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International audience; Understanding the contribution of fish to the human dietis an important debate in past population studies as it implies specific organization (e.g. adapted techniques, gender-based activities?) and relationship with the local or sublocal environments (e.g. mobility, seasonal-based exploitation). In the Paris Basin, the role of fish has been discussed mainly from rare but obviousarchaeologicalremains such as fish bones or hooks. Previous isotopic data from Neolithic human bone bulk collagen highlighted the potential of freshwater resources in protein diet but were not able to quantify it or even confirm its role. In this study we conducted, for the first time on early farmers from France,compound specific isotope analysis on bone collagen amino acids (CSIA-AA). Results indicate a particularly high trophic level of some humans with protein intake mainly based on terrestrial animal resources (domestic cattle and pig), while others rather havea plant-based diet. Freshwater resources appeared to be not significant and several possible food combinations are discussed. Pig particularly appears more herbivorous than previously assumed and has possibly consumed manured cereals from human food waste.

International audience; This exploratory study proposes an original intra-life history investigation through sequential analysis of the isotopic composition of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur (CNS) on both primary and secondary dentin of a tooth (M1). We focus on an elderly woman from Longobard Italy (6th to 8th c. CE), who showed an unprecedented case of cranial surgery, presented in a companion paper by Micarelli and colleagues. Sequential stable CNS isotope composition of first molar dentin collagen allows us to infer diet, mobility, health, and physiological stress between approximately 3 months after birth to 9.5 years old (primary dentin) and between early adulthood until death (secondary dentin). Isotopic results on primary dentin highlight the following: (i) a long weaning period (ending at approximately 4 years), followed by (ii) a specific diet, including the contribution of C4 crops in early childhood (approximately 5.5 years), possibly concomitant with mobility. While secondary dentin shows a generally homogeneous diet during adulthood, the longitudinal analysis provided information on specific stresses that likely occurred in periods of difficult health conditions. This work emphasizes the importance of measuring complete dentin sequences (including secondary when present) for isotopic analysis to broaden intra-life histories in ancient populations.

International audience; RationaleThe last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the application of serial sampling of human dentine in archaeology. Rapid development in the field has provided many improvements in the methodology, in terms of both time resolution as well as the ability to integrate more isotope systems in the analysis. This study provides a comparison of two common sampling approaches, allowing researchers to select the most suitable approach for addressing specific research questions.MethodsTwo common approaches for sequential sampling of human dentine (micro-punches and micro-slices) are compared in terms of viability and efficacy. Using archaeological deciduous second molars and permanent first molars, this study demonstrates how the two approaches capture aspects of the weaning process in different ways. In addition, different aspects related to the extraction protocols, such as the thickness of the central slide and the solubilisation step, are also evaluated.ResultsWhile both approaches show similar intra-tooth isotopic patterns, the micro-punches approach is preferable for research that requires a very fine temporal resolution, while the micro-slices approach is best for research where δ34S values are needed, or when the samples are poorly preserved. In addition, the solubilisation step has a large effect on collagen yield, and, to a lesser extent, on isotopic compositions. Therefore, it is important to ensure that only samples that have undergone the same pre-treatment protocol are directly compared.ConclusionsWe present the pros and cons of the two micro-sampling approaches and offer possible mitigation strategies to address some of the most important issues related to each approach.

