Diet according to multidisciplinary studies: steppes and forest steppes of the Volga region and Southern Ural in the bronze age

Abstract

Introduction. As a part of paleopathological studies of people inhabiting the Volga-Ural and Southern Ural steppes and forest-steppes in the Bronze Age, it became necessary to study and generalize the available extensive data on diet of this population provided by specialists from various related fields. Indeed, the state of “health” is largely related to what and how a person eats and under what pathogenic burden he lives.

Materials and methods. The paper summarizes main results of archaeological, zooarchaeological, paleobotanical, geochemical, isotope and paleopathological studies.

Results. It has been almost reliably established that animal husbandry was the economic basis of the studied population with elements of hunting and gathering and the absence of crop cultivation. Zooarchaeological studies show that cattle played dominant role and were used both for meat and milk, with some territorial and temporal variations in which of these components was more important. Hunting and fishing played, apparently, a secondary role. It is obvious that the use of plant foods did take place. Researchers agree that the studied population consumed wild plants growing in the steppes and forest-steppes, such as Chenopodium, Amaranthus and a number of others.

Conclusion. Studies of associated disciplines are in many ways interrelated and mutually interpretable, which allows us to create a general picture. At the same time, a number of unresolved issues remain that require further, more detailed analytical developments, including those involving paleopathological data. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

References

Buzhilova A.P. Kharakteristika zdorovyia naselenya [Health level reconstruction]. In: Chernykh E.N. Kargaly, Tom 4: Nekropoli na Kargalakh; naselenye Kargalov: paleoantropologicheskye issledovaniya [Kargaly’ necropolis; Kargaly population: paleoanthropological investigations]. Moscow, Languages of Slavonic culture, 2005, pp. 171–176.

Bulakova E.A., Karapetian M.K., Kiseleva D.V., Sharapova S.V., Yakimov A.S. Pogrebal’naya posuda i pisheviye strategii v drevnosti [Funeral ware and dietary strategies in the past]. Ural’skiy istoricheskiy vestnik [Ural historical journal], 2021, 4, pp. 60–70. (In Russ.).

Vasilyev I.B., Matveeva G.I. U istokov istorii Samarskogo Povolzhya [At the origins of Samara Valley region]. Kuibyshev, Kuibyshev book publishing house, 1986, 230 p. (In Russ.).

Dobrovolskaya M.V. Khimicheskiy sostav mineral’noy chaste skeleta [Chemical content of the bone mineral part]. In: Chernykh E.N. Kargaly, Tom 4: Nekropoli na Kargalakh; naselenye Kargalov: paleoantropologicheskye issledovaniya [Kargaly’ necropolis; Kargaly population: paleoanthropological investigations]. Moscow, Languages of Slavonic culture, 2005, pp. 177–184.

Dyachenko I.P. Fauna i nekotoriye biologicheskiye osobennosti rib v epokhu pozdney bronzy [Fauna and some biological traits of fishes in the Late Bronze Age]. In: Bronzoviy vek Yuzhnogo Priuralya: Mezhvuzovskiy sbornik nauchnikh trudov [The Bronze Age of Southern Pre-Urals: Interuniversity collection of scientific papers]. Ufa, Bashkir Pedagogical Institute, 1985, pp. 100–110. (In Russ.).

Epimakhov A.V. O sintashtinskom zemledelii (bronzoviy vek Yuzhnogo Urala) [Оn the Sintashta Agriculture (Bronze Age in the South Urals)]. Vestnik Arheologii, Antropologii i Etnografii [Anthropology, Archaeology and Ethnography bulletin], 2010, 2, pp. 36–41. (In Russ.).

Zdanovich D.G. Arkaim: nekropol’ (po materialam kurgana 25 Bol’shekaraganskogo mogil’nika) [Arkaim Necropolis (on the data of kurgan 25 of the Bolshekaragansky cemetery)]. Chalyabinsk, Southern Ural book publ., 2002, 216 p. (In Russ.).

