Aquatic resources in human diet in the Late Mesolithic in Northern France and Luxembourg: insights from carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope ratios

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Neolithic Life Reconstruction

“…Most of the human values fall within the onsite fauna range. When this data set is compared with published data from Mesolithic sites and modern food samples (only data available) from elsewhere in France (Camin et al 2007;Schellenberg et al 2010;Drucker et al 2016), we observe higher ratios than what was known up to now in this inland context (Fig. 2b).…”

“…More recently, sulphur isotope analysis (δ 34 S) was recognized as another useful tool in complementing carbon and nitrogen (Nehlich 2015), particularly to document the provenience of individuals (Richards et al 2001;Vika 2009) and the potential consumption of marine or freshwater resources (Nehlich et al 2010). The combination of these three isotopic ratios in bone collagen has shown its relevance to study the potential access to freshwater resources (Drucker et al 2016), as well as cultural behaviors (de Becdelievre et al 2015;Nehlich et al 2011).…”

A multi-isotope analysis of Neolithic human groups in the Yonne valley, Northern France: insights into dietary patterns and social structure

“…Privat et al 2007). It can be particularly useful to detect freshwater fish consumption (Drucker et al 2016b) and, as this was proposed in a previous preliminary study conducted on C and N isotope ratios in the Yonne valley (Rey et al 2017), this is the main reason for measuring it in this study. Despite increasingly more sulphur data is now being made available in various contexts, geological and bioavailable sulphur variation at local or sublocal scales is still poorly known (e.g.…”

“…Sulphur (S) isotopic analyses are more rare but are increasingly being included in multi-proxy analyses to better document the dietary patterns, as well as the mobility patterns (e.g. Drucker et al 2016b;Goude et al 2018;Nehlich 2015).…”

“…Fishing should also be considered as an additional source of food even in a lesser extent, as a few fish remains have been found in some regional sites (Clavel and Arbogast 2007). Moreover, fishing is attested since the Mesolithic period in the region (Drucker et al 2016b) and consumption of aquatic resources was proposed for a regional Neolithic site in a previous isotopic study (Rey et al 2017). Besides, carpological and palynological regional data show that, in this temperate climate with C 3 vegetation, cereal cultivation is present since the early Neolithic with wheat (Triticum dicoccum and monococcum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) (Bakels 1997;Martin et al 2014).…”