Résultat de la recherche
First Swiss alpine agropastoral societies: Contribution of isotope analysis to the study of their diet and mobility
The aim of this study is to add new data to the knowledge of the first alpine agro-pastoral societies by studying their dietary practices and mobility. Using the principles of isotopic biogeochemistry, the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13 C), nitrogen (δ15 N) and sulphur (δ34 S) on bone collagen and strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) on dental enamel were measured to discuss the diet and residence history of 49 individuals from the Middle Neolithic necropolises of Collombey-Muraz − Barmaz I and II (Valais, Switzerland). Individuals from both burial assemblages have collagen isotope values indicating a diet based on terrestrial resources with a very high consumption of animal proteins. However, the individuals from Barmaz II have consumed a nitrogen-15 enriched resource. The strontium results show that only a few individuals buried in Barmaz I show non-local values, whereas all individuals buried in Barmaz II have values similar to the environment in which they were buried. Whether in terms of diet, access to resources or mobility, no differences were observed between male and female individuals, neither in their isotopic values nor in the variability of these values. Taken all together, the results suggest the existence of a possible reserved area in the burial zone, even if coming from ’elsewhere’ did not seem to have any influence on access to food resources. However, if being male or female did not seem to play an important social role in this population, it seems that it is the location of their burial that gives more information about their status. Finally, these new data, combined with previous knowledge, raise the question of whether the individuals buried at Barmaz II belonged to a group that was socially distinct from the rest of the Barmaz population.
Bronze Age innovations and impact on human diet: A multi-isotopic and multi-proxy study of western Switzerland
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 C3 plants during the Early and Middle Bronze Age as opposed to the significant consumption of 13C-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).