Karapetian M.K., Sharapova S.V. Patologicheskiye izmananiya na skeletakh iz Neplyuevskogo mogil’nika epokhi pozdney bronzy (kurgan 1) [Pathological changes on skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky cemetery (kurgan 1)]. Nizhnevolzhskiy Arkheologicheskiy Vestnik [The Lower Volga Archaeological Bulletin], 2022, 2, pp. 100–119. (In Russ.).

Kozlov A.I., Vershubskaya G.G. D-vitaminnyi status i persistentsiia laktazy v evropeiskikh populiatsiiakh (obzor literatury s elementami meta-analiza [D-vitamin status and lactase persistence in European populations (review with the elements of meta-analysis)]. Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin [Lomonosov Journal of Anthropology], 2017, 3, pp. 68–75. (In Russ.).

Kosintsev P.A. Okhota i skotovodstvo u naseleniya lesostepnogo Zauralya v epokhu bronzy [Hunting and cattle breeding by forest-steppe population of Trans-Urals in the Bronze Age]. In: Stanovleniye i razvitiye proizvodyashego khozaystva na Urale: sbornik nauchnikh trudov [Origin and development of the producing economy in the Urals: collection of papers]. Sverdlovsk, Ural Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989, pp. 84–104. (In Russ.).

Kosintsev P.A. Tipologiya archeozoologicheskikh kompleksov i modeli zhivotnovodstva u drevnego naseleniya yuga Zapadnoy Sibiri [Typology of archaeozoological complexes and models of animal husbandry among the ancient population of the south of Western Siberia]. In: Antipina E.E., Chenrnykh E.N. Noveyshiye zooarcheologicheskiye issledovaniya v Rossiyi: K stoletiyu so dnya rozhdeniya V.I. Tsalkina. Sbornik statey [The latest archaeozoological research in Russia: on the occasion of centenary of the birth of V. I. Tsalkin. Collection of papers]. Moscow, Languages of Slavonic culture, 2004, pp. 157–174. (In Russ.).

Kosintsev P.A. Zhivotnovodstvo i okhota u naseleniya Aitovskogo poseleniya srubnoy kul’tury [Animal husbandry and hunting among the population of the Aitovsky settlement of the Srubnaya culture]. In: Morozov Yu.A. Aitovskoye poseleniye epokhi bronzy v bashkirskom Priuralye [The Bronze Age Aitovskoye settlement in the Bashkir Pre-Urals]. Ufa, Ufa Scientific Center of RAS, 2017, pp. 214–231. (In Russ.).

Kosintsev P.A., Varov A.I., Sataev R.M. Zhivotnovodstvo I okhota naseleniya poseleniya Tanalyk II (Bashkirskoye Zauralye) [Animal husbandry and hunting by population of the Tanalyk II settlement (Bashkir Trans-Urals)]. In: Formirovaniye i vzaimodeystviye uralskikh narodov v izmenyayusheysya etnokulturniy srede Yevrazii: problem izucheniya i istoriografii: sb. ct. Chteniya pamyati K.V. Salnikova [Origin and interaction of the Ural people in the changing ethno-cultural environment of Eurasia: problems of study and historiography: collection of papers. Readings in memory of K.V. Salnikov]. Ufa, Kitap publ., 2007, pp. 144–149. (In Russ.).

Kufterin V.V., Karapetian M.K. Paleopatologicheskie indikatory "kachestva zhizni' detei srubnogo vremeni Iuzhnogo Priural'ia [Paleopathology and “quality of life” of non-adults from the Srubnaya culture cemeteries of Southern Ural]. Ural'skii istoricheskii vestnik [Ural Historical Journal], 2021, 1(70), pp. 150–159. (In Russ.).

Kufterin V.V., Nechvaloda A.I. Antropologicheskoe issledovanie skeletov iz srubno-alakul'skogo kurgana Selivanovskogo II mogil'nika [Bioanthropological research of human skeletal remains from the Srubno-Alakul mound at Selivanovka II cemetery (Southern Trans-Urals)]. Vestnik arkheologii, antropologii i etnografii [Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnography Bulletin], 2016, 4 (35), pp. 79–89. (In Russ.).

Matveev A.V., Larina N.S., Kostomarova Yu.V., Kiktenko E.V. Resultaly izucheniya prigarov I pochv iz sosudov alakul’skoy kultury Khripunovskogo mogil’nika [The results of soot and soil study from the vessels of Alakul culture of Khripunovskiy necropolis]. Vestnik Tyumenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Tyumen State University Herald], 2010, 1, pp. 12–20. (In Russ.).

