Seasonal Oyster Collection by Gullah/Geechee Communities of the American Southeast through Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)
A new student-led research project examining seasonal oyster harvesting by Gullah/Geechee communities on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, before and after Emancipation. Using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) on archaeological oyster shells, the study compares enslaved and post-Emancipation contexts. Preliminary results show consistent winter–spring harvesting across both periods, suggesting enduring ecological, health, and cultural constraints. The work highlights oysters’ role in Gullah/Geechee subsistence and demonstrates LIBS as a powerful method for reconstructing past harvesting practices
Calibrating the limpet
Our new study delivers the most extensive calibration to date of Patella caerulea (the Mediterranean limpet) as a recorder of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. The study combined laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for measuring Mg/Ca ratios with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to analyse oxygen isotope values (δ18O). By analysing 131 modern shells from 22 sites, we explored the relationship between magnesium-to-calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios and oxygen isotope values as palaeotemperature proxies.
Limpets and Mussels from Tierra del Fuego
Alejandro León Cristóbal is a doctoral researcher from the University of La Rioja (Spain). He does research in marine mollusc shells, ethnoarchaeology, oxygen isotope analysis, Palaeolithic Archaeology and Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition. The main objective in his doctoral thesis is to improve the understanding of the last hunter-gatherer-fisher societies of the Cantabrian Region.
