The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe

To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. Overall, there was surprising continuity in the way that hunter-gatherer-fishers and farmers used pottery. Both aquatic products and wild plants remained prevalent, a pattern repeated consistently across the study area. We argue that the rapid adaptation of farming communities to exploit coastal and lagoonal resources facilitated their northerly expansion, and in some cases, hunting, gathering, and fishing became the most dominant subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, dairy products frequently appear in pottery associated with the earliest farming groups often mixed with wild plants and fish. Interestingly, we also find compelling evidence of dairy products in hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle pottery, which predates the arrival of domesticated animals. We propose that Ertebølle hunter-gatherer-fishers frequently acquired dairy products through exchange with adjacent farming communities prior to the transition. The continuity observed in pottery use across the transition to farming contrasts with the analysis of human remains which shows substantial demographic change through ancient DNA and, in some cases, a reduction in marine consumption through stable isotope analysis. We postulate that farmers acquired the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed from local hunter-gatherer-fishers but without substantial admixture

Radiocarbon Chronology of the Shigir and Gorbunovo Archaeological Bog Sites, Middle Urals, Russia

Two well-known archaeological sites, the peat bogs of Shigir and Gorbunovo (Middle Urals, Russia), have been radiocarbon dated (61 conventional and accelerator mass spectrometry [AMS] dates from various natural and artifact samples). For the first time, a detailed chronology of Early to Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic occupation for this region has been obtained, and a paleoenvironmental history reconstructed. Based on these results, we propose that the Mesolithic settlement of the Middle Urals region started in the early Holocene, at the same time as in central and eastern Europe.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Hunter-Gatherer Pottery and Charred Residue Dating: New Results on Early Ceramics in the North Eurasian Forest Zone

This article discusses 18 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from the peat bog sites Sakhtysh 2a, Ozerki 5, and Ozerki 17 in the Upper Volga region. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the emergence and dispersal of early ceramic traditions in northern Eurasia and their connection to the Baltic. With 1 exception, all dates were obtained from charred residue adhering to the sherd. A possible reservoir effect was tested on 1 piece of pottery from Sakhtysh 2a by taking 1 sample from charred residue, and another sample from plant fiber remains. Although a reservoir effect was able to be ruled out in this particular case, 4 other dates from Sakhtysh 2a and Ozerki 5 seem too old on typological grounds and might have been affected by freshwater reservoir effects. Considering all other reliable dates, the Early Neolithic Upper Volga culture, and with it the adoption of ceramics, in the forest zone of European Russia started around 6000 cal BC.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Paléolithique final et Mésolithique en Allemagne réunifiée : bilan décennal

