Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe
The co-existence of cultural identities and their interaction is a fundamental topic of social sciences that is not easily addressed in prehistory. Differences in mortuary treatment often reflect differences in lifestyle and beliefs, and can help approach this issue. Here we present a multi-isotope...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Firenze University Press
2020
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| _version_ | 1797089781469937664 |
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| author | Fernández-Crespo, T Snoeck, C Ordoño, J De Winter, N Czermak, A Mattielli, N Lee-Thorp, J Schulting, R |
| author_facet | Fernández-Crespo, T Snoeck, C Ordoño, J De Winter, N Czermak, A Mattielli, N Lee-Thorp, J Schulting, R |
| author_sort | Fernández-Crespo, T |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The co-existence of cultural identities and their interaction is a fundamental topic of social sciences that is not easily addressed in prehistory. Differences in mortuary treatment often reflect differences in lifestyle and beliefs, and can help approach this issue. Here we present a multi-isotope study to track both diet and mobility through the life histories of 32 broadly coeval Late Neolithic individuals interred in caves and in megalithic graves of a restricted region of northern Iberia. The results show significant differences in infant and child-rearing practices, in subsistence strategies, and in landscape-use between burial locations. From this, we posit that the presence of communities with distinct lifestyles and cultural backgrounds is a primary reason for Late Neolithic variability in burial location in western Europe and provides evidence of an early ‘them and us’ scenario. We argue that such differentiation could have played a role in the building of lasting structures of 28 socioeconomic inequality and, occasionally, violent conflict. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:09:01Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:b3894034-c7c0-4025-9c15-611c82ad6866 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:09:01Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b3894034-c7c0-4025-9c15-611c82ad68662022-03-27T04:19:58ZMulti-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic EuropeJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:b3894034-c7c0-4025-9c15-611c82ad6866Symplectic Elements at OxfordFirenze University Press2020Fernández-Crespo, TSnoeck, COrdoño, JDe Winter, NCzermak, AMattielli, NLee-Thorp, JSchulting, RThe co-existence of cultural identities and their interaction is a fundamental topic of social sciences that is not easily addressed in prehistory. Differences in mortuary treatment often reflect differences in lifestyle and beliefs, and can help approach this issue. Here we present a multi-isotope study to track both diet and mobility through the life histories of 32 broadly coeval Late Neolithic individuals interred in caves and in megalithic graves of a restricted region of northern Iberia. The results show significant differences in infant and child-rearing practices, in subsistence strategies, and in landscape-use between burial locations. From this, we posit that the presence of communities with distinct lifestyles and cultural backgrounds is a primary reason for Late Neolithic variability in burial location in western Europe and provides evidence of an early ‘them and us’ scenario. We argue that such differentiation could have played a role in the building of lasting structures of 28 socioeconomic inequality and, occasionally, violent conflict. |
| spellingShingle | Fernández-Crespo, T Snoeck, C Ordoño, J De Winter, N Czermak, A Mattielli, N Lee-Thorp, J Schulting, R Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe |
| title | Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe |
| title_full | Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe |
| title_fullStr | Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe |
| title_short | Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe |
| title_sort | multi isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in late neolithic europe |
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