Livestock diets during the Early Neolithic (Starčevo) phase at Alsónyék-Bátaszék, Hungary - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

Livestock diets during the Early Neolithic (Starčevo) phase at Alsónyék-Bátaszék, Hungary

Résumé

Little is known about how the earliest farmers in the Carpathian basin kept their domestic stock. The Starčevo settlement at Alsónyék-Bátaszék (Early Neolithic, 5800-5505 cal BC), Hungary, offers an opportunity to study this early animal management. Lying at the intersection of forested hills and cropland to the west, and wide alluvial plains, marshes and waterlogged meadows to the east, early farmers at Alsónyék-Bátaszék had plentiful options to choose from to nourish their stock. The aim of this study was to investigate domestic animal diets (supported by data on wild animal diets), in order to determine the place of different animals in the landscape, and the dietary variability within each species. Bone collagen (n=99) samples of pigs, cattle, sheep, dogs, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, foxes, and freshwater fish were analysed for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N to investigate overall dietary trends between species and individuals, and sequential tooth enamel samples (n(teeth)=28) of cattle, sheep, wild boar, red deer and a pig were analysed for δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O to gain insight into seasonal dietary changes. The results indicate largely similar dietary isotope ratios for the studied mammals, consistent with feeding in terrestrial C3 environments. However, the sequential enamel results for cattle and sheep indicate three different dietary strategies for winters used in parallel: a) consumption of resources from an open environment, b) consumption of forest resources and c) consumption of summer hay. Pig isotope ratio results indicate largely herbivorous diets for most pigs, but several individuals likely had their diets supplemented with animal protein or fertilised crops. In conclusion, the early dietary management of domestic stock at Alsónyék-Bátaszék appears to have been very variable, without specialisations for specific species being visible in the stable isotope ratio data.
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Dates et versions

hal-04244717 , version 1 (16-10-2023)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04244717 , version 1

Citer

Magdalena Blanz, Marie Balasse, Delphine Fremondeau, Erika Gál, Anett Osztás, et al.. Livestock diets during the Early Neolithic (Starčevo) phase at Alsónyék-Bátaszék, Hungary. Beyond the baseline: Broadening stable isotopic horizons in zooarchaeology (Stable Isotope in Zooarchaeology Working Group SIZWG), May 2023, Berlin, Germany. ⟨hal-04244717⟩
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