Isotopic and microbotanical insights into Iron Age agricultural reliance in the Central African rainforest
| Autor: | Sara Marzo, María Soto, Madeleine Bleasdale, Bianca Fiedler, Amy Styring, Siobhán Clarke, Veerle Linseele, Nicole Boivin, Patrick Roberts, Hans-Peter Wotzka, Barbara Eichhorn, Jamie Inwood, Jana Zech, Julio Mercader |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010506 paleontology
Rainforest Stable isotope analysis 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences media_common.quotation_subject Medicine (miscellaneous) 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Bone and Bones Article Animals Humans Africa Central Dental Calculus Dental Enamel lcsh:QH301-705.5 History Ancient 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common Isotope analysis δ13C business.industry Ecology fungi Longevity Subsistence agriculture food and beverages Agriculture δ15N stomatognathic diseases Geography Archaeology lcsh:Biology (General) Iron Age General Agricultural and Biological Sciences business |
| Zdroj: | Communications Biology, Vol 3, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020) Communications Biology |
| ISSN: | 2399-3642 |
| Popis: | The emergence of agriculture in Central Africa has previously been associated with the migration of Bantu-speaking populations during an anthropogenic or climate-driven ‘opening’ of the rainforest. However, such models are based on assumptions of environmental requirements of key crops (e.g. Pennisetum glaucum) and direct insights into human dietary reliance remain absent. Here, we utilise stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) of human and animal remains and charred food remains, as well as plant microparticles from dental calculus, to assess the importance of incoming crops in the Congo Basin. Our data, spanning the early Iron Age to recent history, reveals variation in the adoption of cereals, with a persistent focus on forest and freshwater resources in some areas. These data provide new dietary evidence and document the longevity of mosaic subsistence strategies in the region. Bleasdale et al. examine the introduction of agricultural crops in the Congo Basin with stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains, charred food remains, and plant microparticles from dental calculus. Their findings reveal variation in the adoption of cereals from the early Iron Age, and provide long-term insights into changing human reliance on different resources. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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