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Multi-isotopic diet analysis of south-eastern Iberian megalithic populations: the cemeteries of El Barranquete and Panoría

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Abstract

The southern Iberian megalithic cemeteries of Panoría and El Barranquete offer an excellent opportunity to explore ancient dietary patterns. Due to the special nature of these funerary contexts as palimpsests, a multi-proxy approach including multi-isotopic determination and a high-resolution dating framework was carried out. As a result, 52 samples were isotopically measured, of which 48 were also radiocarbon dated. With this new isotopic series as a basis, three main conclusions can be drawn: (i) the diet was based on C3 plants and terrestrial animals with no evidence of marine protein consumption; (ii) there is a general tendency for carbon isotope values to increase during the Bronze Age, which is consistent with the intensification of crop farming taking place at the time; and (iii) nitrogen isotope variability is especially remarkable when comparing collective to individual tombs. People buried individually show the highest and the most variable nitrogen ratios in contrast with those buried in collective tombs that show similar nitrogen values over time. These differences support the hypothesis of a conservative megalithic population resisting cultural innovations during the Argaric Bronze Age.

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Notes

  1. The general chronological framework of Late Prehistory of the south-eastern Iberia can be summarised as follows: Neolithic (5500–3000 cal BC) (Camalich Massieu and Martín Socas 2013; Martín Socas et al. 2017), Chalcolithic (3000–2200 cal BC) (Molina et al. 2004; Lull et al. 2015; Aranda Jiménez et al. 2017) and Bronze Age (2200–850 cal BC) (Lull et al. 2013; Aranda Jiménez et al. 2015).

  2. Radiocarbon measurements were performed at different labs in order to assess if the results were consistent between them and therefore their reliability.

  3. We created only one Late Neolithic and Copper Age group as of the 31 dated individuals, only two fell within the Late Neolithic (ETH-69961, 4608 ± 25, 3500–3340 cal BC at 95% probability and Beta-448208, 4550 ± 30, 3370–3100 cal BC at 95% probability). Both cases belong to the Tomb 7 at the cemetery of Panoría (Table 3).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank O. López Costas and M. Alexander’s invitation to participate in this special issue about Iberian palaeodiet. We are also in debt with Dimas Martín Socas for providing several unpublished faunal isotopic values from the Neolithic site of El Garcel. This paper was written as part of the following research projects: “Innovation, Hybridisation and Cultural Resistance. The Third and Second Millennia cal BC Societies on the Southern Iberian Peninsula” (HAR2017-82932-P) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and “The materiality of women identity: technologies for gender equality” (CEI2015-MP-CP1) sponsored by CEI BIOTIC. Special thanks go to Manuel Ramos Lizana and the staff from the Archaeological Museum of Almería for granting access to the material and all facilities during data collection. We would also like to thank AG Biogeologie team members for their help during preparation and Bernd Steinhilber for measuring the isotopes. Thanks to the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions to improve the paper.

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Díaz-Zorita Bonilla, M., Aranda Jiménez, G., Bocherens, H. et al. Multi-isotopic diet analysis of south-eastern Iberian megalithic populations: the cemeteries of El Barranquete and Panoría. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11, 3681–3698 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0769-5

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