The Arene Candide Cave is a renowned site on the northwestern Italian coast that has yielded numerous burials dating back to the terminal phases of the Pleistocene (Epigravettian culture). Thanks to the exceptional preservation of the remains, and to the information collected during the excavations that begun in the 1940s, researchers were able to reconstruct a complex pattern of manipulation of older burials that consistently occurred when interring new individuals. Therefore, the Epigravettian necropolis provides a rare glimpse into the modalities, and possibly the motives, of funerary behavior in the Late Upper Paleolithic, a period during which formal burial was highly selective. The reasons for this selection are still unclear, but it has been proposed that they may be related to “exceptional events” (violence and trauma) and “exceptional people” (disease and deformities due to congenital conditions). This study presents an assemblage of hundreds of skeletal elements and fragments belonging to two new individuals, and to individuals of the necropolis that were already known. The remains, which had never been described since their excavation in 1940–42, were discovered during the reassessment of the collections kept at the Museum of Natural History, Section of Anthropology and Ethnology of the University of Florence. The analysis extends our knowledge of the biological profile of the individuals buried at the site, which is fundamental for our understanding of Late Upper Paleolithic funerary behavior. The inclusion of two new individuals in the skeletal series, both children aged around 1–1.5 years, suggests that age may have not been a significant factor in determining funerary treatment. New radiocarbon dates on human bone – together with the cross-referencing of the available dates with the stratigraphic relations between burials and clusters of bones in secondary deposit – suggest that the entire necropolis is bracketed within a millennium corresponding to the Younger Dryas cooling event (i.e. between ca. 12,900 and 11,600 cal BP). Arene Candide Cave was a highly-visible landmark in the landscape, and funerary gestures in the Epigravettian necropolis emphasized the ties with the ancestors. It is possible that funerary behavior at Arene Candide was a means of claiming territorial access to resources, as well as reinforcing and transmitting communal identity and values, through a period of climate-induced resource stress and competition. Isolation and small refugia during cooling events may have contributed to exacerbating genetic drift, and increased the frequency of cultural means to sanction “exceptional people and events”.

OBJECTIVES The aims of this research are to explore the diet, mobility, social organization, and environmental exploitation patterns of early Mediterranean farmers, particularly the role of marine and plant resources in these foodways. In addition, this work strives to document possible gendered patterns of behavior linked to the neolithization of this ecologically rich area. To achieve this, a set of multiproxy analyses (isotopic analyses, dental calculus, microremains analysis, ancient DNA) were performed on an exceptional deposit (n = 61) of human remains from the Les Breguieres site (France), dating to the transition of the sixth to the fifth millennium BCE. MATERIALS AND METHODS The samples used in this study were excavated from the Les Breguieres site (Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes, France), located along the southeastern Mediterranean coastline of France. Stable isotope analyses (C, N) on bone collagen (17 coxal bones, 35 craniofacial elements) were performed as a means to infer protein intake during tissue development. Sulfur isotope ratios were used as indicators of geographical and environmental points of origin. The study of ancient dental calculus helped document the consumption of plants. Strontium isotope analysis on tooth enamel (n = 56) was conducted to infer human provenance and territorial mobility. Finally, ancient DNA analysis was performed to study maternal versus paternal diversity within this Neolithic group (n = 30). RESULTS Stable isotope ratios for human bones range from -20.3 to -18.1‰ for C, from 8.9 to 11.1‰ for N and from 6.4 to 15‰ for S. Domestic animal data range from -22.0 to -20.2‰ for C, from 4.1 to 6.9‰ for N, and from 10.2 to 12.5‰ for S. Human enamel 87 Sr/86 Sr range from 0.7081 to 0.7102, slightly wider than the animal range (between 0.7087 and 0.7096). Starch and phytolith microremains were recovered as well as other types of remains (e.g., hairs, diatoms, fungal spores). Starch grains include Triticeae type and phytolith includes dicotyledons and monocot types as panicoid grasses. Mitochondrial DNA characterized eight different maternal lineages: H1, H3, HV (5.26%), J (10.53%), J1, K, T (5.2%), and U5 (10.53%) but no sample yielded reproducible Y chromosome SNPs, preventing paternal lineage characterization. DISCUSSION Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios indicate a consumption of protein by humans mainly focused on terrestrial animals and possible exploitation of marine resources for one male and one undetermined adult. Sulfur stable isotope ratios allowed distinguishing groups with different geographical origins, including two females possibly more exposed to the sea spray effect. While strontium isotope data do not indicate different origins for the individuals, mitochondrial lineage diversity from petrous bone DNA suggests the burial includes genetically differentiated groups or a group practicing patrilocality. Moreover, the diversity of plant microremains recorded in dental calculus provide the first evidence that the groups of Les Breguieres consumed a wide breadth of plant foods (as cereals and wild taxa) that required access to diverse environments. This transdisciplinary research paves the way for new perspectives and highlights the relevance for novel research of contexts (whether recently discovered or in museum collections) excavated near shorelines, due to the richness of the biodiversity and the wide range of edible resources available.

