Braden Cordivari

31 March 2026

This month’s Reading Recommendation comes from SAS VP for Social Media Vana Orfanou and VP for Member Communications Braden Cordivari, who recommend an interesting new paper on lead isotope analysis recently published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, titled “Observations on sample size for lead isotopic analysis of ancient copper alloys.” In this paper, Frederik Rademakers, Patrick Degryse, Elvira Vassileva, and Frank Vanhaecke analyze certified reference materials using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) to assess the effect of different sample masses on lead isotope ratios. They find that there is variability in the results, which they show primarily derives from low sample masses, particularly those less than 20 mg and particularly for samples with low lead concentrations. The authors recommend a minimum sample mass of 20-30 mg in order to avoid these issues. They also note that their findings suggest it is better to run a single analysis of larger sample mass than to subdivide into multiple samples of less optimal mass, which may lead to unrepresentative results. Archaeometallurgists are always balancing being as minimally invasive as possible while still obtaining accurate and reliable data, and this paper helps establish a benchmark for guiding responsible sampling.

Rademakers, F.W., Degryse, P., Vassilieva, E., Vanhaecke, F., 2026. Observations on sample size for lead isotopic analysis of ancient copper alloys. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5JA00416K

Braden Cordivari

16 March 2026

SAS member Andrew Millard has shared a paper recently published in Quaternary Science Reviews (February 2026), co-authored with colleagues Meng Zhang and Dan Lawrence from Durham University, on diet and agriculture in China: “Isotopic evidence for changing diet and agriculture in China from the Neolithic to the Early Han period (10-2 ka BP).”

Highlights

• Compiled a large C–N isotopic dataset (N_human=3,492; N_animal=2,919) to reconstruct prehistoric subsistence in China 10–2 ka BP
• Reveals early, persistent millet farming in the Middle Yellow River with millet-fed pig husbandry dominant from Early Neolithic
• After ∼5 ka BP, farming split: millet–pig systems in Middle Yellow River and wheat and barley pastoral economies in northwest China

Summary

Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses for ca. 3000 animals and 3500 humans shed light on the changing farming practices from the Neolithic to the Early Han Dynasty across China. Feeding pigs with the C4-crop millet started in the Early Neolithic in the Middle Yellow River region, and later spread, but in marginal zones pig husbandry diets varied widely. The introduction of western domesticates after 5 ka BP led to two distinct farming regimes. Subsistence based on millet and pigs persisted in the Middle Yellow River region, integrating cattle and sheep into existing millet-based fodder regimes. Conversely, the arid northwestern regions shifted to farming centered on sheep/goat and the C3-crops wheat and barley. In all periods we found deer a useful indicator of wild animal access to crops. The regional differences highlight how local ecologies and resource availability shaped regionally distinct trajectories of farming in prehistoric China.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109725

Congratulations to Meng, Dan, and Andrew! We hope you enjoy reading their work. Find out more about how to share your work with a Spotlight.

Spatiotemporal distribution of C₃ and C₄ consumption of human and pig across China. Zhang et al. 2026, Fig. 9 (licensed under CC BY 4.0)

Braden Cordivari

25 February 2026

SAS welcomes the latest Student Ambassador, Maren von Mallinckrodt, a PhD candidate in Biological Anthropology at the University of Iceland! Maren’s research focuses on non-adult skeletal remains from the medieval period in Iceland, exploring questions of health, mortality, and social identity. Maren is looking forward to using the ambassador program as a platform to represent Northern Europe and connect early-career researchers in archaeological sciences, both within the region and beyond. She is currently one of the main organizers of the 9th Workshop Young Researchers in Archaeometry, supported by SAS and taking place in Reykjavík in October 2026, is excited to continue building networks and strengthening collaboration across the community in this role.

