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Chultukov Log-1 is a large barrow cemetery, located in the valley of Lower Katun river (Northern Altai, Russia), in which various cultural traditions of the Scythian era are represented (Pazyryk, Karakoba, Bystrianka). The main goal of this study was to determine whether the individuals buried in the cemetery and representing different cultural traditions are uniform in terms of their geographical origin. In order to reconstruct the origin of individuals an analysis of the isotopic composition of oxygen was performed within bone apatite phosphates from well preserved samples. To verify the state of preservation of human and animal osseous remains, diagenetic indices were calculated based on Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR). One of the most important conclusions is that the individuals from the cemetery probably originated in the north. The most probable scenario includes population movements of the Bystrianka culture people from the steppe and piedmont zones to the south, to the mountainous valley of Lower Katun river in the Northern Altai, where they assimilated with the North Pazyryk communities. However, the contact of the inhabitants of the Norhern Altai with the south was not the result of migrations, but rather of the trade and the common genesis of the North Pazyryk groups and the Pazyryk culture from Central and South-Eastern Altai. Some people of local origin had different eschatological beliefs and accordingly buried their dead in stone boxes (Karakoba type). Chultukov Log-1 je veliko groblje, smješteno u dolini donjeg toka rijeke Katun (Sjeverni Altaj, Rusija), u kojem su zastupljene različite kulturne tradicije iz skitske ere (Pazyryk, Karakoba, Bystrianka). Glavni cilj ove studije bio je utvrditi jesu li pojedinci pokopani na groblju koji predstavljaju različite kulturne tradicije homogeni po zemljopisnom podrijetlu. Za rekonstrukciju podrijetla pojedinaca izvršena je analiza izotopnog sastava kisika iz apatitnih fosfata u kostima dobro očuvanih uzoraka. Radi procjene stanja očuvanosti ostataka kostiju ljudi i životinja, izračunati su dijagenetski indeksi pomoću Fourierovog infracrvenog spektrometra (FTIR). Jedan od najvažnijih zaključaka je da su pojedinci na groblju vjerojatno podrijetlom sa sjevera. Najvjerojatniji scenarij je migracija stanovništva naroda Bystrianke iz planinskih i pijemontskih zona na jugu, prema planinskim dolinama donjeg toka rijeke Katun u Sjevernom Altaju, gdje su se asimilirali sa zajednicama Sjevernog Pazyryka. Nasuprot tome, kontakt stanovnika sjevernog Altaja sa jugom nije posljedica migracija, već trgovine i zajedničke geneze zajednica Sjevernog Pazyryka i kulture Pazyryk iz srednjeg i jugoistočnog Altaja. Neki ljudi lokalnog podrijetla imali su različita eshatološka uvjerenja i pokapali su svoje mrtve u kamenim kutijama (tip Karakoba).

Isotopic analyses are often used in biological anthropology and bioarcheology, in studies of ancient human populations. Such analyses in anthropology have been used to study migration patterns, the nutrition strategies of prehistoric populations and the weaning of infants. The main objective of this work was to investigate patterns of breastfeeding and weaning in Neolithic populations at Bronocice in Poland using nitrogen stable isotopes. Additionally, strontium isotope analysis was conducted to determine if the individuals from the collective grave (Burial XIII, Pit 36-B1) at Bronocice were of local origin. The samples consisted of skeletal remains from individuals buried in the collective grave during the early Funnel Beaker-Baden phase (3300-3100 BC). Two models have been used for reconstructing precisely the age at the start and end of weaning (Schurr’s model and WARN model). The results suggest that weaning began in the first year of life and ended at about 3 years of age. Isotopske analize se često koriste u biološkoj antropologiji i bioarheologiji, u istraživanjima starih ljudskih populacija. Takve analize antropologije korištene su za proučavanje uzoraka migracija, prehrambenih strategija pretpovijesnih populacija i prestanka dojenja kod dojenčadi. Glavni cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti obrasce dojenja i odbića u neolitiku populacije u Bronocicama u Poljskoj pomoću stabilnih dušikovih izotopa. Osim toga, provedena je analiza stroncijskog izotopa kako bi se utvrdilo jesu li osobe iz kolektivnog groba (pokop XIII, Pit 36-B1) na Bronocice-u lokalnog podrijetla. Uzorci su se sastojali od skeletnih ostataka pojedinaca ukopanih u zajedničkoj grobnici tijekom rane Failel Beaker-Baden faze (3300-3100 prije Krista). Dva su modela korištena za rekonstrukciju točnog doba na početka i kraja odbića (Schurrov model i model WARN). Rezultati sugeriraju da je odbiće počelo u prvoj godini života i završilo oko 3. godine života.

One of the basic methods used in investigating migration processes is the analysis of stable oxygen and strontium isotopes. This method was introduced to archaeo- -anthropological studies from zoological research, who first applied it to tracing animal migrations. Stable isotope analyses in origin and migration studies are based on the premise that the isotope ratios in osteological material almost precisely reflect the isotope composition of the environment (water and soil) inhabited by the group. If the bone material of a given individual reveals any departure from oxygen and strontium isotope ratio relative to the local level, it is possible to speak of its allochthonic origin. In addition, the discrepancy between the isotope ratio in bone tissue and tooth enamel allows us to isolate from the group individuals who had spent childhood in a place different from where the remains were found. Isotope studies using cremated remains are still a largely unexplored field. The fact that high temperature causes changes in the isotopic composition of the bone tissue unconditionally excludes incinerated bone material from such analyses. This problem has only recently been addressed once again and more and more works, usually model studies, attempt to explain how heat and duration of the incineration affect final concentrations of stable isotopes in bones, which may result in designing a standardised method for analysing stable isotopes in cremated material, e.g. from the Bronze Age cemeteries, in the future.