THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE ECONOMY: HIGH-RESOLUTION ISOTOPIC DATA FOR PALEODIET AND PALEOMOBILITY
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-03-29

Although human depositions in settlement pits are a well-known phenomenon within the Baden culture, very little is known about the day-to-day life of Eneolithic man, especially of deposited individuals. Therefore a closer look at the human skeletal remains from Hronovce (SW Slovakia) will be taken, which were acquired from the bottom of a settlement pit. They belonged to a female aged 35-45 years. Traces on the bones and teeth suggest pathological anomalies documenting degenerative-productive chang-es and inflammation processes. Radiocarbon dating of a fragment of a compact bone after calibration is 3350-3090 calBC (2σ), which falls within the period of classical Baden culture.For the purpose of the quotidian life reconstruction, a series of high-resolution isotope analyses from teeth and bone was con-ducted, gaining a plastic picture of female’s life from the childhood (age 3-5) to the early adulthood (circa age 21) and in the last years of her life. Residential mobility was studied by radiogenic strontium isotope data (87Sr/86Sr) getting a resolution of 10-12 week slot. This information is confronted with strontium isotope fractionation (δ88/86Sr) which is used to generate information about  paleodietary  practices.  This  knowledge  connected  with  the  light  stable  isotope  data  (δ15Ncol  and  δ13Ccol)  from  the  same female is used to consider geologic variability of food sources. With this novel approach weaning age can be estimated and seasonal variations of food in connection with paleomobility can be reconstructed. Several studies showed that not all individuals had the same access to nutritional resources. Therefore social status of the fe-male based on isotopic data was also estimated. Thus the individual life of the female from Hronovce (SW Slovakia) was success-fully combined with the micro-economy of the Eneolithic household, proving the high-resolution isotope analysis as an invaluable tool to glimpse at the life of a particular individual.


Author(s): Tóth, Peter (Masaryk University)