Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece
We review the stable isotopic data of recovered Greek bones from the Early Neolithic to the Late Bronze period in order to examine dietary changes over time. As an isotopic baseline we use the published fauna data of the periods. The analysis revealed a diet that included a significant proportion of...
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MDPI AG
2019-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/4/165 |
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| author | Elissavet Dotsika Georgios Diamantopoulos Spyridon Lykoudis Sofia Gougoura Elena Kranioti Petros Karalis Dimitra Michael Eleni Samartzidou Emmanouil Palaigeorgiou |
| author_facet | Elissavet Dotsika Georgios Diamantopoulos Spyridon Lykoudis Sofia Gougoura Elena Kranioti Petros Karalis Dimitra Michael Eleni Samartzidou Emmanouil Palaigeorgiou |
| author_sort | Elissavet Dotsika |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We review the stable isotopic data of recovered Greek bones from the Early Neolithic to the Late Bronze period in order to examine dietary changes over time. As an isotopic baseline we use the published fauna data of the periods. The analysis revealed a diet that included a significant proportion of foods based on C3 plants, and the bulk of the animal protein must have been provided by terrestrial mammals with a small but detectable proportion of marine protein for coastal and island populations. A more significant contribution of marine protein is observed for Bronze Age populations while the enrichment in both C and N isotopes is connected, for some areas, to the introduction of millet during the Bronze Age, and to freshwater consumption. An extensive database of Greek food sources is presented and compared to the fauna from the prehistoric periods (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age) of the literature. We propose that this database can be used in palaeodiet reconstruction studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:43:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-028cb816ebe747abbba96e8e66514ff6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:43:10Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-028cb816ebe747abbba96e8e66514ff62022-12-22T03:36:31ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632019-04-019416510.3390/geosciences9040165geosciences9040165Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from GreeceElissavet Dotsika0Georgios Diamantopoulos1Spyridon Lykoudis2Sofia Gougoura3Elena Kranioti4Petros Karalis5Dimitra Michael6Eleni Samartzidou7Emmanouil Palaigeorgiou8Stable Isotope Unit, Institute of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, GR15310 Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, GreeceStable Isotope Unit, Institute of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, GR15310 Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute of Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, I. Metaxa and V. Pavlou, GR15236 P. Pendeli, GreeceStable Isotope Unit, Institute of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, GR15310 Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, GreeceSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology, William Robertson Wing, University of Edinburgh, Old Medical Quad, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UKStable Isotope Unit, Institute of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, GR15310 Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, GreeceStable Isotope Unit, Institute of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, GR15310 Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, GreeceVasilissis Olgas 84B, 54643 Thessaloniki, GreeceStable Isotope Unit, Institute of Nanoscience and nanotechnology, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, GR15310 Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, GreeceWe review the stable isotopic data of recovered Greek bones from the Early Neolithic to the Late Bronze period in order to examine dietary changes over time. As an isotopic baseline we use the published fauna data of the periods. The analysis revealed a diet that included a significant proportion of foods based on C3 plants, and the bulk of the animal protein must have been provided by terrestrial mammals with a small but detectable proportion of marine protein for coastal and island populations. A more significant contribution of marine protein is observed for Bronze Age populations while the enrichment in both C and N isotopes is connected, for some areas, to the introduction of millet during the Bronze Age, and to freshwater consumption. An extensive database of Greek food sources is presented and compared to the fauna from the prehistoric periods (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age) of the literature. We propose that this database can be used in palaeodiet reconstruction studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/4/165stable isotopespalaeodietcarbonnitrogenbone collagenBronze AgeNeolithicAncient Greece |
| spellingShingle | Elissavet Dotsika Georgios Diamantopoulos Spyridon Lykoudis Sofia Gougoura Elena Kranioti Petros Karalis Dimitra Michael Eleni Samartzidou Emmanouil Palaigeorgiou Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece Geosciences stable isotopes palaeodiet carbon nitrogen bone collagen Bronze Age Neolithic Ancient Greece |
| title | Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece |
| title_full | Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece |
| title_fullStr | Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece |
| title_short | Establishment of a Greek Food Database for Palaeodiet Reconstruction: Case Study of Human and Fauna Remains from Neolithic to Late Bronze Age from Greece |
| title_sort | establishment of a greek food database for palaeodiet reconstruction case study of human and fauna remains from neolithic to late bronze age from greece |
| topic | stable isotopes palaeodiet carbon nitrogen bone collagen Bronze Age Neolithic Ancient Greece |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/4/165 |
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