Prehistoric animal use on the Great Hungarian Plain: A synthesis of isotope and residue analyses from the Neolithic and Copper Age

The archaeological record of Eastern Hungary indicates that settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, ceramic style, trade patterns and mortuary customs changed from the Late Neolithic to the Copper Age (5000–2700 cal BC). Despite a rich archaeological tradition, questions remain regarding the management and use of domesticated animals and the role animal husbandry played in social change during this transition. Some researchers have hypothesized that these changes reflect a shift towards an economy that intensified its focus on primary and perhaps secondary animal products. Here we synthesize isotope data from human and animal remains and residue analysis from pottery sherds from Neolithic and Copper Age assemblages. Results indicate that the consumption and use of animal protein and fat was relatively high for both periods, with an increase in animal fats in ceramic vessels during the Middle Copper Age; however, milk products do not appear to have played an important dietary role. We conclude that livestock management remained small-scale during the Neolithic and Copper Age and that dairy use was minimal. It is proposed that the cultural changes that occurred at this time were associated with the emergence of smaller, independent farmsteads and perhaps the innovative use of secondary products like manure.     

Dietary changes and millet consumption in northern France at the end of Prehistory: Evidence from archaeobotanical and stable isotope data

Diachronic changes of dietary human habits between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age are mainly identified through archaeological artefacts and archaeozoological and archaeobotanical studies. This paper aims to demonstrate the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach for palaeodietary studies and to identify the food changes between Neolithic and Bronze Age human groups in northern France. These changes are probably linked to the introduction of new crops, such as millet, and the use of stable isotope analysis on bones and teeth proves to be an effective method for assessing the role of this specific cereal in the diet and the economy. Stable isotope analyses were performed on bone and tooth collagen and apatite from eight humans and five domestic animals from a Late Bronze Age site (LBA; Barbuise; 15th–13th c. BC; Aube). The studied corpus is compared with isotopic data from human and animal bones from a nearby Neolithic site (Gurgy; 5th mill. BC; Yonne) and regional Neolithic to Iron sites located in northern France. Moreover, Barbuise data are supplemented by information from an important archaeobotanical study carried out on 21 LBA and Early Iron Age sites in the region. Neolithic and LBA human collagen isotopic ratios (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) differ statistically, as do those of some animals. Carbon isotopic ratios of human apatite corroborate collagen results indicating the consumption of ¹³C enriched food by LBA humans and animals compared to Neolithic samples. The high number of occurrences of plant remains in the Bronze Age settlements near the site points to the consumption of C₄ plants, such as millet, and would account for these results.     

The Mega-Site of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville,Spain): Debating Settlement Form,Monumentality and Aggregation in Southern Iberian Copper Age Societies

Study of the Iberian Copper Age has experienced a remarkable upheaval in the last two decades. The discovery in central and southwestern Iberia of a significant number of ditched enclosures, a site type almost unknown in this region until the mid 1990s, has opened up new lines of research. Particularly interesting is the existence of some exceptionally large sites. Largest of all is Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), covering an area of 450 ha and featuring several outstanding megalithic monuments, thousands of pits and material assemblages revealing middle and long distance contacts. In this paper we discuss the implications of the Valencina mega-site for the study of settlement variability, monumentality and population aggregation as key phenomena in the rise in social complexity in Copper Age Iberia.     

Allochthonous red pigments used in burial practices at the Copper Age site of Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla,Spain): characterisation and social dimension

The use of red pigments linked to burial practices is widely documented in the Iberian prehistoric record and very often it has been traditionally interpreted as a ritual practice entailing the utilisation of local raw materials (iron oxides). Some research works, nevertheless, have also detected the use of red pigments which can only be interpreted as allochthonous. The red pigments spread over a single inhumation in a monumental Megalithic tomb surrounding Valencina de la Concepción Copper Age settlement was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray microfluorescence, micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. This approach allowed characterising the red pigments as cinnabar, mixed with tiny amounts of iron oxides. The presence of cinnabar, a product that was necessarily imported, in a context of an exceptional set of grave goods, suggests that the use of cinnabar was linked not only to ritual but also to practices related to the display of social status.     

COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN COPPER AND BRONZE AGE IBERIA: A REAPPRAISAL

This paper starts from the conviction that it is not only important to study long-term processes of change in a particular area, but to analyse the extent to which other areas have been implicated and affected by the processes occurring in it. The study of the emergence, maintenance and even disappearance of social complexity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Copper and Bronze Age has lacked such an approach. As a result, on the one hand it seemed that South-east Spain and Portuguese Estremadura, the two areas where it was argued complexity first appeared, were isolated from each other and from the rest of the Peninsula during the Chalcolithic, and on the other, changes in the geographical distribution of complex societies in the Bronze Age had not been explained. This article reassesses these arguments and aims to show that it was not only intrinsical factors which provoked the social changes which took place in the various areas during the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. Extrinsic factors were on occasion as if not more important. In addition, new data published in recent years has been used to give a broader picture of the expansion of complex societies in the Iberian Peninsula.     

A palaeodietary investigation of carbon (C/C) and nitrogen (N/N) in human and faunal bones from the Copper Age cemeteries of Varna I and Durankulak,Bulgaria

Stable isotope analyses have been applied to human and faunal bone collagen from the Varna I and Durankulak cemeteries to explore palaeodietary adaptations in the Neolithic and Eneolithic (Copper Age). The results suggest both populations primarily utilised terrestrial, C₃-based diets, despite their proximity to the Black Sea. The wider δ¹⁵N range of the Durankulak humans likely indicates the differential utilisation of terrestrial meat sources, which is probably related to the degree to which primary and/or secondary ovicaprid products were consumed, particularly since ovicaprid δ¹⁵N values differ from other herbivores. The isotopic distribution of Varna I reflects a linear relationship between δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C, suggesting that a minority of individuals enriched in both isotopic parameters supplemented their diets with marine resources. These burials include the well known ‘chieftain’ (burial 43) and show notable material wealth by way of grave goods. At the population level, however, there is no significant correlation between stable isotope values and material wealth at Varna I, a fact with implications for theories regarding emergent social/economic hierarchies in Balkan prehistory. Five burials at Durankulak were found to have relatively enriched δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values with respect to the rest of the population. These burials reflect a prominently marine-based or mixed terrestrial C₃-based diet that included C₄ inputs, possibly from millet, for which the limitations of stable isotope analysis on bulk collagen are not able to differentiate. AMS dating has shown that these burials belong to a much later period.     

C4‐Plant Foraging in Northern Italy: Stable Isotopes,Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca Data of Human Osteological Samples from Roccapelago (16th–18th Centuries AD)

Human osteological samples (n = 23) taken from different anatomical parts of 11 individuals from the early modern (16th–18th century AD) site of Roccapelago (Modena, Italy) were systematically analysed for δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and trace elements to investigate their diet. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N correlate and show a high variability between individuals, attesting to the dietary contribution of C₄ plants. This is supported by pollen analysis of the burial site samples, which revealed the presence of maize. δ¹⁵N correlates with Sr/Ca, suggesting that the main protein source could have been milk and dairy. We therefore interpret the strong correlation between δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N as evidence for C₄‐plant foraging practice and the exploitation of livestock for meat and milk, combined with possible direct intake of C₄ plants. The Roccapelago site represents an important case study to track the evolution of the post‐medieval diet and the introduction of maize cultivation in southern Europe, as also attested by historical sources.     