L’exploration des structures de parenté dans les sociétés du passé a été au centre des études en archéologie et en anthropologie. Cependant, la reconstruction des liens de parenté biologique en contextes archéologiques a rarement été accessible. Avec le développement des méthodes d’analyses en ADN ancien, il est désormais possible d’obtenir des données génomiques pour de nombreux individus d’un même groupe, même dans le cas d’une faible conservation de l’ADN. Nous présentons ici de nouvelles ...

Previous studies have identified differences based on sex in adult diet and age-based changes in the funerary treatment of children in the Neolithic of northern France. This preliminary study investigates sex-based differences and age-related changes in diet and mobility in childhood in comparison to adulthood. Nineteen individuals from the Neolithic Yonne valley (Paris Basin) were analyzed for δ13C and δ15N in dentine of the second permanent molar (M2) and 15 also for δ34S. Analyses were performed on different tooth parts depending on the individuals and targeted different age groups: bulk coronal (ca. 2.5–8.5 years; n = 16 adults) and root dentine (ca. 8.5–12 years; n = 1 juvenile) and dentine microsections of the entire tooth (6 age groups between 2.5 and 16 years old; n = 2 adults). Higher δ15N values in dentine than in adult bone reflect children’s dietary specificity, possibly due to their nutritional needs during growth. There is no mean isotopic difference in coronal dentine between males and females under 9 years old. Dietary sex-based division occurs later. Two isotopic shifts are observed on the incremental profiles, indicative of social transitions, possibly sex-related, around 8–9 and 14 years old. The variability of δ34S values highlights different mobility patterns between the sexes and argues for patrilocality. These results echo previous studies and offer a promising perspective which must be investigated further on a larger sample size.

Version française La Société d’Anthropologie de Paris édite depuis 1859 les Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris (BMSAP). Nos bulletins sont ainsi la plus ancienne revue scientifique au monde dans le domaine de l’anthropologie biologique. Cette longévité est le résultat du soutien indéfectible de notre communauté à sa revue, que ce soit par les contributions scientifiques qui l’ont alimentée, par la fidélité de ses abonnées et abonnés jusqu’en 2020 et par tout le trava...

International audience; Stable isotopic data (δ13C; δ15N) were obtained from Mesolithic human and faunal remains from north- eastern Italy in order to document the human diet and provide information on the relationship between landscape use and subsistence strategies. The bone samples were from an adult female individual (Early Mesolithic, Late Sauveterrian) buried at Vatte di Zambana (Trento), an adult male (Late Mesolithic, Castelnovian) buried at Mondeval de Sora (Belluno), and an adult female from Mezzocorona Borgonuovo (Trento). For the latter, the stratigraphic position of the burial pit and evidence of the associated ritual suggest a Mesolithic attribution. Carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) stable isotope compositions of human bone collagen were compared with those of animal remains from different taxa found in stratigraphic association with the burial. The isotopic data and the Bayesian model developed from the latter and from data in the literature indicate a very significant proportion of terrestrial resources in the protein fraction of the human diet, particularly from red deer compared to other ungulates and potentially from freshwater fish and small mammals. These results add to the information provided by zooarchaeological studies and reopen the debate on the role of secondary resources such as chamois, ibex, small mammals and fish, such as pike, in the diet of these mobile human societies. However, as this is a preliminary study based on a very small sample size, interpretations should be considered with caution.; Les compositions isotopiques en carbone et en azote (δ13C ; δ15N) ont été mesurées sur des restes osseux humains et animaux du Mésolithique dans le nord-est de l’Italie afin de documenter l’alimentation de ces dernières communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs et les liens entre l’environnement et les stratégies de subsistance. Les restes osseux analysés proviennent d’une femme adulte (Mésolithique ancien, Sauveterrien récent) inhumée à Vatte di Zambana (Trento), d’un homme adulte (Mésolithique récent, Castelnovien) inhumé à Mondeval de Sora (Belluno) et d’une femme adulte du site de Mezzocorona-Borgonuovo (Trento). La position stratigraphique de la sépulture à Mezzocorona-Borgonuovo ainsi que les pratiques funéraires suggèrent une attribution au Mésolithique. Les ratios isotopiques du carbone et de l’azote du collagène osseux des sujets humains ont été comparés avec ceux d’animaux de différentes espèces associés stratigraphiquement aux sépultures. Les résultats isotopiques ainsi qu’un modèle bayésien, réalisé à partir de ces données et celles de la littérature, indiquent une contribution très significative des protéines animales du milieu terrestre, et surtout la consommation importante de cerfs par rapport aux autres ongulés, ainsi qu’un rôle potentiel des poissons d’eau douce et de petits mammifères. Ces données complètent les informations apportées par les études archéozoologiques et relancent la discussion sur le rôle secondaire que peuvent avoir le chamois, l’ibex, les petits mammifères et les ressources aquatiques, comme le brochet, dans la subsistance de ces nomades. Cette étude reste toutefois préliminaire et le faible corpus d’échantillons analysés nous amène à considérer ces interprétations avec prudence.

