of sex-specific peptides in human tooth enamel by nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) represents a quantum leap for the study of childhood and social relations more generally. Determining sex-related differences in prehistoric child rearing and mortality has been hampered by the insufficient accuracy in determining the biological sex of juveniles. We conducted mass spectrometric analysis to identify sex-specific peptides in the dental enamel of a child from a settlement pit of the Early Bronze Age settlement of Schleinbach, Austria (c. 1950–1850 bc). Four perimortal impression fractures on the skull of a 5–6-year-old child indicate an intentional killing, with a co-buried loom weight as possible murder weapon. Proteomic analysis, conducted for the first time on prehistoric teeth in Austria, determined the child’s sex as male. While we cannot conclusively determine whether the child was the victim of conflicts between village groups or was slain by members of his own community, we suggest that contextual evidence points to the latter. A possible trigger of violence was the follow-on effects of an uncontrolled middle ear infection revealed by an osteological analysis. The boy from Schleinbach highlights the potential for further investigation of gender-biased violence, infanticide and child murder based on the recently developed method of proteomic sex identification.

Given the absence of written records, the main source of information available to analyze gender inequalities in early complex societies is the human body itself. And yet, for decades, archaeologists have struggled with the sex estimation of poorly preserved human remains. Here we present an exceptional case study that shows how ground-breaking new scientific methods may address this problem. Through the analysis of sexually dimorphic amelogenin peptides in tooth enamel, we establish that the most socially prominent person of the Iberian Copper Age (c. 3200–2200 BC) was not male, as previously thought, but female. The analysis of this woman, discovered in 2008 at Valencina, Spain, reveals that she was a leading social figure at a time where no male attained a remotely comparable social position. Only other women buried a short time after in the Montelirio tholos, part of the same burial area, appear to have enjoyed a similarly high social position. Our results invite to reconsider established interpretations about the political role of women at the onset of early social complexity, and question traditionally held views of the past. Furthermore, this study anticipates the changes that newly developed scientific methods may bring to prehistoric archaeology and the study of human social evolution.

Estella Weiss-Krejci, Barbara Horejs Editorial Artikel / Articles Peter Trebsche Der Siedlungsplan als archäologisches Palimpest. Eine Methode zur Datierung von Pfostenbauten in mehrperiodigen Siedlungen Michael Brandl, Christoph Hauzenberger Geochemical Sourcing of Lithic Raw Materials from Secondary Deposits in South Serbia. Implications for Early Neolithic Resource Management Strategies Appendix 1. Supplementary LA-ICP-MS data – ONLINEhttps://epub. oeaw.ac.at/archaeologia102/Supplement_Brandl_Hauzenberger Katharina Rebay-Salisbury - Doris Pany-Kucera - Michaela Spannagl-Steiner - Fabian Kanz - Patrik Galeta - Maria Teschler-Nicola - Roderick B. Salisbury Motherhood at Early Bronze Age Unterhautzenthal, Lower Austria Kirsten Mandl - Friederike Novotny - Maria Teschler-Nicola - Estella Weiss-Krejci The Corpse in the Early Bronze Age. Results of Histotaphonomic and Archaeothanatological Investigations of Human Remains from the Cemetery of Franzhausen I, Lower Austria Benedikt Biederer Verteilungsmuster spätbronzezeitlicher Speichergruben in Mitteleuropa Nives Doneus, Wolfgang Neubauer, Michael Doneus, Mario Wallner Die archäologische Landschaft von Halbturn. Ergebnisse aus drei Jahrzehnten integrierter archäologischer Prospektion Beate Maria Pomberger, Peter Stadler Sicher vor Dämonen? Musikarchäologische Forschungen zu Glocken in awarischen Gräbern Rezensionen / Reviews Eva Lenneis Milan Lička, Osídlení ze starší etapy vývoje kultury s vyíchanou keramikou ve Mšeně / Besiedlung der älteren Entwicklungsetappe der Kultur mit Stichbandkeramik in Mšeno. Fontes Archaeologici Pragenses 43 (Národní muzeum, Prag 2016) Christoph Schwall Irina Gambashidze, Thomas Stöllner (Hrsg.), The Gold of Sakdrisi: Man‘s First Gold Mining Enterprise / საყდრისის ოქრო: კაცობრიობის პირველი ოქროს სამთო წარმოება. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum Bochum (VML Verlag Marie Leidorf, Rahden/Westfalen 2016) Muhammad Karami Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann, The New Chronology of the Bronze Age Settlement of Tepe Hissar, Iran. University Museum Monographs 142 (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2016) Eleftheria Kardamaki P. A. Mountjoy, Troy VI Middle, VI Late and VII: The Mycenaean Pottery. Studia Troica Monographien 9 (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, University of Cincinnati, Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn 2017) Theodoros G. Giannopoulos Konstantina Aktypi, The Mycenaean Cemetery at Agios Vasileios, Chalandritsa, in Achaea (Archaeopress, Oxford 2017) Robert Schumann Ludwig Wamser, Mauenheim und Bargen: Zwei Grabhügelfelder der Hallstatt- und Frühlatènezeit aus dem nördlichen Hegau. Forschungen und Berichte zur Archäologie in Baden-Württemberg 2 (Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 2016)