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Parallel worlds and mixed economies: multi-proxy analysis reveals complex subsistence systems at the dawn of early farming in the northeast Baltic

Authors :
Ester Oras
Mari Tõrv
Kristiina Johanson
Eve Rannamäe
Anneli Poska
Lembi Lõugas
Alexandre Lucquin
Jasmine Lundy
Samantha Brown
Shidong Chen
Liivi Varul
Vanda Haferberga
Dardega Legzdiņa
Gunita Zariņa
Lucy Cramp
Volker Heyd
Michaela Reay
Łukasz Pospieszny
Harry K. Robson
Kerkko Nordqvist
Carl Heron
Oliver E. Craig
Aivar Kriiska
Source :
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 10, Iss 10 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
The Royal Society, 2023.

Abstract

The transition from foraging to farming was a key turning point in ancient socio-economies. Yet, the complexities and regional variations of this transformation are still poorly understood. This multi-proxy study provides a new understanding of the introduction and spread of early farming, challenging the notions of hierarchical economies. The most extensive biological and biomolecular dietary overview, combining zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, dietary stable isotope and pottery lipid residue analyses is presented, to unravel the nature and extent of early farming in the 3rd millennium cal BCE in the northeast Baltic. Farming was introduced by incoming Corded Ware cultural groups (CWC), but some dietary segregation existed within these communities, with some having more access to domesticates, others incorporating more wild resources into their diet. The CWC groups coexisted in parallel with local hunter–fisher–gatherers (HFG) without any indication of the adoption of domesticates. There was no transition from foraging to farming in the 3rd millennium cal BCE in the NE Baltic. Instead, we see a complex system of parallel worlds with local HFGs continuing forager lifeways, and incoming farmers practising mixed economies, with the continuation of these subsistence strategies for at least a millennium after the first encounter with domesticated animals.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20545703
Volume :
10
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Royal Society Open Science
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.5c21b2b56c8a44c7b093ca9925508aed
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230880