Pashkevich G.A. Zemlyedeliye v stepi I lesostepi Vostochnoy Evropi v neolite [Agriculture in the Steppe and Forest-Steppe Zones of Eastern Europe in the Neolithic and Bronze Age (Palaeo-Ethnic and Botanic Evidence)]. Stratum plus [Stratum plus], 2000, 2, pp. 404–418. (In Russ.).

Pererva E.V., Kapinus Y.O. Paleopatologicheskie osobennosti naseleniia epokhi pozdnei bronzy po antropologicheskim materialam iz mogil'nikov v okrestnostiakh sela Krasnosamarskoe Samarskoi oblasti [Paleopathological features of the Late Bronze Age population: anthropological skeletal materials excavated from burial grounds near the village of Krasnosamarskoye, Samara region]. Samarskiy nauchniy vestnik [Samara Journal of Science], 2019, 4 (29), pp. 144–153. (In Russ.).

Petrenko A.G. Issledovaniya osteologicheskikh materialov iz drevneyshikh arkheologicheskikh pamyatnikov Srednego Povolzhya I Preduralya metodami estestvennikh nauk, analiz problem stanovleniya zhivotnovodcheskikh osnov v kraye [Study of osteological materials from the most ancient archaeological sites of the Middle Volga and Cis-Urals using methods of natural sciences, analysis of the animal husbandry origins in the region]. In: Archeologiya i estestvenniye nauki Tatarstana [Archeology and natural sciences in Tatarstan]. Kazan, Kazan University publ., 2003, pp. 5–63. (In Russ.).

Petrenko A.G., Asylgarayeva G.Sh. Osteologicheskiye materialy zhivotnikh iz raskopok Muradymovskogo poseleniya epokhi pozdney bronzy [Animal osteological materials from excavations of the Late Bronze Age Muradymovskiy settlement]. In: Formirovaniye i vzaimodeystviye ural’skikh narodov v izmenyayusheysya etnokulturnoy srede Yevrazii: problem izucheniya I istoriografii [Origin and interaction of the Ural peoples in changing ethno-cultural environment of Eurasia: problems of study and historiography]. Ufa, Kitap publ., 2007, pp. 87–92. (In Russ.).

Prikhod’ko V.E., Chaplygin M.S., Starodubtsev M.V. Rekonstruktsiya soderzhimogo sosudov iz kurganov na osnove kompleksnogo issledovaniya [Reconstructing contents of the vessels from kurgans based on comprehensive analysis]. In: Materialy III Vserossiyskoy nauchnoy konferentsii s mezhdunarodnim uchastiem “Problemy istorii, metodologii I sotsiologii pochvovedeniya” [Proceedings of the III All-Russian scientific conference with international participation “Problems of the history, methodology and sociology of soil science”]. Pushino, KMK Scientific Press Ltd., 2017, pp. 341–344. (In Russ.).

Razhev D.I., Yepimakhov A.V. Fenomen mnogochislennosti detskikh pogrebenii v mogil'nikakh epokhi bronzy [Phenomenon of multiplicity of children’s burials in burial grounds of the Bronze Age]. Vestnik arkheologii, antropologii i etnografii [Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnography Bulletin], 2005, 5, pp. 107–113. (In Russ.).

Rassadnikov A.Y. Sistema myasnogo pitaniya drevnego naseleniya pozdnego bronzovogo veka Yuzhnogo Zauralya (po arheozoologicheskim materialam) [Meat supply system of the Late Bronze Age population of the Southern Trans-Urals (by archaezoological materials)]. Vestnik YuUrGU. Seriya “Sotsial’no gumanitarniye nauki” [Bulletin of the South Ural State University. Series “Social Sciences and the Humanities”], 2016, 1, pp. 110–115. (In Russ.).

