Ricostruzione dei pattern alimentari e delle pratiche di allattamento e svezzamento dal Neolitico alle età dei metalli tramite analisi multi-isotopiche della dentina incrementale e del collagene osseo

This study analyses changes in breastfeeding and weaning practices, diet, and residential mobility in Liguria (Italy) from the Neolithic to the end of the metal ages. The stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur from dentine microsections provided information on early diet during development in seven individuals dated to the Neolithic, Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages, unearthed from nearby caves in the Finalese area. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact timing of the introduction of supplementary food and of the end of breastfeeding, results show a marked difference between the Neolithic and metal age individuals. Neolithic children appear to have breastfed for a longer period, possibly at the longer end of the variability in traditional agriculturalists (ranging 2-4 years) and their diet included animal protein food; conversely, post-Neolithic children had a shorter breastfeeding period, and were weaned using plant resources. Sulphur isotopes highlight diachronic changes in mobility, suggesting a local origin of Neolithic and Copper Age children, and movement from the inland for Bronze and Iron Age children. One adolescent, who died with skeletal signs of tuberculosis, shows a sharp increase in δ15N in the last 2-3 years of life, suggesting intense catabolism. This indicates that, by the Neolithic, tuberculosis already had the potential to manifest as a chronic and long-lasting infection, which is typical of diseases with a long history of host-pathogen coevolution

Stratégie de subsistance en Italie à l’Age du Bronze : une approche isotopique de l’alimentation humaine

L’Âge du Bronze est un moment de changement pour les groupes humains en Italie : les attestations archéologiques montrent comment les nouvelles pratiques agricoles, le système d’élevage et le développement de nouvelles activités économiques sont diffusés différemment selon les régions, conformément à l’environnement et aux facteurs sociaux. L’étude des stratégies de subsistance et des comportements socio-économiques à travers l’analyse des patrons alimentaires en Italie, pendant l’Âge du Bronze est donc proposée. L’enjeu est de comprendre comment les habitudes alimentaires reflètent ces transformations et d’analyser l’introduction et consommation de nouvelles ressources végétales et animales. Sur la base d’une approche diachronique et géographique, l’évolution des habitudes alimentaires à travers les analyses des isotopes stables dans le collagène des os humains et animaux est présentée. L’étude se concentre sur dix sites datant de 2300-930 av. J.-C. L’analyse au niveau géographique témoigne d’une diète plus variée dans le Nord et le Centre de l’Italie par rapport au Sud. Concernant l’analyse diachronique, une homogénéité des ressources consommées à l’Âge du Bronze Ancien est remarquée. Pour l’Âge du Bronze Moyen et Final l’émergence de régimes alimentaires basés sur de nouvelles plantes est mise en évidence. Cette période se présente donc comme un moment de rupture et de transition. L’introduction de nouvelles ressources et la diffusion de céréales contribuent à mettre en évidence les dynamiques des échanges culturels qui ont caractérisé les communautés à l’Âge du Bronze, même si l’environnement et les variations climatiques ne doivent pas être négligées.The Bronze Age is characterised by significant changes in human groups organisation and activities. In Italy, archaeological evidences show that new agricultural practices, livestock farming and new economic activities were introduced. All these aspects evolved differently, depending on geographical areas, local environment and social factors. The study of subsistence strategies and socio-economic behaviours through the analysis of dietary patterns in Italy during the Bronze Age is presented. Main scopes are to delineate Italian society’s food choices and to analyse the introduction of new resources. Stable isotopes analyses contained in collagen of human and animal bone has been performed. A diachronic and geographic approach is presented. The analysis focuses on ten Italian sites dating from ca. 2300 to 930 BC, presenting both diachronic and geographic comparison. The geographic analysis shows a more varied diet in the North and Central Italy, compared to the Southern areas. Concerning the diachronic analysis, data highlight the homogeneity of the resources consumed during the Early Bronze Age. For both Middle and Late Bronze Ages, the introduction of new plants in the diet is evident. Thus, Middle Bronze Age represents a pivotal moment in protohistoric societies, as a phase of rupture and transition. The consumption of different food resources and new cereals diffusion processes contribute to highlight the importance of contacts and cultural exchanges. These relationships had a significant influence on Italian communities during the Bronze Age, including food habits, although the environment and the climatic oscillations of this period cannot be neglected.L'età del Bronzo è una fase della Protostoria caratterizzata in Italia da importanti cambiamenti per i gruppi umani. Le evidenze archeologiche suggeriscono l'introduzione di nuove pratiche agricole e sistemi di allevamento, a cui si associa la sviluppo di attività di rilevanza a livello economico (e.g. metallugia), e una maggiore organizzazione della società che mostrano al loro interno una strutturazione e gerarchizzazione più marcata: questi aspetti presentano tendenze differenti secondo l'area geografica, in seguito alle caratteristiche ambientali locali e fattori di tipo sociale. Questo lavoro propone lo studio delle strategie di sussistenza e delle tendenze socio-economiche attraverso l'analisi dell'alimentazione. Gli obiettivi sono comprendere come le transformazioni che si manifestano a livello socio-economico si riflettono nella dieta, delineare le tendenze alimentari considerando anche gli aspetti biologici e analizzare il consump di nuove risorse. Lo studio è stato effetuato attraverso l'analisi degli isotopi stabili contenuti nel collagene delle ossa di resti umani e animali. Sono stati selezionati 10 siti della penisola italiana datati tra 2300-930 BC: prendendo in considerazione altri siti disponibili in letteratura, l'analisi è avvenuto applicando un approccio di tipo geografico e cronologico. L'analisi geografica ha messo in evidenza come il Nord e il Centro Italia presentino dei pattern alimentari variegati, contrariamente à quanto si rileva per il Sud Italia. L'analisi cronologica mostra come nel Bronzo Antico si noti una maggior omogeneità nel tipo di risorse consumate, differentemente all'età del Bronzo Medio e Rencete-Finale, dove l'introduzione di nuovi cereali nella dieta,come il miglio, risultaevidente. Questo studio, quindi, mostra come nel Bronzo Antico rappresenti un momento critico, di transizione, per i gruppi umani protostorici. Il consumo di risorse differenti e il processo di diffusione di nuovi cereali sottolinea l'importanza dei contatti e degli scambi culturali tra le diverse comunità. Queste relazioni cominciano ad avere un'influenza rilevante durante l'età del Bronzo, anche a livello di abitudini alimentari, sebbene non possano essere ignorate le caratteristiche ambientali locali e le oscillazioni climatiche di questo periodo

