Diet and subsistence in Bronze Age pastoral communities from the southern Russian steppes and the North Caucasus.

Autor: Knipper C; Curt Engelhorn Center Archaeometry, Mannheim, Germany., Reinhold S; Eurasia Department, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany., Gresky J; Department of Natural Sciences, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany., Berezina N; Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation., Gerling C; Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland., Pichler SL; Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland., Buzhilova AP; Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation., Kantorovich AR; Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation., Maslov VE; Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation., Petrenko VG; Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation., Lyakhov SV; Heritage Organization Ltd, 'Nasledie', Stavropol, Russian Federation., Kalmykov AA; Heritage Organization Ltd, 'Nasledie', Stavropol, Russian Federation., Belinskiy AB; Heritage Organization Ltd, 'Nasledie', Stavropol, Russian Federation., Hansen S; Eurasia Department, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany., Alt KW; Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science IPAS, Basel University, Basel, Switzerland.; Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University (DPU), Krems-Stein, Austria.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2020 Oct 14; Vol. 15 (10), pp. e0239861. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Oct 14 (Print Publication: 2020).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239861
Abstrakt: The flanks of the Caucasus Mountains and the steppe landscape to their north offered highly productive grasslands for Bronze Age herders and their flocks of sheep, goat, and cattle. While the archaeological evidence points to a largely pastoral lifestyle, knowledge regarding the general composition of human diets and their variation across landscapes and during the different phases of the Bronze Age is still restricted. Human and animal skeletal remains from the burial mounds that dominate the archaeological landscape and their stable isotope compositions are major sources of dietary information. Here, we present stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data of bone collagen of 105 human and 50 animal individuals from the 5th millennium BC to the Sarmatian period, with a strong focus on the Bronze Age and its cultural units including Maykop, Yamnaya, Novotitorovskaya, North Caucasian, Catacomb, post-Catacomb and late Bronze Age groups. The samples comprise all inhumations with sufficient bone preservation from five burial mound sites and a flat grave cemetery as well as subsamples from three further sites. They represent the Caucasus Mountains in the south, the piedmont zone and Kuban steppe with humid steppe and forest vegetation to its north, and more arid regions in the Caspian steppe. The stable isotope compositions of the bone collagen of humans and animals varied across the study area and reflect regional diversity in environmental conditions and diets. The data agree with meat, milk, and/or dairy products from domesticated herbivores, especially from sheep and goats having contributed substantially to human diets, as it is common for a largely pastoral economy. This observation is also in correspondence with the faunal remains observed in the graves and offerings of animals in the mound shells. In addition, foodstuffs with elevated carbon and nitrogen isotope values, such as meat of unweaned animals, fish, or plants, also contributed to human diets, especially among communities living in the more arid landscapes. The regional distinction of the animal and human data with few outliers points to mobility radii that were largely concentrated within the environmental zones in which the respective sites are located. In general, dietary variation among the cultural entities as well as regarding age, sex and archaeologically indicated social status is only weakly reflected. There is, however, some indication for a dietary shift during the Early Bronze Age Maykop period.
Competing Interests: The Heritage organization Ltd. ‘Nasledie’ provided support in the form of salaries for authors [SVL, AAK, ABB]. There are no patents or products in development to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE's policies on data or materials sharing.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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