Animal husbandry in the Early and Middle Neolithic settlement at Kopydłowo in the Polish lowlands. A multi-isotope perspective

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the isotopic characterisation of domestic animals as it relates to birthing location and seasonality, diet, pasturing pattern, foddering and climatic conditions of herding and to determine variation between these aspects of cattle and caprine husbandry of the Neolithic Linearbandkultur (LBK) and Trichterbecherkultur (TRB) communities from Kopydłowo in Kujavia-one of the major centres of early farming in the European lowlands. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was undertaken on faunal bone collagen; carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope ratios were measured from tooth enamel. Isotopic signatures may have been caused by different strategies of management of herds of these animal species. Different and more widely distributed carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotopic data for TRB cattle in comparison with its LBK counterparts is indicative of the exploitation of increasingly diverse ecological zones and more varied pastoral practises. The distribution of oxygen isotope values on caprine tooth made it possible to recognise herding seasonality. Irrespective of the chronology, cattle, sheep and goats kept by the inhabitants had C 3 plantbased diet.

Specialized cattle farming in the Neolithic Rhine-Meuse Delta: Results from zooarchaeological and stable isotope (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) analyses

“…This picture makes Schipluiden cattle husbandry comparable to some LBK sites in central Europe (e.g. [69,96,97]), where bone collagen δ 13 C values suggest that cattle herding predominantly took place in open areas and /or open forests, with occasional use of dense forest resources. Low δ 13 C values, which reflect the use of forest resources, have been previously observed elsewhere in temperate Europe including the LBK sites of Bischoffsheim (Alsace, France), and Vaihingen (southwestern Germany [64,98]).…”

Forest Ecosystems and Evolution of Cattle Husbandry Practices of the Earliest Central European Farming Societies

“…The low variation in δ 13 C values of bioapatite, collagen and dairy lipids from Polish sites suggested limited diversity in pasture types. Interestingly in subsequent TRB phase at Kopydłowo, dairy lipids and collagen indicate herders made greater use of densely forested areas 19,35 . Moving south-west, where palynological investigations indicate the presence of open canopy steppe forest 58 , one individual at Chotěbudice (Northern Czechia) had δ 13 C values occurring in winter indicative of leafy hay foddering (CHO9, range −27.3‰ to −25.7‰) 28 .…”

“…Stable isotope signatures of domesticated animals found on archaeology sites can be used to track the adaptation of husbandry strategies by early farmers to local ecosystems. Herein, we analyse δ 13 C, δ 18 O and δ 15 N values from bone and dentine collagen and bioapatite from cattle, and pottery dairy lipids from unpublished and published studies 6,8,19,27,28,33,35,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] of early farming contexts characterised by a material culture with numerous shared elements across a wide geographical range (SI Table 1-5, 1,541 isotopic measurements, 61 sites; Figure 1). Together with site-speci c paleoenvironmental data, we characterise pasture and forage strategies adopted by pioneer farming communities in central Europe.…”

“…Maintaining herds of sub-adults and adults represents an investment in terms of pasture and fodder resources 1 , particularly during winter and early spring when grazing may be restricted by snow or ooding 17 . The LBK communities inhabited diverse range of environments from the seasonally ooded marshes of the Carpathian Basin 18 to the semi-open woodlands of the Polish lowlands 19 and the forested steppe in northern and central Bohemia, and southern Moravia 20 to the closed mixed oak forests of the Rhine valley 21 . European woodlands depending on their canopy structure and composition have always been important in traditional pasture systems 17,22,23 .…”

“…A. Histogram of the cattle/dairy ruminant diet δ 13 C values based on unpublished and published δ 13 C 16:0 values from dairy lipids 6,33,[39][40][41][42] recovered from pottery vessels (blue), collagen δ 13 C values 8,27,[43][44][45] (green) and, highest and lowest δ 13 C values from the sequential bioapatite analysis of cattle teeth 19,46 (red) (SI Table 2-4…”