scholarly journals Bronze Age innovations and impact on human diet: A multi-isotopic and multi-proxy study of western Switzerland

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245726
Author(s):  
Alessandra Varalli ◽  
Jocelyne Desideri ◽  
Mireille David-Elbiali ◽  
Gwenaëlle Goude ◽  
Matthieu Honegger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Human Tooth ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Aquatic Animal ◽  
Human Diet ◽  
Legume Seeds ◽  
Varied Diet ◽  
The Bronze Age

The archaeological Bronze Age record in Europe reveals unprecedented changes in subsistence strategies due to innovative farming techniques and new crop cultivation. Increasing cultural exchanges affected the economic system. The inhabitants of Switzerland played a pivotal role in this European context through relationships with the Mediterranean, the High and Middle Danube regions and the Alps thanks to the area’s central position. This research aims to reconstruct, for the first time in Switzerland, human socio-economic systems through the study of human diet, herding and farming practices and their changes throughout the Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) by means of biochemical markers. The study includes 41 human, 22 terrestrial and aquatic animal specimens and 30 charred seeds and chaff samples from sites in western Switzerland. Stable isotope analyses were performed on cereal and legume seeds (δ13C, δ15N), animal bone collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N, δ34S), human bone and tooth dentine collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N,) and human tooth enamel (δ13Cenamel). The isotopic data suggest a) an intensification of soil fertilization and no hydric stress throughout the Bronze Age, b) a human diet mainly composed of terrestrial resources despite the proximity of Lake Geneva and the Rhone river, c) a diet based on C3 plants during the Early and Middle Bronze Age as opposed to the significant consumption of 13C-enriched resources (probably millet) by individuals from the Final Bronze Age, d) no important changes in dietary patterns throughout an individual’s lifespan but a more varied diet in childhood compared to adulthood, e) no differences in diet according to biological criteria (age, sex) or funerary behavior (burial architecture, grave goods).

scholarly journals Isotopes, Plants, and Reservoir Effects: Case Study from the Caspian Steppe Bronze Age

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 749-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Shishlina ◽  
E Zazovskaya ◽  
J van der Plicht ◽  
V Sevastyanov
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Human Diet ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Different Types ◽  
C And N ◽  
East And West

Bronze Age human and animal bone collagen from several steppe Bronze Age cultures (i.e. Early Catacomb, East and West Manych Catacomb, and Lola cultures) shows large variations in δ13C and δ15N values. In general, we observed that the older the sample, the lower the δ13C and δ15N values. We hypothesize that more positive values of δ13C and δ15N are caused by change in diet and a more arid climate. For ancient sheep during drier periods of the Early Catacomb, East and West Manych Catacomb, and Lola cultures, we observed 2 groups with different C and N isotopic compositions, reflecting consumption of different types of fodder. During periods of aridization, C4 and C3 plants with high δ15N values appeared in the vegetation, also influencing bone collagen values. Human bones show reservoir effects, caused by aquatic diet components. These effects can be quantified by paired dating of human bone and associated terrestrial samples. Reservoir corrections have revised chronologies for the region. Some paired dates do not reveal reservoir effects. This can be explained in 2 alternative ways. One is that the human diet did not include aquatic components; rather, the diet was based on C3 vegetation with high δ15N values (13–15‰), and flesh/milk of domesticated animals. An alternative explanation is that humans consumed food from freshwater resources without reservoir effects.

scholarly journals Plant food subsistence in the human diet of the Bronze Age Caspian and Low Don steppe pastoralists: archaeobotanical, isotope and 14C data

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 833-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. I. Shishlina ◽  
A. A. Bobrov ◽  
A. M. Simakova ◽  
A. A. Troshina ◽  
V. S. Sevastyanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Plant Food ◽  
Human Diet ◽  
The Bronze Age

scholarly journals Child murder in the Early Bronze Age: proteomic sex identification of a cold case from Schleinbach, Austria

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Rebay-Salisbury ◽  
Lukas Janker ◽  
Doris Pany-Kucera ◽  
Dina Schuster ◽  
Michaela Spannagl-Steiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Sex Identification ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Human Tooth ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Spectrometric Analysis ◽  
Child Murder ◽  
Quantum Leap

Abstract 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.

scholarly journals New data on agro-pastoral diets in southern Italy from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiola Arena ◽  
Emanuela Gualdi-Russo ◽  
Jesper Olsen ◽  
Bente Philippsen ◽  
Marcello A. Mannino
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Animal Protein ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
Economic Developments ◽  
The Bronze Age