Comment s’est modifiée l’alimentation en Italie à l’Age du Bronze? La contribution des isotopes stables pour la reconstruction des régimes alimentaires et des stratégies de subsistance

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Food and society. An anthropological and multi-proxy approach to reconstructing lifestyle, diet and mobility in late prehistory

Increasing archaeological evidence suggests that the Bronze Age in Europe was a very dynamic period, but several aspects concerning human behaviour must be clarified, such as the spread of new agricultural practices, changes in the management of local resources as well as the emergence of new networks of exchanges. This research, through a multi-proxy and multi-isotopic approach, aims to study changes in dietary habits and mobility of individuals in Western Switzerland, a region at the crossroads of Europe. Human teeth and bones were analysed in association with terrestrial and aquatic animalsandcrop remains. Concerning agricultural strategies, isotopic analyses carried outon carpological remains seem to suggest an increase in soil fertilization during the Bronze Age. The animal and human results indicate a diet based on terrestrial resources for all the communities considered, nevertheless, we can identify a change in human food choices during the Final Bronze age due to the consumption of new cereals, such as millet, compared to previous periods. Regarding mobility, sulphur analysesshowthat thehumangroups are locals, except for a few isolated individuals

Lifestyle and feeding in Italian caves during the metal ages: the contribution of stable isotopes analysis

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A multi-proxy bioarchaeological approach reveals new trends in Bronze Age diet in Italy

International audienceAbstract This study investigates changes in dietary practices and subsistence strategies in Bronze Age Italy integrating isotopic analyses with archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data. By investigating food habits, we contribute to reconstructing human lifestyles and highlighting possible links with the economic/social organization when the rise of stratified societies and new economic activities affected subsistence practices. Stable isotopes analyses in humans and animals were performed on 6 Italian sites dating from 2300 to 900 cal. BC, followed by a complete review of additional 19 sites, which forms the basis of a diachronic and geographic comparison for Bronze Age Italy. The geographic analysis shows a more varied diet in northern and central Italy, compared to the south. The diachronic analysis highlights the homogeneity of food habits during the Early Bronze Age, contrary to the later phases when an increase in dietary variability and a higher animal protein consumption are revealed. The Middle Bronze Age appears as a pivotal moment in protohistoric societies, a phase of transition. The consumption of different foodstuffs highlights the importance of cultural exchanges, resulting in a sort of “food globalization”, although environmental and climatic fluctuations could also have affected dietary patterns, favoring some crops over others