International audience

Les etudes sur l’ADN ont permis une avancee fondamentale dans notre connaissance et comprehension de la biologie des etres vivants. Ses apports ont ete tellement considerables que l’on a parfois du mal a reconnaitre ses limites qui passent inapercues relativement a ses atouts. Des etudes en genetique ont suggere une difference de moins de 2 % entre notre espece et notre plus proche parent, le chimpanze, en apportant ainsi une preuve majeure de notre filiation et de notre passe commun qui se s...

International audience; Stable isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N) of human bones have been crucial for understanding the diets of Neolithic societies. However, isotopic measurements of wild and cultivated vegetal resources have not as yet been integrated into reconstructions of human diets. This study explores the isotopic variations in seed and fruit remains from seven Neolithic sites in Southern France. It aims to understand environmental and/or anthropic factors that could influence the isotopic ratios. These data are then included in a dietary model for individuals found at the same sites or nearby. Analysis of botanical remains indicate that similar environments do not provide homogeneous values. For some sites, results suggest different cultivation practices according to species. The dietary models confirm some interpretations previously proposed, including a diversity in the dietary habits at one site. However, some aspects of the diet could have been under-estimated, such as the consumption of wild food plants.; Gavériaux F.a1,2, Bouby L.a, Marinval P.b, Figueiral I.a,c, Binder D.d, Fouéré P.f,g, Gernigon K h, g, Léa V.g, Hasler A.c,j, Vignaud A.c, Goude G in press L'alimentation des premières sociétés agropastorales du Sud de la France : premières données isotopiques sur des graines et fruits carbonisés néolithiques et essais de modélisation / Diet of the first farming communities in Southern France: first stable istopic data on Neolithic carbonized seeds and fruits and modelling attempt-Paris 2022. Comptes Rendus Palevol. Les Comptes Rendus Palevol sont coédités par l'Académie des sciences et le Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleL’analyse isotopique (δ13C et δ15N) d’ossements humains a permis de franchir un pas décisif dans la connaissance de l’alimentation des sociétés du Néolithique. Cependant, les données isotopiques des ressources végétales cultivées ou sauvages n’étaient pas jusqu’à présent intégrées dans la reconstitution du régime alimentaire des Hommes. Cette étude propose d’explorer les variations isotopiques enregistrées dans des carporestes provenant de sept sites archéologiques néolithiques du sud de la France, afin de comprendre les facteurs environnementaux et/ou anthropiques qui peuvent les influencer. Ces données sont ensuite incluses dans les modèles alimentaires de sujets retrouvés dans les mêmes sites ou à proximité. Les analyses isotopiques des carporestes indiquent que des environnements similaires n’engendrent pas des valeurs homogènes. Au niveau de certains sites, les résultats suggèrent des pratiques de cultures différentes entre espèces. Les modèles alimentaires confirment certaines interprétations proposées précédemment, notamment l’existence de groupes humains au sein d’un même site ne consommant pas les mêmes ressources. Ils montrent également que certains aspects de leur alimentation notamment les ressources sauvages auraient pu être sous-estimées.

