Diet and social status during the La Tene period in Bohemia: Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from Kutna Hora-Karlov and Radovesice

Bone collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were obtained from three La Tene period inhumation cemeteries in the Czech Republic (Kutna Hora-Karlov, Radovesice I and Radovesice II) and 16 Hallstatt period inhumations in northern Austria. Results indicate that during the La Tene period in Bohemia, overall diet was based on animal protein and plant foods following the C-3 photosynthetic pathway, although delta(13)C values for two individuals from Kutna Hora-Karlov indicate at least some contribution from C-4 plant foods, most likely millet. At Kutna Hora-Karlov, more positive delta(15)N values for male individuals buried with items of iron weaponry indicate the existence of a differential dietary system within the male population based oil individual "warrior" status. A comparison with data from a number of Hallstatt period inhumations in northern Austria and a previously published study of a Hallstatt period site in Slovenia [Murray, M.L., Schoeninger, M.J., 1988. Diet, status, and complex social structure in Iron Age Central Europe: Some contributions from bone chemistry. In: Gibson, D.B., Geselowitz, M.N. (Eds.), Tribe and Polity in Late Prehistoric Europe: Demography, Production and Exchange in the Evolution of Complex Social Systems. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 155-176] enables an examination of the spread of millet as a major dietary component. This data will be of use to studies of diet in prehistoric Europe and provides evidence for dietary divisions relating to social stratification during the La Tene B-C, a period often seen as less complex than the preceding Hallstatt period. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.