Abstract The socio-cultural and economic developments that took place from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age are poorly understood, despite the fact that they were essential for the establishment of fully agro-pastoral economies in Europe. In this study, we aim to assess dietary changes in communities living in southern Italy during this period by examining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios on human bone collagen. In particular, we investigated skeletal remains from seven sites in the southern Italian regions of Calabria (Grotta della Monaca, Grotta di Donna Marsilia and Grotta dell’Antenato), Basilicata (Murgia Timone, Grotta Funeraria and Toppo d’Aguzzo) and Apulia (Ipogeo dei Bronzi) to explore possible variations in diet between different geographic areas and periods. The results of the analysis on bone collagen extracts from 33 human and 12 faunal (sheep, dog, cattle and pigs) specimens attest that the diets of prehistoric southern Italians were mixed and based on the consumption of terrestrial resources, including generally moderate proportions of animal protein (e.g. meat and dairy products) and of C3 plants (e.g. cereals and legumes). Minor differences in the proportion of consumed meat are mostly dependent on the nature of regional environments, with individuals from Basilicata relying more on animal protein than those from Calabria and Apulia. Our study provides insights into the dietary habits of southern Italian populations during the prehistoric period that witnessed an increase both in agriculture and in pastoralism.

scholarly journals The Catacomb Cultures of the North-West Caspian Steppe: 14C Chronology, Reservoir Effect, and Paleodiet

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 713-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
N I Shishlina ◽  
J van der Plicht ◽  
R E M Hedges ◽  
E P Zazovskaya ◽  
V S Sevastyanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Stable Isotope Ratios ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Bone Material ◽  
Reservoir Effect ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The Bronze Age

For the Bronze Age Catacomb cultures of the North-West Caspian steppe area in Russia, there is a conflict between the traditional relative archaeological chronology and the chronology based on radiocarbon dates. We show that this conflict can be explained largely by the fact that most dates have been obtained on human bone material and are subject to 14C reservoir effects. This was demonstrated by comparing paired 14C dates derived from human and terrestrial herbivore bone collagen. In addition, values of stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) and analysis of food remains from vessels and the stomach contents of buried individuals indicate that a large part of the diet of these cultures consisted of fish and mollusks, and we conclude that this is the source of the reservoir effect.

scholarly journals The rôle of the Kokino megalith in the life of the Bronze age agricultural community

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S260) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gjore Cenev
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Continuous Monitoring ◽  
Full Moon ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Lunar Eclipse ◽  
North East ◽  
Agricultural Community ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractIn 2002 in the region of North-East Macedonia a site was discovered, for which archaeoastronomical analyses have shown that it encompasses all elements of an ancient observatory dated 2000 BCE. In line with the analysis the existence of a central position, from where Sunrises and rises of Full Moon were observed, was confirmed, as well as that in the rocks on the east horizon a markers were crafted marking the places of the rise of the Sun and Moon in exactly determined days. From this central position, total 9 markers can be seen on the east horizon, 3 of which used to mark the places of the Sunrise in the course of the year, and remaining 6 marked the places of Full Moon rise. By continuous monitoring of the periodicity of the Full Moon rise, ancient sky observers could develop 19 years periodic lunar calendar. In addition, on the site there is a special observation place related to the cycles of solar and lunar eclipse. Only from there and toward the east horizon 4 markers can be seen, which were used for marking the positions of the Full Moon rise on the day of the beginning of the new periodic cycle of eclipse of 54 years and 34 days. The most outstanding content on the territory of the observatory are 4 stone seats called thrones. Also, on the east horizon there is one specially crafted marker that had ritual purpose. Archaeoastronomical analysis has shown that on the day when the harvest ends, rise of Sun could be seen exactly trough the aperture of this marker, enlightening by beam only one of the thrones where most probably a community headman was sitting. That was a ritual joining of the God Sun with the community headman and renewal of his energy as a guarantee for rich harvest in the coming year. This is just a fragment of information that Megalithic Observatory Kokino has to offer, linked with the culture and cosmological presentations of people of the early agricultural community in the Bronze Age.

scholarly journals Re-evaluating Scythian lifeways: Isotopic analysis of diet and mobility in Iron Age Ukraine

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0245996
Author(s):  
Alicia R. Ventresca Miller ◽  
James Johnson ◽  
Sergey Makhortykh ◽  
Claudia Gerling ◽  
Ludmilla Litvinova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Human Tooth ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Isotope Data

The Scythians are frequently presented, in popular and academic thought alike, as highly mobile warrior nomads who posed a great economic risk to growing Mediterranean empires from the Iron Age into the Classical period. Archaeological studies provide evidence of first millennium BCE urbanism in the steppe while historical texts reference steppe agriculture, challenging traditional characterizations of Scythians as nomads. However, there have been few direct studies of the diet and mobility of populations living in the Pontic steppe and forest-steppe during the Scythian era. Here, we analyse strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data from human tooth enamel samples, as well as nitrogen and carbon isotope data of bone collagen, at several Iron Age sites across Ukraine commonly associated with ‘Scythian’ era communities. Our multi-isotopic approach demonstrates generally low levels of human mobility in the vicinity of urban locales, where populations engaged in agro-pastoralism focused primarily on millet agriculture. Some individuals show evidence for long-distance mobility, likely associated with significant inter-regional connections. We argue that this pattern supports economic diversity of urban locales and complex trading networks, rather than a homogeneous nomadic population.

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