The study of infant feeding practices in archaeological populations can aid in the understanding of cultural attitudes towards dietary choices and how specific circumstances experienced by mothers and their offspring influence childhood health and survivorship. Breastfeeding and weaning patterns have received increased interest in Roman bioarchaeology, especially through the application of stable isotopic investigation of nitrogen (δ 15 N) and carbon (δ 13 C) values. This study presents the stable isotopic results of the first Roman bone sample analyzed from Switzerland (30 non-adults and 9 females), allowing us an unprecedented insight into health and diet at the site of Aventicum/Avenches, the capital city of the territory of Helvetii in Roman times (1 st-3 rd c. AD). The fact that the majority of the non-adult samples subject to stable isotope analysis were perinates, highlights the complex relationship between their δ 15 N and δ 13 C values and those of adult females, as different factors, including variation of fetal and maternal stable isotope values, the possible effects of intrauterine growth, as well as maternal/fetal disease and/or nutritional stress (e.g. nutritional deficiencies such as scurvy, parasitic infections, such as malaria), could have influenced the observed elevated δ 15 N values.

Nowadays, the discovery and excavation of an almost intact Late Neolithic dolmen is rare, as those monuments were often visible in the landscape and have been investigated or destroyed in earlier times; therefore, information about the buried individuals has often been lost. The excavation of the dolmen, a stone grave chamber, from Oberbipp, Switzerland, in 2012 provided a unique opportunity to study human skeletal remains from a Late Neolithic collective burial (3350–2650 BCE). Over 2,000 fragmented and commingled skeletal elements were recovered and form the basis of this morphological study. Established morphological methods were employed to evaluate the minimum number of individuals, age at death, sex, stature, and the presence of pathological alterations and trauma. Sex was determined additionally by aDNA analysis. Elements of the entire human skeleton were recovered indicating a primary burial site. At least 42 individuals (femora) from all age classes (57%:43% adults to subadults) were buried in the dolmen. Based on aDNA analysis (n = 23, partes petrosae) slightly more males than females (44%:35% males to females, 22% indeterminate) were recovered. Stature was estimated from complete femora (n = 3) indicating an average body height between 154–157 cm. Pathological alterations and trauma could be observed on several bones, however, without indications for major interpersonal violence. The caries intensity of Swiss samples seems to be higher compared with other Neolithic European sites. A possible separation of burial areas for males and females based on the recovery of skeletal elements within the dolmen along with aDNA results is postulated. In addition, this article contributes to a better understanding of Late Neolithic populations in Central Europe.

Objectives: Contemporary archeological theory emphasizes the economic and social complexity of Eurasian steppe populations. As a result, old notions of "nomadic" cultures as homogenously mobile and economically simple are now displaced by more nuanced interpretations. Large part of the literature on diet and mobility among Eurasian pastoralists is focused on the Bronze and Iron Ages. The underrepresentation of more recent contexts hampers a full discussion of possible chronological trajectories. In this study we explore diet and mobility at Tunnug1 (Republic of Tuva, 2nd-4th century CE), and test their correlation with social differentiation. Materials and Methods:We compare demographic patterns (by age-at-death and sex) of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotope ratios (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and δ 34 S) among 65 humans and 12 animals from Tunnug1 using nonparametric tests and Bayesian modeling. We then compare isotopic data with data on perimortal skeletal lesions of anthropic origin and funerary variables.Results: Our analyses show that: (1) diet at Tunnug1 was largely based on C 4 plants (likely millet) and animal proteins; (2) few individuals were nonlocals, although their geographic origin remains unclarified; (3) no differences in diet separates individuals based on sex and funerary treatment. In contrast, individuals with perimortal lesions show carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios consistent with a diet incorporating a lower consumption of millet and animal proteins.Discussion: Our results confirm the previously described socioeconomic variability of steppe populations, providing at the same time new data about the economic importance of millet in Southern Siberia during the early centuries CE.