Dairying in antiquity. III. Evidence from absorbed lipid residues dating to the British Neolithic

Absorbed lipid residue analysis has previously demonstrated that dairying was a major component of animal husbandry in Britain during both the Iron Age and Bronze Age. As a continuation of this research into the antiquity of dairying, the incidence of dairy fats associated with pottery vessels from six Neolithic sites from Southern Britain is presented herein. A total of 438 potsherds from Windmill Hill, Abingdon Causewayed Enclosure, Hambledon Hill, Eton Rowing Lake, Runnymede Bridge and Yarnton Floodplain were submitted for organic residue analysis. To date, this constitutes the largest number of sherds investigated from one particular archaeological period. The compound-specific stable isotope values of the major fatty acid components in animal fats, namely C_16:0 and C_18:0, enable absorbed lipids in pottery vessels to be classified to commodity group, i.e. ruminant adipose, dairy and non-ruminant adipose fats can be distinguished. The lipid extracts were relatively well preserved, and dairy fats were observed in approximately 25% of all of the sherds, demonstrating that milk was a valued commodity in the British Neolithic. These results confirm that dairying was an established component of the agricultural practices that reached Britain in the 5^th Millennium BC.     

The Status Problem of Iberian Holocene Equids: New Data from Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca,Spain)

Equid remains are scarce and very fragmented in Iberian Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Evidence suggesting that horses were domesticated does exist, but it is often inconclusive, thus leaving the question unanswered. Today, DNA analyses have provided information about a, most likely Iberian, nucleus of horse domestication, making it crucially important to expand the database. The Holocene sequence (6^th and 3^rd millennium cal bc ) of the Cueva de El Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has yielded 92 equid remains distributed in 12 Neolithic and Bronze Age levels. In this paper, we present the study of the equid remains from the Cueva de El Mirador from an archaeozoological perspective, giving indirect evidence of horse domestication. Our results vary widely and lead to open interpretations about horse domestication and how humans used these animals. This study of horse remains focuses on species identification and on determining how humans economically used these animals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feeding Management Strategies among the Early Neolithic Pigs in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula

The socio‐economic relevance of domesticated animals during the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula is indisputable, yet we essentially know little about the way they were managed. Among domesticated animals, pig (Sus domesticus ) was a common food source, and previous studies have shown the potential of stable isotopes for assessing variability in pig diet in relation to husbandry practices. Nevertheless, this approach has never been applied to the earliest pigs in the Iberian Peninsula. We analysed the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition of pig bone collagen from several Early Neolithic sites in the NE Iberian Peninsula. While pig δ¹³C values were similar across different populations, there were significant differences in δ¹⁵N values between sites. These are attributed to different pig husbandry systems, which may reflect distinct social and spatial organisation and interaction with environmental conditions during the Early Neolithic in this region. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Neolithic Transition in the Iberian Peninsula: Data Analysis and Modeling

We apply GIS techniques to analyze a carefully selected database of 93 Early Neolithic sites in the Iberian Peninsula. This allows us to study the spatial dynamics of the Neolithic transition in Iberia. We study how the Neolithic was introduced into the peninsula in order to test the hypothesis that the Neolithic was introduced almost simultaneously from two sources: one at the northeast (via the Mediterranean coast) and another one at the south (possibly from Northern Africa). We also analyze how the expansion of the Neolithic transition took place within the Iberian Peninsula and measure local rates of spread in order to identify regions with fast and slow rates (such as the slowdown at the Cantabrian coast). In addition, we attempt to reproduce the main results obtained from the GIS analysis by applying reaction–dispersal models to the expansion of the Neolithic transition in the Iberian Peninsula. We conclude that a model with two sources is a reasonable assumption that agrees better with the archaeological data available at present than a model with a single source.     

BETWEEN WARRIORS AND CHAMPIONS: WARFARE AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE LATER PREHISTORY OF THE NORTH‐WESTERN IBERIAN PENINSULA1

This article explores changes in the ‘art of warfare’ among societies in the north‐western Iberian Peninsula in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. These changes are interpreted as a manifestation of the transformation experienced by societies living in the region first from ‘warrior societies’ to ‘societies with warriors’ at the end of the Bronze Age and then back to ‘warrior societies’ in the Late Iron Age. Evidence of individual combat as a manifestation of ‘societies with warriors’ is analysed in the broader context of Indo‐European and ethnographical examples. It reflects societies in which there were groups specialized in warfare and represents the establishment, in the region, of an Indo‐European warrior ideology.     

