Dietary habits and Neolitization in the Central Balkans through dental buccal-microwear and isotope analysis

Abstract

The Neolithic Transition in Europe has been associated with major migrations and sweeping changes in subsistence practices, lifestyle, social structures and demographic patterns. Nonetheless, some recent studies emphasize regional specifics or temporal differences in this process and put forward the role of environmental variations and the influence of indigenous forager traditions, as explanations. The Central Balkans is one of the key regions for studying Neolithization processes since there is documented coexistence of last hunters and first farmers. In particular, Early Neolithic foragers’ and farmers’ contemporaneous sites are located in two different but close-by environments: the Danube Gorges with continuous Mesolithic-Neolithic occupation (9500-5500 BC), and the Great Pannonian Plain where evidence for Mesolithic presence is circumstantial, but where the Early Neolithic is associated with an exploding number of sites (6200-5200 BC). This context provides a particular scenario to explore foragers’ and farmers’ dietary behaviors from different social, cultural and natural environments. In this study, we analyzed 70 postcanine buccal-microwear from individuals of different chronological populations to characterize the effect of dietary abrasiveness and the impact of food processing techniques. Buccal-microwear patterns were then cross-linked with previous radiogenic and stable isotope signatures, which provide information about migration and the protein content of the diet. By comparing different lines of bioarcheological evidence, our findings provide unique insights into patterns of subsistence adaptations and the cultural transmission of dietary habits in this region. The spread of the Neolithic likely included the adaptations of ways of subsistence, food preparation and consumption, to local natural and social environments. Concerning regions already populated by foragers, the results also confirm that Neolithization should not be seen as a straightforward process of acculturation but rather represents more complex behavioral and cultural interactions and transmissions.