Stratégies de subsistance et analyse culturelle de populations néolithiques de Ligurie: Approche par l’étude isotopique (δ13C et δ15N) des restes osseux

Abstract

For the last ten millennia humans have learned how to manage and produce their own food resources. In Liguria, the exploitation of the marine and coastal environment as well as the acquisition and use of agriculture and pastoralism at the time of Neolithisation (i.e. 6th millennia BC) are evidenced by both archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies. However, it is difficult, using these methods, to determine the relative contributions to human diets made by foods from these difference sources, especially throughout the Neolithic period. The presence of human burials and animal remains from various sites from this region allows the use of isotopic methods, and in particular the study of the δ13C and δ15N values of bone collagen, which provides information on the sources of dietary protein. This method is able to determine the relative importance of marine foods in the diets of the early Neolithic agriculturalists and pastoralists, as well as indicate dietary differences between contemporary populations. Two coastal Neolithic sites were the subject of our study: Pendimoun (France) and Arene Candide (Italy). The results show, contrary to expectations, the absence of regular consumption of marine resources and the food differences within the populations.