First Farmers in Southeast Europe: Isotopic Evidence for Human Migration

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This archaeological project involves the isotopic investigation of prehistoric human skeletal remains from the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites in the Iron Gates of the Danube River in southeastern Europe, dating to between 9000 and 6000 B.C. The focus of the study concerns how the initial transition to prehistoric agriculture took place. Dr Price and colleagues hope to determine if foreign farming groups moved into this region or if local hunter-gatherers themselves adopted the practice of agriculture. Strontium and lead isotopes in prehistoric human tooth enamel will be measured to determine if individuals buried at these sites were local or foreign. These ratios are tracers of the geology of the areas where these individuals were born. Strontium and lead are incorporated into bone and enamel through the food chain as a substitute for calcium in bone and tooth enamel. Bone is continually remodeled during the life of an individual, so the chemical composition of the bone reflects the last years of life. The enamel in teeth, on the other hand, forms during infancy and early childhood and undergoes almost no subsequent change. Because strontium and lead isotope ratios vary among geological substrates, isotope ratios in teeth that do not match those of the local geology indicate immigrants to an area. The Iron Gates region, between Serbia and Romania, has been chosen for this research for several reasons. The area has a rich archaeological record for this period and samples will be obtained from burials at the sites of Lepenski Vir, Padina, Vlasac, Hajducka Vodenica, Ajmana, Velesnica, and Kula in Serbia, and Schela Cladovei in Romania. More than 500 human burials have been collected in these excavations, comprising the best skeletal archive for this period in all of Europe. Where temporal placement of a burial is uncertain, radiocarbon dates will be obtained directly from the skeleton. Intellectual Merit. This research project provides an opportunity to resolve major archaeological questions about the transition from hunting to farming and about how agriculture spread in prehistoric Europe. Specifically, we have a chance to determine if farmers moved into new areas or if local hunter-gatherers became farmers. This information will have direct implications for questions regarding the expansion of agriculture and cultural change in other parts of the world. The study will also document the utility of isotopic methods for the investigation of human migration. Broader Impact. The study will document the application of new scientific methods to old archaeological questions and involve several young scholars in the process. The project is a cooperative one among US, Serbian, and Romanian institutes. Graduate and undergraduate students, both male and female, will be involved in the laboratory processing of materials and exposure to the research process. The results should be of interest to a wide range of archaeologists throughout the world.