The isotopic composition of the contents of the Bronze Age vessels: results verification

The pilot comparative analysis of the isotopic composition of nitrogen (515N ) and carbon (513С ) in the organic residues preserved in Bronze Age vessels as well as data of the phytolith and pollen analyses complemented by 14C dating of paired carbonaceous samples show correlation between the isotopic composition of the vessel contents and food products. For this reason, we can use the isotopic composition as a marker of likely components of the burnt food if, for some reasons, additional analyses cannot be performed. Five groups have been singled out. Presumably, the variations in the isotopic composition (Fig. 2) are explained by various components of the food processed in a pot or burnt in an incense burner such as river and lake fish, barley, С3 plants or С4 plants. It is possible that the residues of the burnt food made from plant, meat and dairy products were stored in the pots. The studies of food protein in the proteomes of calculus dentalis in the samples from the Bronze Age individual who inhabited the steppe belt in the south of eastern Europe have shown that the Yamnaya individuals consumed sheep milk whereas the Catacomb individuals consumed cow, goat and sheep milk. Steppe mushrooms the isotopic composition of which is marked by an elevated level of d15N were probably another possible food component.