The archaeological Bronze Age record in Europe reveals unprecedented changes in subsistence strategies due to innovative farming techniques and new crop cultivation. Increasing cultural exchanges affected the economic system. The inhabitants of Switzerland played a pivotal role in this European context through relationships with the Mediterranean, the High and Middle Danube regions and the Alps thanks to the area’s central position. This research aims to reconstruct, for the first time in Switzerland, human socio-economic systems through the study of human diet, herding and farming practices and their changes throughout the Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) by means of biochemical markers. The study includes 41 human, 22 terrestrial and aquatic animal specimens and 30 charred seeds and chaff samples from sites in western Switzerland. Stable isotope analyses were performed on cereal and legume seeds (δ13C, δ15N), animal bone collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N, δ34S), human bone and tooth dentine collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N,) and human tooth enamel (δ13Cenamel). The isotopic data suggest a) an intensification of soil fertilization and no hydric stress throughout the Bronze Age, b) a human diet mainly composed of terrestrial resources despite the proximity of Lake Geneva and the Rhone river, c) a diet based on C3plants during the Early and Middle Bronze Age as opposed to the significant consumption of13C-enriched resources (probably millet) by individuals from the Final Bronze Age, d) no important changes in dietary patterns throughout an individual’s lifespan but a more varied diet in childhood compared to adulthood, e) no differences in diet according to biological criteria (age, sex) or funerary behavior (burial architecture, grave goods).

Although the amount of data on the Italian Copper Age has increased significantly in the last decades, little is known about the relationship between humans and the environment. Material culture su...

International audience

This pilot study attempts to document the potential of Prehistoric human bone and teeth collagen from Cyprus (9th-2nd mill. BC), for isotopic analysis and palaeodietary reconstruction. We sampled archaeological human skeletons and some faunal remains coming from six sites located in different locations, with different burial modes. The analysis of carbon and nitrogen elemental compositions and stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N), indicate an extremely poor preservation of collagen, probably in relationship with burying conditions. Although very few individuals were successfully analysed, stable isotope data from this study allow a discussion on different protein food resources intake by humans in comparison with some other published data in the Near East (Greece, Cyprus, Turkey) from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. These diachronic data provide documentations for future studies, including palaeodietary and environmental field research.

International audience; Reconstructing individual dietary histories at Shamanka II, an Early Neolithic (7000-5700cal. BP) Kitoi hunter-gatherer cemetery in Cis-Baikal, Siberia, revealed surprising intrapopulation variability in childhood diets. Stable isotope analytical data produced by micro-sampled first molars identified changes in both the timing and rate of weaning for different individuals. Further, examination within the framework of a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology identified shifting practices between two phases of cemetery use, and additional links with mortuary treatment that indicates differences relating to group and/or family structure. The differential treatment of infants, correlated with the complex hunter-gatherer social structure, and subsequent burial treatment evident at this cemetery are investigated in light of regional dietary trends.