Rassadnikov A.Y. Zhivotnovodstvo u naseleniya Yuzhnogo Zauralya v epokhu bronzy (po materialam poseleniy dolin r. Karagaly-Ayat I Gumbeyka [Animal husbandry in the Bronze Age population of Southern Trans-Urals (based on the settlements of the Kargaly-Ayat and Gumbeika river valleys)] PhD in History Thesis. Yekaterinburg, 2019, 31 p. (In Russ.).

Rykushina G.V. Antropologicheskaya kharakteristika naseleniya epokhi bronzy Yuzhnogo Urala po materialam mogil’nika Krivoye Ozero [Anthropological characteristics of the Bronze Age population of Southern Urals based on materials from the burial ground Krivoye Ozero]. In: Vinogradov N.B. Mogil’nik bronzovogo veka Krivoye Ozero v Yuzhnom Zauralye [Krivoye Ozero Bronze Age Cemetery in the South Transurals]. Chelyabinsk, Southern Ural book publ., 2003, pp. 319–360. (In Russ.).

Ryabogina N.E., Ivanov S.N. Drevnee zemledeliye v Zapadnoy Sibiri: problemi argumentatsii, paleoetnobotanicheskiye metody i analiz factorov [Ancient agriculture in Western Siberia: problems of argumentation, paleoethnobotanical methods and analysis of factors]. Archeologiya, etnografiya i antropologii Yevrazii [Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia], 2011, 4, pp. 96–106.

Tsalkin V.I. Nekotoriye itogi izucheniya kostnikh oststkov zhivotnikh iz raskopok archeologicheskikh pamyatnikov pozdnego bronzovogo veka [Some results of the study of animal bone remains from Late Bronze Age archaeological sites excavations]. Kratkiye soobshcheniya Instituta arkheologii [Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology], 1964, 101, pp. 24–34. (In Russ.).

Chernykh E.N. Kargaly, Tom 3: Selishe Gorniy: Archeologicheskiye materialy: Tekhnologia gorno-metallurgicheskogo proizvodstva: Archeobiologicheskiye issledovaniya [Kargaly, volume III: Gorny site: Archaeological materials: Technology of mining and metallurgy: Archaeobiological studies]. Moscow, Languages of Slavonic culture, 2004. 320 p. (In Russ.).

 

 

 

Anthony D.W. The Samara Valley Project and the evolution of pastoral economies in the Western Eurasian Steppes. In: Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 3–36.

Anthony D.W., Brown D.R. The dogs of war: A Bronze Age initiation ritual in the Russian steppes. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2017, 48, pp. 134–148.

Johansson I. Milk and dairy products: possible effects on dental health. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition, 2002, 46 (3), pp. 119–122.

Judd M.A., Walker J.L., Ventresca Miller A., Razhev D., Epimakhov A.V. et al. Life in the fast lane: Settled pastoralism in the Central Eurasian Steppe during the Middle Bronze Age. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2018, 30, e23129.

Hanks В., Ventresca Miller А., Judd M., Epimakhov A., Razhev D. et al. Bronze Age diet and economy: New stable isotope data from the Central Eurasian steppes (2100-1700 BC) // Journal of Archaeological Science, 2018, 97, рр. 14–25

Karapetian M.K., Kufterin V.V., Chaplygin M.S., Starodubtsev M.V., Bakhshiev I.I. Exploring dietary practices in non-adults of the Late Bronze Age Southern Urals: A perspective from dental attributes. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 2021, 31, pp. 1046–1056.

Kosintsev P.A. Archaeozoological report on the animal bones from the Krasnosamarskoe Settlement // Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 385–420.

Lieverse A.R. Diet and the aetiology of dental calculus. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 1999, 9, pp. 219–232.

Macintosh A.A., Pinhasi R., Stock J.T. Early Life Conditions and Physiological Stress following the Transition to Farming in Central/Southeast Europe: Skeletal Growth Impairment and 6000 Years of Gradual Recovery. PLOS ONE, 2016, 11(2), e0148468.

Moseley M.E. The Incas and their ancestors: the archaeology of Peru. London, Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2001, 288 p.

Motuzaite Matuzeviciute G., Kiryushin Y.F., Rakhimzhanova S.Z., Svyatko S., Tishkin A.A. et al. Climatic or dietary change? Stable isotope analysis of Neolithic–Bronze Age populations from the Upper Ob and Tobol River basins. The Holocene, 2016, 26 (10), pp. 1711–1721.

