Author:
Hernando Raquel,Gamarra Beatriz,McCall Ashley,Cheronet Olivia,Fernandes Daniel,Sirak Kendra,Schmidt Ryan,Lozano Marina,Szeniczey Tamás,Hajdu Tamás,Bárány Annamária,Kalli András,Tutkovics Eszter K.,Köhler Kitti,Kiss Krisztián,Koós Judit,Csengeri Piroska,Király Ágnes,Horváth Antónia,Hajdu Melinda L.,Tóth Krisztián,Patay Róbert,Feeney Robin N. M.,Pinhasi Ron
Abstract
AbstractDietary reconstruction is used to make inferences about the subsistence strategies of ancient human populations, but it may also serve as a proxy to characterise their diverse cultural and technological manifestations. Dental microwear and stable isotope analyses have been shown to be successful techniques for paleodietary reconstruction of ancient populations but, despite yielding complementary dietary information, these techniques have rarely been combined within the same study. Here we present for the first time a comprehensive approach to interpreting ancient lifeways through the results of buccal and occlusal microwear, and δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses applied to the same individuals of prehistoric populations of Hungary from the Middle Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age periods. This study aimed to (a) assess if the combination of techniques yields a more precise assessment of past dietary and subsistence practices, and (b) contribute to our understanding of the dietary patterns of the prehistoric Hungarian populations. Overall, no correlations between microwear and δ13C and δ15N isotope variables were observed, except for a relationship between nitrogen and the vertical and horizontal index. However, we found that diachronic differences are influenced by the variation within the period. Particularly, we found differences in microwear and isotope variables between Middle Neolithic sites, indicating that there were different dietary practices among those populations. Additionally, microwear results suggest no changes in the abrasiveness of the diet, neither food processing methods, despite higher C4 plant resource consumption shown by carbon isotopic signal. Thus, we demonstrate that the integration of dental microwear and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope methodologies can provide complementary information for making inferences about paleodietary habits.
Funder
URV Martí-Franquès Research Grant
Horizon 2020-Marie Slodowska Curie Actions
Beatriu de Pinós Post-doctoral fellowship
Irish Research Council Post-Graduate grant
Hungarian Research, Development and Innovation Office
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Cited by
5 articles.
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