International audience; Excavated in the middle of the 1960’ by M. Sechter, the site of Mougins – Bréguières, in Southeastern France, appears of a huge patrimonial and scientific interest, due to the exceptional abundance and preservation of human bones, the singularity of associated material, and the specificity of the place, a fault, where the corpses were left. In the frame of the ETICALP project, direct dating of bone collagen has been run in order to define the chronological and cultural context of human deposits. Among twelve analyses, a consistent set of eleven dates situates the site’s use as a burial at the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 5th millennium BCE, and justifies that detailed anthropological studies have been run. The latter have demonstrated that the human bone assemblage presents all the characters of a collective burial which then appears as one of the oldest within the Western Mediterranean Neolithic, in a social context marked by deep changes in symbolic paradigms through the whole Western Europe. The biological analysis indicates that the individuals composing this assemblage did cover a large range of ageing clusters, with the exception of perinatal. A first set of isotopic analyses highlights the huge potential of these series for understanding the diet variability among the individuals and during their own life.; Fouillé au milieu des années 1960 par M. Sechter, le site des Bréguières à Mougins présente un intérêt patrimonial et scientifique primordial en raison de l’abondance et de la conservation exceptionnelle des restes humains qui y furent découverts, de la singularité des mobiliers archéologiques qui y étaient associés et de la spécificité du lieu, une faille, où ils ont été déposés. Dans le cadre du Projet collectif de recherche ETICALP, des datations directes sur collagène osseux ont été entreprises afin de préciser le contexte chrono-culturel de ces dépôts. Onze des douze dates ainsi obtenues placent l’utilisation du site comme sépulcre à la fin du VIe et au début du Ve millénaire BCE, justifiant la mise en œuvre d’une analyse anthropologique détaillée. Cette dernière a conclu à un assemblage présentant tous les aspects d’une sépulture collective qui s’avère de fait comme étant l’une des plus anciennes du Néolithique ouest-méditerranéen, dans un contexte social caractérisé par un profond renouvellement des paradigmes symboliques à l’échelle de l’Europe occidentale. L’analyse biologique indique que les 61 individus qui composent cet assemblage appartiennent à toutes les classes d’âge, exception faite des périnataux. Les premières analyses isotopiques mettent en valeur le potentiel considérable de cette série pour aborder la variabilité des régimes alimentaires au sein de la population et au cours de la vie des individus.

Excavated in the middle of the 1960’ by M. Sechter, the site of Mougins – Breguieres, in Southeastern France, appears of a huge patrimonial and scientific interest, due to the exceptional abundance and preservation of human bones, the singularity of associated material, and the specificity of the place, a fault, where the corpses were left. In the frame of the ETICALP project, direct dating of bone collagen has been run in order to define the chronological and cultural context of human deposits. Among twelve analyses, a consistent set of eleven dates situates the site’s use as a burial at the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 5th millennium BCE, and justifies that detailed anthropological studies have been run. The latter have demonstrated that the human bone assemblage presents all the characters of a collective burial which then appears as one of the oldest within the Western Mediterranean Neolithic, in a social context marked by deep changes in symbolic paradigms through the whole Western Europe. The biological analysis indicates that the individuals composing this assemblage did cover a large range of ageing clusters, with the exception of perinatal. A first set of isotopic analyses highlights the huge potential of these series for understanding the diet variability among the individuals and during their own life.

The multidisciplinary research team of this new project aimed at the chronological, anthropological and funerary behavior characterization of the skeletal remains unearthed from various caves in western Liguria (northwestern Italy) between the mid-1800s and the 1990s. Most of the burials and scattered bone assemblages were excavated prior to the development of modern stratigraphic methods, or come from disturbed contexts, often resulting in a vague chrono-cultural attribution. We present here the results of a systematic dating project that produced 130 new AMS dates on human bone samples (documented burials or individuals from scattered remains) from sixteen Ligurian caves, including most of the skeletal series from renowned sites such as Arene Candide Cave and Grotta Pollera.Results highlighted the funerary use of these caves from the last quarter of the sixth millennium BCE to the Common Era, with the majority of results clustering in the first half of the fifth millennium BCE. These dates allow for an initial assessment of patterns in Neolithic mortuary use of Ligurian caves, and aided in particular the characterization of funerary practices during the Square Mouthed Pottery culture.

Evidence of Neolithic occupation at Arma dell’Aquila (Finale Ligure, Italy) had been unearthed in the 1930s, with the discovery of nine burials and a number of scattered human remains. The material, however, had never been systematically studied and characterized chronologically until recently. We performed a complete re-assessment of funerary behavior at the site, and studied for the first time the scattered human remains, cross-referencing the anthropological data with the spatial and stratigraphic information contained in the original excavation diaries, and with new direct radiocarbon dates on human bone. Results reveal the funerary use of the site throughout the sixth millennium BCE, when various cultural horizons belonging to the Impresso-Cardial cultural complex have succeeded one another, and during the fifth millennium BCE, when the Square Mouthed Culture was attested in Liguria. Five burials spanning the second half of the sixth millennium BCE were aligned head-against-head and feet-against-feet, crouched on their left side, and may be part of an organized funerary space used over a relatively long period of time. Among the nine individuals recognized from the scattered human remains, three date to c. 5750-5650 BCE, and represent the oldest human remains from a Neolithic context in the north-western Mediterranean. Arma dell’Aquila now constitutes an important source of information on the funerary behavior and biological makeup of Neolithic people of the sixth millennium BCE, a period for which little information was previously present in the region.

