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Diet and mobility patterns in the Late Prehistory of central Iberia (4000–1400 cal bc): the evidence of radiogenic (87Sr/86Sr) and stable (δ18O, δ13C) isotope ratios

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Abstract

This study examines strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C) in dental enamel and bone apatite from 82 individuals interred at Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age burial sites near Madrid, Spain, to discern variations in dietary patterns and identify possible migrants. Questions about mobility patterns and subsistence practices have played a central role in the scholarship of Late Prehistoric central Iberia in the last 20 years, but the archaeological record has still not been able to provide clear answers. This study adds valuable data to this line of research. The results of this study suggest that migration from regions with different geologic landscapes was uncommon in these communities. For the identified migrants, based upon the 87Sr/86Sr values, several of the identified non-local individuals originate from regions with substantially older lithological features and possible places of origin are being investigated. As it is not possible to discern individuals who may have moved from regions with similar geologic landscapes using this methodology, these data provide the minimum number of migrants, and it is conceivable that the number of non-locals in this sample may be higher. Combining multiple lines of material and biological evidence and the completion of Sr isotope mapping in the Iberian Peninsula will help to clarify these findings. Stable carbon isotope data provide new and direct evidence of regional changes in consumption patterns. In particular, this study provides some possible evidence for the consumption of C4 plants in third-millennium bc central Spain.

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Acknowledgments

The research for this paper was financially supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad project HAR2013-47776-R “Human diet and mobility in Iberian Prehistory (3100–1500 cal bc). The cases of the middle Tagus and Upper Guadalquivir basins”. We thank Enrique Baquedano and Miguel Contreras for allowing and assisting sample collection at the Museo Arqueológico Regional de Madrid. We would also like to thank Raquel Aliaga, Susana Consuegra, Rosa Domínguez, Asunción Martín, Alberto Pérez-Villa, and Antonio Uriarte for their helpful inputs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Arqueología y Procesos Sociales, Instituto de Historia, CSIC, C/Albasanz 26-28, 28037, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro Díaz-del-Río, M. Isabel Martínez-Navarrete & Juan M. Vicent

  2. Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Mount Mercy University, 150 Basile Hall, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52402, USA

    Anna J. Waterman

  3. Department of Anthropology, The University of Iowa, 114 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Jonathan T. Thomas

  4. Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, 121 Trowbridge Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    David W. Peate

  5. Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620-7200, USA

    Robert H. Tykot

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  1. Pedro Díaz-del-Río
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Correspondence to Pedro Díaz-del-Río.

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Díaz-del-Río, P., Waterman, A.J., Thomas, J.T. et al. Diet and mobility patterns in the Late Prehistory of central Iberia (4000–1400 cal bc): the evidence of radiogenic (87Sr/86Sr) and stable (δ18O, δ13C) isotope ratios. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9, 1439–1452 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0480-y

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