Iron Age pastoral nomadism and agriculture in the eastern Eurasian steppe: implications from dental palaeopathology and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes

Abstract

Highlights  We examine the diet of two Iron Age populations from the eastern Eurasian steppe.  The proxies used are dental palaeopathology and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes.  These populations did not solely rely on their herds for subsistence.  Millet and fish formed a substantial component of their diet.  The subsistence strategies of steppe mobile pastoralists are highly complex.

Freshwater Reservoir Effect on Redating of Eurasian Steppe Cultures: First Results for Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age Northeast Kazakhstan

“…Recently, research has expanded to understanding nuances of subsistence strategies and complex economic patterns of various prehistoric populations of the Eurasian Steppe (O'Connell et al 2003;Privat et al 2005;Shishlina et al 2007Shishlina et al , 2009Svyatko et al 2013;Murphy et al 2013;Ventresca Miller et al 2014). One of the topical and longstanding issues is the role of aquatic resources in their diet and economy, which is generally poorly understood, as very few associated archaeological remains have been recovered.…”

“…Through stable isotope studies, the importance of freshwater resources in the subsistence of the populations is being increasingly acknowledged, although the conclusions are complicated by the possibility of the aridity/salinity effect as one of the explanations of elevated δ 15 N values (e.g. Murphy et al 2013;Ventresca Miller et al 2014). …”

“…Frachetti et al 2010;Murphy et al 2013). Archaeologically, fishing is regarded as playing only a minor role in the economy of the Early Bronze Age populations in the region, as very few associated artefacts have been recovered.…”

Stable Isotope Analysis: Outline of Methodology, and a Review of Studies in Siberia and the Eurasian Steppe

“…[Privat, 2002]; 3 -Барабинская лесостепь [Privat et al, 2005]; 4 -Минусинская котловина и Тува [Murphy et al, 2013;Svyatko et al, 2013]; 5 -Приднепровье [Lillie, Richards, 2000;Lillie, Budd, Potekhina, 2011]; 6 -Волго-Донское междуречье, среднее течение р. Урал, Новороссийская и Московская области [Iacumin et al, 2004]; 7 -Северный Прикаспий [Shishlina et al, 2007[Shishlina et al, , 2009[Shishlina et al, , 2012; 8 -Северный Кавказ [Hollund et al, 2010]; 9 -Северный Китай [Hu, Ambrose, Wang, 2006;Hu et al, 2008;Pechenkina, Benfer, Zhijun, 2002;Pechenkina et al, 2005;Pechenkina, Benfer, Xiaolin, 2007]; 10 -Северный Казахстан [Miller et al, 2014] [Privat, 2002]. Барабинская лесостепь.…”

“…Здесь было проведено несколь-ко изотопных исследований [Murphy et al, 2013;Svyatko et al, 2013]. Анализ ок.…”