Stable isotope analysis as an indicator of diet and status in La Tène Bohemia.

Abstract

Unlike traditional methods of examining past diet, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen (delta13C, delta15N) can be used to examine diet at the level of the individual and make interpretations based on differences observed between individuals and groups. This method, which reflects the overall protein intake of the last 10-30 years of an individual's lifetime, can be used to examine trophic level, the relative contribution of marine foods, and also the relative contribution of plant foods following the C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways. Interim data from two La Tène inhumation cemeteries in Bohemia (Kutná Hora and Radovesice II) and four Hallstatt tumulus burials from northern Austria (Stadlau, Gosinfürth bei Amstetten, Slemschek and Rohrendorf) suggest that during the La Tène in Bohemia, overall diet was based on animal protein and plant foods following the C3 photosynthetic pathway with at least some input of plant foods following the C4 photosynthetic pathway (millet). At both Kutná Hora and Radovesice II differences in delta15N values can be seen between males buried with and without items of iron weaponry, suggesting a dietary difference based on "warrior" status. This data can be combined with stable isotope data from the four Hallstatt sites in northern Austria and previously published data from a Hallstatt site at Magdalenska gora in Slovenia (Murray and Schoeninger 1988) to trace the spread of millet in prehistoric Europe.