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The Catacomb Cultures of the North-West Caspian Steppe: 14C Chronology, Reservoir Effect, and Paleodiet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

N I Shishlina ,
J van der Plicht ,
R E M Hedges ,
E P Zazovskaya ,
V S Sevastyanov  and
O A Chichagova
N I Shishlina
Affiliation:
State Historical Museum, Moscow, Russia. Email: [email protected]
J van der Plicht*
Affiliation:
Centre for Isotope Research, Groningen University, Groningen, the Netherlands; also Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
R E M Hedges
Affiliation:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
E P Zazovskaya
Affiliation:
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
V S Sevastyanov
Affiliation:
Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
O A Chichagova
Affiliation:
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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For the Bronze Age Catacomb cultures of the North-West Caspian steppe area in Russia, there is a conflict between the traditional relative archaeological chronology and the chronology based on radiocarbon dates. We show that this conflict can be explained largely by the fact that most dates have been obtained on human bone material and are subject to 14C reservoir effects. This was demonstrated by comparing paired 14C dates derived from human and terrestrial herbivore bone collagen. In addition, values of stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) and analysis of food remains from vessels and the stomach contents of buried individuals indicate that a large part of the diet of these cultures consisted of fish and mollusks, and we conclude that this is the source of the reservoir effect.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , 2007 , pp. 713 - 726
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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