Reassessing the Scottish Mesolithic-Neolithic transition : questions of diet and chronology
The purpose of this research was to broaden our knowledge of the dietary changes and timing of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Scotland. Despite the rich number of archaeological sites around mainland Scotland and the Orkney Isles that date to the transition period (c.4000 to 3600 BC), bones of humans and especially of fauna are rarely recovered. This lack of skeletal material necessary to investigate individual human diet has resulted in a gap in our understanding about dietary changes that occurred during the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming. One of the most widely used and reliable scientific tools available to investigate ancient diet is ÎŽ13C and ÎŽ15N isotope analysis; however, this technique requires samples of human bone and also a representative sample of bones from animals from the same spatial and chronological context as the humans to form an isotopic baseline. Studies of dietary change during the Scottish Mesolithic-Neolithic transition so far have largely relied on poor quality baselines to interpret the diets of the relatively small number of humans recovered from this period. A solution was therefore required in order to ensure that interpretations of dietary change
Bownes, Jessica
CC Archaeology ; QD Chemistry
Reassessing the Scottish Mesolithic-Neolithic transition : questions of diet and chronology. The purpose of this research was to broaden our knowledge of the dietary changes and timing of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Scotland. Despite the rich number of archaeological sites around mainland Scotland and the Orkney Isles that date to the transition period (c.4000 to 3600 BC), bones of humans and especially of fauna are rarely recovered. This lack of skeletal material necessary to investigate individual human diet has resulted in a gap in our understanding about dietary changes that occurred during the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming. One of the most widely used and reliable scientific tools available to investigate ancient diet is ÎŽ13C and ÎŽ15N isotope analysis; however, this technique requires samples of human bone and also a representative sample of bones from animals from the same spatial and chronological context as the humans to form an isotopic baseline. Studies of dietary change during the Scottish Mesolithic-Neolithic transition so far have largely relied on poor quality baselines to interpret the diets of the relatively small number of humans recovered from this period. A solution was therefore required in order to ensure that interpretations of dietary change
scottish mesolithic neolithic_transition question diet chronology purpose broaden knowledge dietary_change time mesolithic_neolithic_transition scotland despite rich number archaeological_site around mainland_scotland orkney isles date transition_period bone human especially fauna rarely recover lack skeletal_material necessary investigate individual human_diet result gap dietary_change occur transition hunter_gatherer lifestyle farming widely_use reliable scientific tool available investigate ancient diet isotope_analysis however technique require sample human_bone also representative_sample bone animal spatial chronological_context human form isotopic baseline studies dietary_change scottish mesolithic neolithic_transition far largely poor_quality baseline interpret diet relatively_small number human recovered period solution therefore required order ensure interpretation dietary_change