Murphy E.M., Khokhlov A.A. A Bioarchaeological study of prehistoric populations from the Volga Region. In: Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 149–216.

Ng C.Y. Archaeobotanical evidence for Bronze Age subsistence economy and social complexity (2100–1750 BCE) at the Stepnoye settlement, Russia. In: The 19th annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists – Abstracts. Pilsen, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, 2013, p. 418.

Outram A.K., Kasparov A., Stear N.A., Varfolomeev V., Usmanova E. et al. Patterns of pastoralism in later Bronze Age Kazakhstan: new evidence from faunal and lipid residue analyses. J. Archaeol. Sci., 2012, 39, pp. 2424–2435.

Pettifor J.M. Nutritional rickets: deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, or both? Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 2004, 80, pp. 1725S-9S.

Popova L.M. Floral data analysis: report on the pollen and macrobotanical remains from the Krasnosamarskoe settlement. Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 333–350.

Rassadnikov A.Ju., Kosintsev P.A., Koryakova L.N. The osteological collection from the Kamennyi Ambar settlement. In: Krause R., Koryakova L.N. Multidisciplinary investigations of the Bronze Age settlements in the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia). Bonn, Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, 2013, pp. 239–284.

Rühl L., Herbig C., Stobbe A. Archaeobotanical analysis of plant use at Kamennyi Ambar, a Bronze Age fortified settlement of the Sintashta culture in the southern Trans-Urals steppe, Russia. Veget. Hist. Archaeobot, 2015, 24, pp. 413–426.

Russel N., Brown A., Brown E. Human-animal relations at Krasnosamarskoe. In: Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 421–442.

Schulting R.J., Richards M.P. Stable isotope analysis of Neolithic to Late Bronze Age populations in the Samara Valley. In: Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 127–148.

Scott A., Reinhold S., Hermes T., Kalmykov A., Belinskiy A. et al. Emergence and intensification of dairying in the Caucasus and Eurasian steppes. Nat. Ecol. Evol., 2022, 6, pp. 813–822.

Spyrou M.A., Tukhbatova R.I., Wang C.C., Valtuena A.A., Lankapalli A.K. et al. Analysis of 3800-year-old Yersinia pestis genomes suggests Bronze Age origin for bubonic plague. Nature Communications, 2018, 9, Article 2234.

Stobbe A. Long-term perspective on Holocene environmental changes in the steppe of the Trans-Urals (Russia): Implications for understanding the human activities in the Bronze Age indicated by palaeoecological studies. In: Krause R., Koryakova L.N. Multidisciplinary investigations of the Bronze Age settlements in the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia). Bonn, Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, 2013, pp. 305–326.

Stobbe A., Rühl L., Nekrasov A., Kosintsev P., Fish – an important dietary component in the settlemet of Kamennyi Ambar. In: Krause R., Koryakova L.N. Multidisciplinary investigations of the Bronze Age settlements in the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia). Bonn, Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, 2013, pp. 233–237.

Ventresca Miller A., Usmanova E., Logvin V., Kalieva S., Shevnina I. et al. Dental health, diet and social transformation in the Bronze Age: Comparative analysis of pastoral populations in northern Kazakhstan. Quaternary International, 2014a, 348, pp. 130–146.

Ventresca Miller A., Usmanova E., Logvin V., Kalieva S., Shevnina I. et al. Subsistence and social change in central Eurasia: stable isotope analysis of populations spanning the Bronze Age transition. J. Archaeol. Sci., 2014b, 42, pp. 525–538.

Ventresca Miller A., Hanks B.K., Judd M., Epimakhov A. and Razhev D. Weaning practices among pastoralists: New evidence of infant feeding patterns from Bronze Age Eurasia. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 2017, 162, pp. 409–422.

Weisskopf A., Rosen A.M. Phytoliths from the Krasnosamarskoe settlement and its environment. In: Anthony D.W., Brown D.R., Mochalov O.D., Khokhlov A.A., Kuznetsov P. A Bronze Age Landscape in the Russian Steppes. The Samara Valley Project. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2016, pp. 351–372.