Abstract
The archaeological Bronze Age record in Europe reveals unprecedented changes in subsistence strategies due to innovative farming techniques and new crop cultivation. Increasing cultural exchanges affected the economic system. The inhabitants of Switzerland played a pivotal role in this European context through relationships with the Mediterranean, the High and Middle Danube regions and the Alps thanks to the area’s central position. This research aims to reconstruct, for the first time in Switzerland, human socio-economic systems through the study of human diet, herding and farming practices and their changes throughout the Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) by means of biochemical markers. The study includes 41 human, 22 terrestrial and aquatic animal specimens and 30 charred seeds and chaff samples from sites in western Switzerland. Stable isotope analyses were performed on cereal and legume seeds (δ13C, δ15N), animal bone collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N, δ34S), human bone and tooth dentine collagen (δ13Ccoll, δ15N,) and human tooth enamel (δ13Cenamel). The isotopic data suggest a) an intensification of soil fertilization and no hydric stress throughout the Bronze Age, b) a human diet mainly composed of terrestrial resources despite the proximity of Lake Geneva and the Rhone river, c) a diet based on C3 plants during the Early and Middle Bronze Age as opposed to the significant consumption of 13C-enriched resources (probably millet) by individuals from the Final Bronze Age, d) no important changes in dietary patterns throughout an individual’s lifespan but a more varied diet in childhood compared to adulthood, e) no differences in diet according to biological criteria (age, sex) or funerary behavior (burial architecture, grave goods).
Highlights
The Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) is a period of important social and economic growth
This paper presents for the first time a complex multi-isotopic and bioarchaeological study on Bronze Age western Switzerland
This area is a natural and economic crossroads between central Europe and the Mediterranean area and this study contributes to the reconstruction of human dietary changes during the Bronze Age and sheds light on the complexity of human behavior, filling a gap for central Europe
Summary
The Bronze Age (2200–800 BCE) is a period of important social and economic growth. Large cultural and ethnic traditions, with distinctive features, arose in Europe for the first time [1], developing in a larger, connected framework. From the Bronze Age onwards, the south of central Europe was characterized by the expansion of wide open spaces, reducing the areas covered by permanent forests [4]. These open areas were cultivated or used as pasture for livestock. Significant innovations were introduced and a number of new crops were cultivated, adding to the diversity of food resources [2], especially in areas characterized by poor soils or during periods of drought [6]. New management systems like crop rotation and the use of manure as well as new farming strategies which involved controlling the hydric systems developed, leading to a more intense and rationalized agricultural activity [7, 8]
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