A complex subsistence regime revealed for Cucuteni–Trypillia sites in Chalcolithic eastern Europe based on new and old macrobotanical data

Abstract

We present a comprehensive data-based characterization of the subsistence economy of Chalcolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia societies (CTS) on the Moldovian and Suceava plateaus and the Podolian and the Dnieper uplands. This study is based on a quantitative evaluation of archaeobotanical samples from 34 settlement sites, with a focus on Trypillia mega-sites and on stable isotopic analysis of ancient crop residues. The isotopic analysis allows us to identify specific cultivation strategies, which show a close relationship with animal husbandry for manure. We describe the economy of the Trypillia mega-sites as having been based on an elaborate agricultural system, in which the inhabitants knew how to grow crops that could withstand the ecological constraints of growth, especially along the forest steppe ecotone. We also argue that the agglomeration of greater population densities at these mega-sites contributed to landscape change from woodland and forest to open grassland and steppe. Following on from this, we suggest that cultivation practices of the CTS were important in the establishment of the present-day cultural steppe in this region.