Chemical isotopes reveal radical changes in Europe 3500 years ago sciences

A new scientific study conducted by an international team of researchers revealed profound transformations that affected the lifestyle, food, patterns of mobility in the carnivores in Hungary, one of the most important civilizational centers in Europe in the Bronze Age, the era that was characterized by the use of bronze, and the presence of primitive writing in some regions in the world.

The results of the study were recently published in the journal “Scientific Reports”, and it relies on a comprehensive analysis of a large group of human and animal remains, which dates back to the Middle and late Bronze Age phases, specifically from important archaeological sites in Hungary, foremost of which is the “Tezavoride-Mallushlom” cemetery, located in the Tiza River Valley.

According to the researchers, the results of the study highlighting an important cultural, economic and social turning point in the history of Central Europe, where the emergence of specific architectural cultures is accompanied by changes in the pattern of movement, and the transformation from a meat -based economy to a more dependent economy such as white smoker, and perhaps also the beginning of a decline in class disparities.

Stronium reveals migrations

The researchers analyzed the proportions of radioisotopes from the element of sterunshium in the enamel of the teeth and human bones, to determine the patterns of geographical mobility of individuals.

Strunishium is a chemical component that is naturally found in the soil and rocks, and when the rocks are crushed, srunchium enters the water and soil, then the plants are absorbed, while animals and humans get srunchium through food and water.

The researchers found that the majority of the residents of the main site in the study were from the local population, with only a limited percentage presented from areas between 20 to 100 kilometers, and only one person seemed to have come from a region far beyond that.

Human teeth are formed in childhood, and retained the proportion of srunchium from the environment in which the child grew up.

Hence, by comparing the levels of stonachium in the teeth and bones with the proportions in the local soil, scientists can know, is it local or immigrant, and from where it came almost?

Vegetable or animal residue (pimples or cattle bones) can also be analyzed to find out whether they were locally or imported.

According to the study, the results of the intermediate bronze era showed that some immigrants came from more radiant areas such as the top of the Tiza River or the Northern Carphat Mountains, and the results of the late Bronze Age revealed that the new arrivals were from less radiation areas such as southern varbin or the plateau of Transdanubia, that is, west of the Danube, which supports the hypothesis of the transfer of some cultural elements from the West to the plains of Hungary.

Carbon and nitrogen to detect food

The analogy of the analogs of the stable carbon and nitrogen in the bone collagen also revealed that the diet has witnessed a remarkable shift at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. The results showed a decrease in the consumption of animal protein, coinciding with an increase in the intake of pills, especially the white millet plant.

Carbon isotopes reveal the types of veiled plants (such as millet versus other grains), while nitrogen indicates the amount of animal protein against vegetable protein in the diet.

Carbon and nitrogen is one of the most important chemical tools in archeology to know the food and the environment in which a person or animal lived.

Plants take carbon from carbon dioxide in the air, but the method of absorption varies depending on their type. For example, plants such as corn and barley absorb carbon 13 by low percentage compared to plants such as millet or corn, which absorb it in a different way from other plants such as aloe vera.

When animals or humans eat these plants (or animals that feed on them), these proportions are transmitted to bones and teeth, and when the proportions are measured, scientists can answer questions such as: Did the group depend on the study on plants? And when did new crops (such as millet) enter their diet?

The higher the organism in the food chain, the more nitrogen 15 in its tissues, for example, the plants have a low percentage of this nitrogen, while herbal foods have a slightly higher percentage, and meat foods have the highest percentage.

Then the scientists measure the percentage of nitrogen in the bone collagen to answer questions such as: What is the amount of animal protein versus vegetarian in food? Was the group under study dependent on hunting or agriculture? Is there a nutritional difference between men and women or between the classes of society?

The role of millet

According to the study, the researchers concluded that the introduction of the millet plant into the diet had occurred in a relatively narrow period of time between 1540 and 1480 BC.

The effects of the plant are clearly shown in the analysis of limestone on the teeth, where the remains of starch and silica were found, i.e. sand, distinctive for the millet of millet in the majority of individuals in the late Bronze Age, compared to very limited proportions in the previous stage.

It is believed that the appearance of white millet, which has a rapid growth and drought, was a decisive factor in supporting agricultural societies that have known a growing demographic prosperity during that period.

Cscopper on the teeth is solid when food residue and bacteria accumulate on the teeth and mix with salts (such as calcium and phosphorus) from saliva.

Over time, this layer hardens and turns into a “small rock” on the teeth, which is the same lime that the dentist cleans today, but in archaeological remains it remains preserved for thousands of years.

This layer works like a time capsule, learning those looking for food residue, and even studying the types of bacteria in this layer, knowing people’s diseases in those distant times.

Era of disparity

One of the striking aspects of the study is also a decline in the varying diet between males and females. In the Middle Bronze Age, the results showed that males obtained higher proportions of animal protein compared to females, indicating that there is a social disparity in the distribution of food resources.

In the late Bronze Age, these differences have declined, which reflects a transformation towards a more equal society, or at least, declining in the social class associated with food.

Among the most prominent features of the cultural transformation revealed by the study is to abandon the prevailing urban pattern in the Middle Bronze Age, which is represented in the consecutive and continuous settlements of generations.

With the emergence of a culture of “inclusive structures”, which is the prevailing bronze era in Central Europe, which was characterized by the burial of the dead under the burial hills, dependence on horizontal settlements began with younger and less fortified settlements, which reflects deep political or social changes in the structure of societies at the time.