Stable Isotope Analysis of Diet‐based Social Differentiation at Late Prehistoric Collective Burials in South‐Western Portugal

In the Neolithic and Copper Age collective burials of the Portuguese Estremadura, the majority of material culture and skeletal remains are highly commingled, making it difficult for archaeologists to evaluate social status by linking individuals with specific grave goods. In these circumstances, bio‐anthropological data about individual life histories offer an additional avenue of investigation into social complexity among prehistoric communities practising collective burial. In this study, stable isotope data were gathered from 81 individuals from seven collective burial sites and one settlement, the fortified site of Zambujal, in order to determine if significant dietary differences exist within or between burials that may point to patterns of social differentiation, both at individual sites and across the region. While in general all of the sampled individuals consumed fairly homogeneous diets based on terrestrial animal proteins and C₃ plants, this study found that statistically significant differences in δ¹³C_ap and δ¹⁵N values exist between several sites, which may indicate socially differentiated consumption of meat and plants. Additionally, statistically significant differences were found in δ¹⁵N values between adults and juveniles, which may either be attributable to protein‐restrictive child‐feeding practices or physiological processes related to skeletal growth and development.     

Settlement Dynamics and Social Organization in Eastern Iberia during the Iron Age (Eighth–Second Centuries BC)

Summary.   This paper explores the formation of urban societies in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. From the Early Iberian Iron Age onwards it is possible to trace the emergence of a hierarchical settlement pattern in which larger settlements carried out the most important functions of control and exploitation of the resources in this territory, extending their authority over several small farming villages. This settlement pattern is associated with the complex socio-economic structures and political organization of Iberian aristocracies. In this paper we will focus on the development of the Iberians' active role in exchanging goods with oriental traders; it is this contact which subsequently produces social change in the Iron Age period.     

Neolithic and Bronze-Age Herders of Pupićina Cave,Croatia

Abstract

Pupi?ina Cave (Croatia) preserves an important archaeological sequence spanning 12,000 years. Here we present and discuss the results of extensive excavations in post-Mesolithic deposits.Pupi?ina Cave,located in NE Istria in a region rich in caves and in prehistoric settlement, has well-dated evidence from the Middle Neolithic, Late Neolithic, Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman periods. Visitors to the cave in the Middle Neolithic ca. 5500–5000 in calibrated years B.C (cal B.C.) left typical Danilo/Vla?ka pottery and kept herds of sheep and goats during the spring. Mortality profiles suggest that herds were managed for milk production. During the Late Neolithic (ca. 4550–4150 cal B.C.) Hvar pottery appears along with lithic artifacts from great distances (e.g.,Lipari). Herds of sheep and goats were managed for meat as were cattle and pigs. There was a major hiatus in occupation between the Late Neolithic and the Middle Bronze Age. Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1775–1400 cal B.C.) deposits are found only in one large pit. Pottery is dominated by drinking vessels, and faunal use is the same as in the Late Neolithic. The cave was used primarily as an animal pen during the Iron Age (1st millennium B.C.).     

Early medieval landscapes in north‐west Spain: local powers and communities,fifth–tenth centuries

There has been in the last few years a rapid expansion in the archaeology of early medieval societies in the north‐west of the Iberian Peninsula. A large part of this evidence remains unpublished or has been published incompletely. This article considers the historical landscapes of the north‐western Iberian Peninsula in the early medieval period as social constructions, starting with the identification of the systemic relationships between different archaeological entities. The dynamics and articulation of early medieval societies in the Cantabrian area and in the Duero and Tagus basins will be outlined by means of deconstructing their landscapes. To achieve this, a set of variables will be analysed in comparative terms from three regions selected as case studies: Madrid, the Duero basin and the Basque Country. With the aim of explaining these systems diachronically a division between the fifth–eighth and eighth–tenth centuries will be taken into consideration.     

