Anthropic resource exploitation and use of the territory at the onset of social complexity in the Neolithic-Chalcolithic Western Pyrenees: a multi-isotope approach

Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analyses from bone collagen provide information about the dietary protein input, while strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) from tooth enamel give us data about provenance and potential territorial mobility of past populations. To date, isotopic results on the prehistory of the Western Pyrenees are scarce. In this article, we report human and faunal values of the mentioned isotopes from the Early-Middle Neolithic site of Fuente Hoz (Anuntzeta) and the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic site of Kurtzebide (Letona, Zigoitia). The main objectives of this work are to analyze the dietary and territorial mobility patterns of these populations. Furthermore, as an additional aim, we will try to discuss social ranking based on the isotope data and existing literature on this topic in the region of study. Our results show that, based on the bioavailable Sr values, both purported local and non-local humans were buried together at the sites. Additionally, they suggest similar resource consumption based on C3 terrestrial resources (i.e. ovicaprids, bovids, and suids) as the main part of the protein input. Overall, this study sheds light on how individuals from different backgrounds were still buried together and shared the same dietary lifestyle at a time in the Prehistory of Iberia when social complexities started to appear

Food and diet of the pre-Columbian mound builders of the Patos Lagoon region in southern Brazil with stable isotope analysis

A constant and intense debate in South American archaeology stands on the origin and patterns of food production of ancient populations and the correlation of both aspects with demographic growth and social complexity. Some studies associated population growth with the shift from foraging to agricultural practices in hotspots on the continent. This association has been confronted by a number of studies performed in recent years that reconstructed dietary patterns for several tropical and subtropical areas of eastern South America. However, there is still a lack of information on the diet for Late Holocene populations in the wetlands of the Pampa Biome. In order to access the paleodiet of earthen-mound builders from southern Patos Lagoon (Brazil), this study combined bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes analysis of faunal and human remains with Bayesian Stable Isotope Mixing Models. The paleodiet of 20 human and one dog remains from six sites was reconstructed. The Bayesian mixing model on collagen δ13C and δ15N values revealed variable subsistence strategies with high consumption of marine/estuarine protein for some individuals. Other individuals’ diets relied on terrestrial/freshwater resources as protein sources. In southeastern South America, such patterns reinforce the resource-rich aquatic environment as a facilitator for the endurance of mixed economies. In addition, our results suggest that the Patos Lagoon surroundings was a “hub of interactivity” characterised by a remarkable intra-site dietary variability

Stable isotope analyses of amino acids reveal the importance of aquatic resources to Mediterranean coastal hunter-gatherers

[EN] Determining the degree to which humans relied on coastal resources in the past is key for understanding long-term social and economic development, as well as for assessing human health and anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers are often assumed to have heavily exploited aquatic resources, especially those living in regions of high marine productivity. For the Mediterranean, this view has been challenged, partly by the application of stable isotope analysis of skeletal remains which has shown more varied coastal hunter-gatherer diets than in other regions, perhaps due to its lower productivity. By undertaking a more specific analysis of amino acids from bone collagen of 11 individuals from one of the oldest and best-known Mesolithic cemeteries in the Mediterranean, at El Collado, Valencia, we show that high levels of aquatic protein consumption were achieved. By measuring both carbon and nitrogen in amino acids, we conclude that some of the El Collado humans relied heavily on local lagoonal fish and possibly shellfish, rather than open marine species. By contrast to previous suggestions, this study demonstrates that the north-western coast of the Mediterranean basin could support maritime-oriented economies during the Early Holocene