During the past ten years archaeological research on the German Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic has experienced an important revival thanks to projects carried out by the Archaeologische Denkmalpflege (cf. Direction d’Antiquités), University Departments, Research Institutes and excavation companies. One clear sign of this renewed interest are the annual meetings of the « Arbeitsgruppe Mesolithikum » (Groupe de travail Mésolithique) which have taken place every spring since 1992, each year at a different location. At these meetings which are also open to interested colleagues from neighbouring regions, topical themes of Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic interest are presented in lectures and it is also possible to study regional collections (artefacts, raw materials) at first hand. In 1998 numerous contributions to these meetings were published together in one volume (N.J. Conard and C.-J. Kind eds., 1998). Other major publications of the last several years include the results of a major campaign of prospecting and excavation in sandstone rock shelters close to Gottingen (Basse-Saxe) by K. Grote (1994) and of excavations on Mesolithic open air sites in Baden-Württemberg (Jochim, 1998 ; Kind. 1997). The transition from the Final Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic in Germany is poorly known and further research on this theme will be necessary. Major projects concerning the Final Palaeolithic groups of the Alleröd interstadial are in progress in the Neuwied Basin (Rhénanie Centrale) in the west and in the lignite-mining region of the Lausitz (mainly Saxe) in the east of Germany. New knowledge of the Tanged-Point groups of the Younger Dryas stadial is provided by the analysis of a number of sites in the uplands of the Mittelgebirge and by new excavations in northern and northeastern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg). Excavations of importance for the early Mesolithic have been carried out particularly in Baden-Württemberg (Rottenburg-Siebenlinden), where, for the first time, it was possible to investigate open air sites with good organic preservation. Recent detailed studies of specific themes are intended to test the validity of current chronologies and artefact-typological classifications and their regional distributions. One example of this is a study of the young Mesolithic Rhine-Meuse-Schelde group in the West of Germany. Another study will systematically examine the composition, absolute dating and – if possible – chronological interpretation of organic artefacts from eastern Germany, a region relatively well provided with these objects. The final Mesolithic has been investigated by important excavations and material studies in Baden-Württemberg. Recently major new insights into the phenomenon of the Ertebolle-Ellerbek Culture in northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) has been obtained by new excavations and multidisciplinary studies.Au cours de la dernière décennie la recherche archéologique sur le Paléolithique final et le Mésolithique germaniques a connu un important renouveau grâce aux projets soutenus par l’Archaeologische Denkmalpflege (cf. Direction des Antiquités) des Départements universitaires, des Instituts de recherche et des sociétés de fouilles. La meilleure preuve de cet intérêt renouvelé en a été la réunion annuelle, chaque été et en divers lieux depuis 1992, du Groupe de travail Mésolithique. Lors de ces réunions, souvent ouvertes aussi aux collègues des régions voisines, les thèmes locaux concernant le Paléolithique final et le Mésolithique font l’objet de conférences et il est aussi possible d’étudier des collections régionales (outillages, matières premières) de première main. En 1998, beaucoup de contributions à ces réunions furent publiées en un seul volume (N.J. Conard et C.J. Kind, éd., 1998). D’autres publications majeures de plusieurs années antérieures contiennent les résultats des grandes campagnes de prospection et de fouille dans les abris sous roche gréseux de Gottingen (Basse-Saxe) par K. Grotte (1994) ainsi que les résultats des fouilles de sites de plein air en Bade-Wurtemberg (Jochim, 1998 ; Kind, 1997). La transition Paléolithique final/Mésolithique en Allemagne est moins bien connue et méritera de plus amples recherches. La plupart des projets concernant les groupes du Paléolithique final ont à l’ouest, fait des progrès dans le bassin de Neuwied (Rhénanie centrale) et à l’est, dans la région de mines lignite du Lausitz (en grande partie en Saxe). De nouvelles données sur les groupes des Pointes à soie du Dryes récent sont fournies par les analyses d’un certain nombre de sites des hautes terres du Mittlegebirge et de nouvelles fouilles en Allemagne du Nord et du Nord-Est (Schleswig-Holstein et Brandebourg). Pour les débuts du Mésolithique, des fouilles d’importance ont été menées plus spécialement en Bade-Würtemberg (Rottenburg-Siebenlinden) où, pour la première fois, il a été possible d’étudier des sites de plein air avec une bonne conservation des matières organiques. De récentes études de détail sur des thèmes spécifiques visent à vérifier les chronologies en cours, les classifications typologiques des industries et leurs répartitions régionales. Un exemple en est, en Allemagne occidentale, une étude du groupe Rhin-Meuse-Escaut du Mésolithique final. Un autre programme doit examiner systématiquement la composition, les datations absolues et, si possible, l’interprétation chronologique des artefacts organiques d'Allemagne orientale, région qui en a fourni relativement beaucoup. Le Mésolithique final est connu par des fouilles importantes et les études du matériel en Bade-Würtemberg. Récemment de nouveaux aperçus concernant le phénomène de la culture d’Ertebölle-Ellerbek en Allemagne du Nord (Schleswig-Holstein) ont été obtenus grâce à de nouvelles fouilles et des études pluridisciplinaires.Street Martin, Jöris Olaf, Baales Michael, Cziesla Erwin, Hartz Sönke, Heinen Martin, Koch Ingrid, Pasda Clemens, Terberger Thomas, Vollbrecht Jürgen. Paléolithique final et Mésolithique en Allemagne réunifiée : bilan décennal. In: Préhistoire de l’Europe : des origines à l’Âge du Bronze. Actes du 125e Congrès national des sociétés historiques et scientifiques, « L’Europe », Lille, 2000. Paris : Editions du CTHS, 2003. pp. 343-384. (Actes du Congrès national des sociétés savantes, 125

A summary of the major lipid classes identified in the samples where globular sinuate phytoliths occurred, including carbon stable isotope values of major fatty acids.

<p>FFA – Free fatty acids, IFA – Isoprenoid fatty acids, APFA – ω-(o-alkylphenyl)fatty acids, MAG – monoacylglycerols, DAG – diacylglycerols.</p