Dal Neolitico all'età del Ferro: indagine paleonutrizionale su alcune popolazioni della Liguria attraverso un approccio isotopico

Année de publication: 2012-2013International audienceThe Ligury, known for its particular abundanceof archaeological findings dated tothe Pre and Proto-historic period, is a regionwell-suited for scientific studies on paleodiet.In this paper, a summary of the resultson carbon and nitrogen stable isotopesanalyses, performed on human and animalremains selected from sites placed in thewestern part of Ligury, is presented. A moredetailed description focuses on unpublishedresults obtained from two sites of theBronze Age and early Iron Age: Grotta delPertuso and Buco del Diavolo (Triora, Imperia).The diachronic analyses of the wholedata set shows how, during the later Prehistorystage, two important ruptures occurredin terms of food habits. The first oneis related to the phenomenon of the settling;indeed terrestrial resources effectively replacedthe aquatic resources in the diet. Thesecond relevant change was detected duringthe Iron Age: terrestrial resources representthe main intake. But it is interesting to notethat an appreciable amount of C4 plantswere consumed in addition to the traditionalintroduction of C3 plants, evidenced by asignificant shift in stable isotope levels. Severalhypotheses are proposed in order to explainthe isotopic variations and the highlighteddietary diversityLa Ligurie, de par sa richesse en découvertesarchéologiques datant de la période Pré- etProto-historique, est un terrain favorablepour développer des études spécifiques surla paléoalimentation. Dans ce travail, unesynthèse des résultats sur les analyses desisotopes stables du carbone et de l’azote estprésentée. Ces résultats ont été obtenus àpartir de restes humains et animaux de différentssites de la partie ouest de la Ligurie.Une description plus détaillée est consacréeaux résultats inédits de deux communautésde l’âge du Bronze-début âge du Fer: Grottadel Pertuso e Buco del Diavolo (Triora, Imperia).L’analyse diachronique de l’ensembledes données montre comment, au cours de laPréhistoire récente, se manifestent deuxgrandes ruptures en termes d’habitudes alimentaires.La première se produit avec lanéolithisation, lorsque les ressources terrestresdominent très largement les ressourcesaquatiques dans le régime alimentaire. Ladeuxième est détectée à l’âge du Fer: les ressourcesterrestres sont à la base de l’alimentationmais il est intéressant de noter l’introductiondes plantes de type C4 (tel que lesmillets) dans l’alimentation. Différentes hypothèsessont proposées dans le but d’expliquerles variations isotopiques et la diversitéalimentaire mise en évidenceLa Liguria, per la particolare ricchezza diritrovamenti archeologici di epoca Pre eProtostorica, ha permesso di sviluppareun’approfondita analisi di tipo paleonutrizionale.In questo lavoro viene presentatauna sintesi di quanto emerso dall’analisidegli isotopi stabili di carbonio ed azoto diresti umani e animali di alcune comunitàdel Ponente ligure. Una descrizione maggiormentedettagliata è dedicata ai risultatiinediti ottenuti da due siti dell’età delBronzo-inizio età del Ferro: Grotta del Pertusoe Buco del Diavolo (Triora, Imperia).Nel complesso, l’analisi diacronica mettein evidenza come, nel corso della Preistoriarecente, si siano verificati due grandi momentidi rottura a livello di abitudini alimentari.La prima si manifesta con il fenomenodella sedentarizzazione, dove lerisorse terrestri vengono a sostituire le risorseacquatiche nella dieta e un secondoconsiderevole cambiamento si rileva incorrispondenza dell’età del Ferro: purmantenendosi le risorse terrestri alla basedell’alimentazione, si nota come a piantedi tipo C3 si integri un consumo apprezzabiledi piante di tipo C4 con un notevoleshift a livello isotopico. Vengono illustratedifferenti ipotesi per spiegare le origini diquesti variazion