Braden Cordivari

25 February 2026

In this installment of SAS Board Reading Recommendations, SAS President Elect Paul Szpak selected “Major excursions in sulfur isotopes linked to permafrost change in Eurasia during the last 50,000 years” by Rhiannon Stevens et al., published in Nature Geosciences in August 2025. Stevens et al. determined the sulfur isotope composition (δ³⁴S) of the bone collagen of over 700 ¹⁴C-dated mammalian megafauna from Eurasia. They found unusually low sulfur isotope values in some regions between 30,000 and 15,000 years BP, which they dub the Late Pleniglacial Sulfur Excursion. They suggest that this pattern of very low sulfur isotope values was driven by changing permafrost dynamics, specifically in areas that had extensive permafrost that later melted. This melting altered the water availability in the soil, creating conditions that favoured waterlogged conditions, encouraging the production of sulfides via bacterial dissimilatory sulfate reduction. Of the chemical elements common in organic compounds (CHONS), sulfur is notoriously difficult to analyze via stable isotope analysis: it is not very abundant and the SO₂ that is produced during analysis is very ‘sticky’. Because it has been less commonly analyzed, we are just starting to gain a deeper understanding of how and why sulfur isotopes vary in the biosphere. The paper by Stevens et al., is one of several recent studies that have found that wetlands and similar environments produce characteristically low sulfur isotope values, meaning that they could serve as a marker of exploitation of these environments by past human and animal populations.

Stevens, R.E., Reade, H., Sayle, K.L., Tripp, J.A., Frémondeau, D., Lister, A., Barnes, I., Germonpré, M., Street, M., Murton, J.B., Bottrell, S.H., James, D.H., Higham, T.F.G., 2025. Major excursions in sulfur isotopes linked to permafrost change in Eurasia during the last 50,000 years. Nat. Geosci. 18, 961–965. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01760-x

See also:

Guiry, E.J., Orchard, T.J., Needs-Howarth, S., Szpak, P., 2022. Freshwater wetland–driven variation in sulfur isotope compositions: Implications for human paleodiet and ecological research. Front. Ecol. Evol. 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.953042

Lamb, A.L., Chenery, C.A., Madgwick, R., Evans, J.A., 2023. Wet feet: developing sulfur isotope provenance methods to identify wetland inhabitants. R. Soc. Open Sci. 10, 230391. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230391

Metcalfe, J.Z., Eady-Sitar, L.E., Hyodo, A., Belot, T., 2024. Sulfur isotope analysis of collagen: Quality controls and proboscidean wetland habitats. Quaternary Environments and Humans 2, 100040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qeh.2024.100040

Braden Cordivari

13 February 2026

The Society for Archaeological Sciences (SAS) in collaboration with SGS Beta invites applications for the SGS Beta-SAS Radiocarbon Dating Award. This is an annual competition to award one free AMS radiocarbon date analyzed at SGS Beta. The award is designed to promote the creative use of radiocarbon dating in archaeology and related disciplines, and to propagate such applications into geographic and thematic research areas underrepresented in existing radiocarbon dating work.

The deadline for applications is March 6, 2026. Find out more about eligibility and the application procedure here.

In advance of the application deadline, Dr. Maren Pauly of SGS Beta and the Society for Archaeological Science Student Ambassador team will host an informational webinar, “Radiocarbon Dating for Archaeology.” This webinar will explain how to choose, submit, and interpret archaeological samples to produce dates you can confidently use and defend. We hope that prospective applicants to the award will attend the webinar. This session will take place on February 27, 2026 at 11:00 am Eastern Time (US and Canada)/4:00 PM GMT. Sign up here!

SAS thanks SGS Beta for partnering to encourage early career researchers in archaeological science!  

For more information about SGS Beta, visit www.radiocarbon.com.

Braden Cordivari

13 February 2026

Organized by the SAS Student Ambassadors, the awards ceremony held on the 28^th of January 2026 aimed to highlight and celebrate the achievements of researchers who have won SAS awards between the years 2022 and 2025.

The awards presented reflect the breadth, rigor, and innovation that define our field—from student research and early career achievement to outstanding published scholarship and interdisciplinary work that advances how we understand the past through scientific methods.

These honors represent more than individual accomplishments. They recognize curiosity, collaboration, and the dedication to scientific inquiry that strengthens archaeological research worldwide. We are especially proud to acknowledge the students and early career researchers whose work continues to shape the future of our discipline.

-Alana Pengilley, SAS Student Ambassador