Diet uniformity at an early farming community in northwest Anatolia (Turkey) : carbon and nitrogen isotope studies of bone collagen at Aktopraklik

Budd, Chelsea; Karul, Necmi; Alpaslan-Roodenberg, Songül; Galik, Alfred; Schulting, Rick; Lillie, Malcolm

Abstract

Aktopraklık is a settlement site composed of three areas (A–C) in the Marmara region of northwest Anatolia, with phases of occupation that date to the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods, mid-seventh to mid-sixth millennium bc (ca. 6400–5600 cal. bc). Here, we present 54 human and fauna bone collagen stable isotope results from the site, alongside five modern fish bone collagen isotope results, to examine the nature of human diet. The stable isotope analysis shows that human diet comprised the consumption of select C3 terrestrial resources, with a preference for domestic animal proteins over plant proteins. The evidence to date suggests that animal husbandry was at the forefront of Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic subsistence practices. No isotopic difference in humans is observed between biological sex or between areas B and C at the settlement.

Citation

Budd, C., Karul, N., Alpaslan-Roodenberg, S., Galik, A., Schulting, R., & Lillie, M. (2018). Diet uniformity at an early farming community in northwest Anatolia (Turkey) : carbon and nitrogen isotope studies of bone collagen at Aktopraklik. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 10(8), 2123–2135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0523-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 20, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 20, 2017
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 27, 2017
• Journal: Archaeological and anthropological sciences
• Print ISSN: 1866-9557
• Electronic ISSN: 1866-9565
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 2123–2135
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0523-4
• Keywords: Neolithic; Anatolia, Turkey; Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes; Palaeodietary reconstruction
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/453795
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12520-017-0523-4
• Additional Information: This is a copy of an open access article published in Archaeological and anthropological sciences, 2017.