Response to Bonsall et al. “Food for Thought: Re-Assessing Mesolithic Diets in the Iron Gates”

Nehlich, Olaf; Borić, Dušan

doi:10.2458/azu_rc.57.18678

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

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“…Higher δ 15 N and lower δ 13 C also show that this individual from Supska had a high protein diet, where a significant part of proteins could come from aquatic resources. The stable isotope ratios recorded for different species of fish during the Mesolithic-Neolithic period in the Danube Gorges (Iron Gates) show that some freshwater fish, such as Wels catfish and carp, can display the broadest range of δ 13 C values, with some of them having very low values (Grupe, Peters and Mikić 2003;Borić et al 2004;Nehlich et al 2010;Jovanović et al 2019). It is possible that these species were also present in the Velika Morava through its connection to the Danube, and that the young adult from Supska consumed them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Medieval Burial from the Site of Supska: An Anthropological and Contextual Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from Grave 1

Jovanović,

Bogosavljević-Petrović,

Bulatović

et al. 2023

Зборник Народног музеја Србије. Археологија = Recueil du Musée

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In 1956, the Institute of Archaeology and the National Museum in Belgrade carried out excavations at the site of Supska, near Ćuprija, in Central Serbia. Based on the material culture findings, the site is mostly known as a Late Neolithic one; however, archaeological findings from other periods were discovered too. In the 1956 excavations, the cultural layers, and archaeological features with the Vinča culture archaeological materials were examined, as well as one grave, marked as Grave 1. The results of this excavation have been previously published in one monograph; however, an anthropological analysis of the individual found in Grave 1 has not been conducted before. In this paper, we present the results of contextual, bioanthropological, stable isotopes and C 14 analyses of human skeletal remains found in Grave 1. The results showed that a young adult, who had experienced nonspecific metabolic stress during childhood, as evidenced by traces of linear enamel hypoplasia and porotic hyperostosis, was buried in this grave. AMS date revealed that this individual lived between 1280-1390 cal. AD, while the results of the stable isotope analyses suggested that it had mixed diet based on C 4 plants (such as millet) and/or C 3 plants, with larger amounts of animal protein, possible deriving from freshwater fish.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Medieval Burial from the Site of Supska: An Anthropological and Contextual Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from Grave 1

Jovanović,

Bogosavljević-Petrović,

Bulatović

et al. 2023

Зборник Народног музеја Србије. Археологија = Recueil du Musée

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Last hunters–first farmers: new insight into subsistence strategies in the Central Balkans through multi-isotopic analysis

Jovanović

Becdelièvre

Stefanović

et al. 2018

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This paper presents new results of stable isotope analysis made on human and animal bones from Mesolithic-Neolithic sites (9500-5200 cal BC) in the Central Balkans. It reconstructs dietary practices in the Mesolithic and documents the development of new subsistence strategies and regional differences during the process of Neolithisation. We achieved these insights into dietary changes by analysing bone collagen δ 13 C (n = 75), δ 15 N (n = 75) and δ 34 S (n = 96) and comparing stable isotope data of Mesolithic-Neolithic communities from the Danube Gorges with the data of the first farmers who lived outside of the Gorges in the Central Balkans. The Bayesian model was employed to evaluate the relative importance of different animal proteins in human diet. Results bring a new overview and highlight important chronological and regional differences. They suggest that Late Mesolithic humans included more anadromous and potamodromous fish in their diet, which is consistent with archaeozoological evidence. On the other hand, differing from archaeozoological data, the model also points to a greater reliance on terrestrial carnivores (dogs) in the Late Mesolithic diet, a pattern that can be also explained by other dietary and environmental factors. In the Transitional and Neolithic period in the Gorges, some individuals have consumed fewer aquatic resources and favoured more terrestrial products. However, one site in the Gorges represents an exception-Ajmana, where we have the earliest farmers in this region since their subsistence economy was mainly oriented toward terrestrial products. Furthermore, results shows that Neolithic individuals inhumated at sites outside of the Danube Gorges in the Balkans had dietary patterns that vary in both terrestrial and freshwater resources, indicating that early farming communities had a diversified diet linked to a local natural environment. Comparative data finally indicates regional differentiations associated with locally available resources but also related to the traditions of prehistoric communities and to specific economic innovations.

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A long hard road… Reviewing the evidence for environmental change and population history in the eastern Adriatic and western Balkans during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene

Birch

Linden

2018

Quaternary International

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The eastern Adriatic and western Balkans are key areas for assessing the environmental and population history of Europe during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. It has been argued that the Balkan region served as a Late Glacial refugium for humans, animals, and plants, much like Iberia and the Italian Peninsula and in contrast to the harsh conditions of Eastern and Central Europe. As post-glacial amelioration occurred and sea level rose, these regions to the north and west of the Balkan Mountains became forested and were populated by Mesolithic forager-fishers. Meanwhile, to the south, the domestication of plants and animals in the Near East began to cause large-scale environmental as well as lifestyle changes. Even as the Balkan Peninsula was a likely crossroads on the route for the spread of agriculture and herding from Southwest Asia into Europe, issues such as pre-Neolithic settlement, the discussion of human-environment interactions, and the role of climate events such as the 11.4, 9.3, and 8.2 ka cal BP in this critical landscape are often overlooked. Efforts to counter this challenge have been hampered by an apparent lack of data, so that the region hardly occurs in distribution maps. In part this is due to patchy research and a complicated political history, which have contributed to a fragmented archaeological and paleoecological record. Yet, as we show here, there is in fact plenty of evidence available for review. We present a survey of different proxies for environment and settlement throughout the Late Pleistocene and into the Early Holocene, combining radiocarbon data with zooarchaeological, lithic, and palynological records. By mapping this evidence, we are able to discuss the impact of climate change during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition and consider the role of environment and landscape on human population distribution at this crossroads in place and time.

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Response to Bonsall et al. “Food for Thought: Re-Assessing Mesolithic Diets in the Iron Gates”

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

A Medieval Burial from the Site of Supska: An Anthropological and Contextual Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from Grave 1

A Medieval Burial from the Site of Supska: An Anthropological and Contextual Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from Grave 1

Last hunters–first farmers: new insight into subsistence strategies in the Central Balkans through multi-isotopic analysis

A long hard road… Reviewing the evidence for environmental change and population history in the eastern Adriatic and western Balkans during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene

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