Adding Hydrogen to the Isotopic Inventory—Combining δ13C, δ15N and δ2H Stable Isotope Analysis for Palaeodietary Purposes on Archaeological Bone

Few papers using hydrogen stable isotope analysis for human palaeodietary reconstruction purposes have been published and the usefulness of this additional dietary indicator is highlighted here. The hydrogen stable isotope results provide evidence for the continued exploitation of aquatic resources throughout the prehistory of the Limfjord area in Denmark, which is supported by FRUITS estimates using three (CNH) isotopic proxies. While aquatic dietary input has been identified in Mesolithic and Viking Age individuals before, our results show that, in fact, this continued throughout the periods in between (Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age), albeit on a small scale.     

The Transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age: Excavations at Vésztö-Bikeri,Hungary, 2000–2002

Abstract

The transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain (ca. 4500 B.C.) coincides with dramatic changes in house form, settlement layout, settlement distribution, and mortuary customs. These changes affected nearly every aspect of social organization—from the organization of households and villages to the distribution of cultural groups across the landscape. Our current understanding of the various changes that occurred during this important transition is hindered by a lack of systematically excavated settlement sites dating to the Early Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain.

The results of three years of excavation at an Early Copper Age settlement located in the Körös River Valley suggest that, in contrast to the Neolithic, craft activities on Early Copper Age sites are segregated in different parts of the settlements. This general pattern of increasing economic specialization occurs throughout SE Europe at the end of the Neolithic and is associated with a tendency towards increased integration of economic and social units in settlements during the Copper Age.     

BUTCHERING PATTERNS AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FAUNAL ANIMAL REMAINS CONSUMED AT THE LOS MILLARES CHALCOLITHIC SETTLEMENT (SANTA FE DE MONDÚJAR,ALMERÍA,SPAIN)

The archaeological settlement of Los Millares (Santa Fe de Mondújar, Almería) is located in the Mediterranean coastal area of southern Spain. This archaeological site constitutes one of the most important settlements belonging to the Copper Age in the Iberian Peninsula and has given its name to the ‘millariense’ culture. The settlement has been completely excavated, yielding major archaeological faunal remains, with 27,426 bone fragments classified by researchers from Munich University (Germany). In this paper, we apply different statistical methods (mainly χ² analysis) to study the spatial distribution of bones from domestic and wild animals, reconstructing the patterns of appearance within specific functional spaces. These functions can be associated with meat consumption (sites to cut the animals into small pieces, areas where the meat was eaten, garbage sites, etc.) and the production of handmade objects (bone tools, stone tools, etc.). The results show different spatial distributions of faunal remains within the areas of the settlement, according to the animal species and particular parts of the animal skeleton, as well as the age and the sex of individuals. The findings reflect social behaviour that relates the consumption of certain species to a specific sector of population, and such behaviour can be discerned in the animal remains. Moreover, there is evidence regarding economic matters, such as meat production and the exchange of animals, which require further research.     

The Tagus Middle Basin (Iberian Peninsula) from the Neolithic to the Iron Age (V-I Millennium Cal. BC): The Long Way to Social Complexity

This study is the result of surveys and excavations carried out in a selected area of the middle basin of the Tagus river (Southern Meseta, Iberian Peninsula). The analysis of palaeoecological data, material assemblages, settlement patterns, domestic structures, funerary evidence and socio-economic context in the regional archaeological record from the Neolithic (5000 BC) to the beginning of the Iron Age (500 BC) allows us to identify several long-term historic processes; particularly, two habitational, demographic and socio-economic cycles, which contradict the traditional idea that the prehistory of inner Iberia presents almost no apparent change during these four millennia.