With the arrival of the Neolithic to Europe, new ways of life and new subsistence strategies emerged. In the Paris Basin (northern France), the appearance of some monumental funerary structures during the Middle Neolithic highlights in particular the increasing complexity of the social organisation. At the same time, several sites, such as open-air cemeteries, do not display any evidence of such arrangement. In the southeast of this area, the two primary routes of neolithisation meet. Several funerary parameters attest to the diverse influence received from other surrounding cultures. In order to assess potential differences in diet, and therefore on purported social distinctions at the inter- and intra-site level, stable isotope analyses (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur) were performed on bone collagen of humans (n = 177) and non-human animals (n = 62) from seven archaeological sites located in the same area (

Mesolithic human remains are rare in the archaeological record of the French Mediterranean. Only the island of Corsica has so far produced relatively well preserved burials, and recent archaeological excavations have brought to light new Mesolithic human remains. The site of Campu Stefanu, located in Sollacaro in the southeast of the island, contained a collective burial of 7-8 individuals in a previously unobserved funerary context. A re-evaluation of collections in regional museums yielded the remains from another Mesolithic individual from the site of Torre d'Aquila, excavated at Pietracorbara, in the northern part of the island, at the beginning of the 1990s. These two discoveries presented the rare opportunity to obtain new radiocarbon dates and paleodietary insights from this crucial time period using stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N) on collagen. From Campu Stefanu one individual had sufficient collagen preserved for radiocarbon dating, revealing that it is the oldest Mesolithic human known on the island, dated to 10216-9920 cal. BP. At Torre d'Aquila, radiocarbon dates indicate that the individual belonged to a younger Mesolithic phase than Campu Stefanu, dated to 9903-9596 cal. BP. δ13C and δ15N isotope ratios are similar between the Campu Stefanu and Torre d'Aquila individuals and indicate a diet dominated by the consumption of terrestrial animal protein, and a lack of marine resources. These findings are in contrast with the previous results from two other Mesolithic individuals from Corsica from the sites of Araguina Sennola and Monte Leone, for which about 25-30% of the consumed proteins came from a marine diet. The dietary variability recorded in Corsica is consistent with results obtained from Mesolithic human remains of Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula. We can hypothesize, that despite the nomadic lifestyle, the distance to the sea played a major role in Mesolithic food choices in Corsica. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This paper aims to present the context, the methodological approaches and the results of a research project, called ORIMIL and funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). An integrative multi-proxy analysis, in collaboration with the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, has been designed to identify whether the region of the South Caucasus was also a hotbed of millet domestication and expansion, like China. The results from the fields of anthropology, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, geomorphology and isotopic biogeochemistry for the territories of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia did not reveal the presence of an early Neolithic or Early Bronze Age hub of millet domestication. Isotopic data associated with direct radiocarbon dating on bones showed that millet was consumed by animals and humans at the earliest towards the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1621-1450 cal BC) in Georgia. These results are in keeping with (1) the numerous direct radiocarbon dates on charred millet seeds and (2) the geomorphological studies showing an increase of better soil quality and cultivable areas during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in the Kura valley. Cet article vise à présenter le contexte, les approches méthodologiques et les résultats d’un projet de recherche, nommé ORIMIL et financé par l’Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR). Une approche intégrée multi-paramètres, en collaboration avec le Musée des Confluences de Lyon, a été élaborée pour déterminer si la région du Caucase (Arménie, Azerbaïdjan, Géorgie et sud de la Russie) a été, à l’instar de la Chine au Néolithique, un foyer de domestication et d'expansion du millet. Les résultats des études anthropologique, archéozoologique, archéobotanique, géomorphologique et de la biogéochimie isotopique réfutent la présence d'un ancien foyer de domestication du millet au Néolithique tout comme au début de l’âge du Bronze. Les données isotopiques, associées aux datations radiocarbone des humains, montrent que le millet était consommé par les animaux et les humains au plus tôt vers la fin de l'âge du Bronze moyen (1621-1450 cal BC) en Géorgie. Ces résultats s’accordent (1) avec les nombreuses datations radiocarbone réalisées directement sur les graines de millet carbonisées et (2) les études géomorphologiques montrant une meilleure qualité du sol et une augmentation des superficies cultivables dans la vallée du Kura du Néolithique à l’âge du Bronze.

