Prehistoric Italian foodways: Meta-analysis of stable isotope data from the Neolithic to the Iron Age

Abstract

Italian Later Prehistory was characterised by profound changes that impacted everyday life in many aspects. Whether or not and how such changes were reflected in the subsistence practices of ancient populations is an ongoing question in the archaeological debate. This question has been investigated using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis for several decades. Here, we present a 6000-year-long review of isotopic studies in the Italian Peninsula from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. We reconstruct chronological variations in food practices by observing δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N trends for 776 humans, 382 animals, and 432 C₃ plants from 111 archaeological sites. During the Neolithic, when farming is first introduced, a homogenous signal characterised by terrestrial protein consumption is visible. The Copper Age, instead, shows a more varied pattern, possibly representative of a more diversified use of the landscape, characteristic of those millennia. The new cultural paradigm that invested Europe during the Bronze Age is also reflected in food practices in Italy, with the introduction of millets - signalled by high δ¹³C values in the Northern regions - possibly representing a pivotal shift. Not much data is available for the Iron Age, as only two sites from Northern Italy, showing a diffused consumption of C₄ plants, and one site from Southern Italy, with a diet centred around C₃ plants, are available for this period. The analysis of this extensive set of data suggests that the “Secondary Products Revolution” probably meant a shift in subsistence practices, with secondary sources substituting meat rather than integrating it.