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This work examines the carbon and nitrogen composition of human and animal collagen from the Roman necropolis of Lucus Feroniae (Rome, 1st–3rd century AD) and the Longobard cemetery of La Selvicciola in northern Latium (Viterbo, 7th century AD), with a special focus on possible dietary variations at the transition between classical and post-classical times. A substantial isotopic difference between the two series reveals distinct dietary practices at the two sites, especially the consumption of cereals and contribution of other foodstuffs to a mainly grain-based diet. We argue that such differences are explained through the social and cultural background of the two populations examined, where the isotopic variance of the Roman data is in line with that of a group of heterogeneous origin and varied dietary practices, while the tight clustering of isotopic signatures for the Longobard people reflects the foodways of a homogeneous group. Intra-site variation shows no significant difference according to the sex of the deceased. Outlying individuals might be explained through cultural practices that call for further insight. Isotopic data have shown to successfully reflect social and cultural phenomena of human groups in a changing world, in a way that other archaeological proxies have sometimes failed to achieve.

Stable isotope investigations of the Prehistory of the Western Mediterranean have increased exponentially during the last decade. This region has a high number of Mesolithic and Neolithic carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio data available compared with other world areas, resulting from the interest in the “transition” between hunter-gathering and farming. This type of analysis is important as one of the few tools that give direct information on the poorly understood dietary transition from hunter-gatherer to agro-pastoralist subsistence in the Mediterranean Basin. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis on bulk collagen are especially useful for exploring marine vs. terrestrial protein input and therefore assess marine resource exploitation by these two different lifestyles. Gathering together all isotopic data for these chronologies we show that the Western Mediterranean underwent a unique/distinct Neolithisation process. These data show a gradual dietary shift in aquatic resource consumption during the transition to farming that contrasts to elsewhere in Europe.

Objectives Creating multi-tooth sequences of micro-sampled stable isotope (SI) analytical data can help track 20+ years of individual dietary history. Inferences about individual and population level behavioral patterns require cross-calibration of the timing of dietary changes recorded by each tooth. Dentin sections from contemporaneous tissues (eg, in M1 and M2) reflect dietary signature for the time of growth. Contemporary sections should produce similar values, allowing alignment of temporally overlapping portions of teeth into multi-tooth sequences. Published methods for determining the ages of incremental sections do not provide guidance for adjustment when poor alignment between individual tooth sequences is encountered. The primary objective is to address this problem; examine cause(s), assess the effects of the standard growth-model on available age-assessment techniques, and provide a viable solution. Methods Investigating difficulty in aligning a 3-molar sequence at Shamanka II, an Early Neolithic (7000-5700 BP) Kitoi hunter-gatherer cemetery in Cis-Baikal, Siberia, we employed 10 age assessment models and 13 variants of 2 published growth rate methods on 3 individuals of different age and sex. Results At Shamanka II, dentin initiation and/or growth rates were different from the mostly European, reference populations used to create published age-estimation/growth rate models. Initiation ages for M2 and M3 were delayed. Root formation rates were on the rapid end of known development parameters. Conclusions Age-assessment methods customized to dentin initiation ages and growth parameters of Siberian populations produced a hybrid growth rate model for dentin section ages and improved alignment for multi-tooth SI sequences over published models.

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