Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Crops vs. animals: regional differences in subsistence strategies of Swiss Neolithic farmers revealed by stable isotopes

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Neolithic period is archaeologically well documented in Central Europe, and several studies considered dietary habits and migration patterns. However, even though Switzerland and the alpine region are well known for Neolithic cultures, most of today’s knowledge about the population comes from organic materials such as wood, faunal, or botanic remains and not from the human remains themselves. This comprehensive study presents dietary reconstructions from stable isotope data (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of humans (n = 88) and fauna (n = 60) dating to the Neolithic from 21 sites that cluster in three main Swiss regions (Jura, Midland, Eastern Switzerland). The general data show a terrestrial C3 plant–based diet, and the δ15N values indicate regional differences between the groups, while males and females consumed similar proportions of animal proteins. It is assumed that freshwater fish was part of the diet at least in some regions. The data indicate that different subsistence strategies were practiced (animal husbandry/pastoralism vs. agriculture) possibly in relation to cultural influences. The δ34S values suggest some mobility in general, while indications for patrilocal societies are seen as females exhibit greater δ34S ranges. Overall, we conclude that most likely different subsistence strategies were practised, while no social stratigraphy based on nutritional access could be observed for the studied populations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ambrose SH (1990) Preparation and characterization of bone and tooth collagen for isotopic analysis. J Archaeol Sci 17(4):431–451

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambrose SH (1993), Isotopic analysis of paleodiets: Methodological and interpretive considerations. In: Sanford MK (ed) Investigations of ancient human tissue-chemical analyses in anthropology. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, pp 59–130

  • Antolin F, Brombacher C, Kühn M, Steiner BL, Jacomet S (2017) Archäobotanik (Makroreste): Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen der Flächenproben im Hinblick auf Taphonomie, Ackerbau, Sammelwirtschaft und Umwelt. In: Bleicher N, Harb C (eds) Zürich-Parkhaus Opéra Eine neolithische Feuchtbodenfundstelle Band 3: Naturwissenschaftliche Analysen und Synthese. Zürich and Egg, Amt für Raumentwicklung, pp 50–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Asam T, Grupe G, Peters J (2006) Menschliche Subsistenzstrategien im Neolithikum: Eine Isotopenanalyse bayerischer Skelettfunde. Anthropol Anz 64(1):1–23

    Google Scholar 

  • BAFU (ed) (2017) Boden in der Schweiz. Zustand und Entwicklung. Stand 2017. Bundesamt für Umwelt, Bern 1721

    Google Scholar 

  • Bay R (1936) Kiefer und Zähne aus dem neolithischen Steinkistengrab bei Aesch. Tätigkeitsbericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Baselland 11(1936–1938):22–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben-David M, Flaherty EA (2012) Stable isotopes in mammalian research: a beginner's guide. J Mammal 93(2):312–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentley RA, Bickle P, Fibiger L, Nowell GM, Dale CW, Hedges REM, Hamilton J, Wahl J, Francken M, Grupe G, Lenneis E, Teschler-Nicola M, Arbogast RM, Hofmann D, Whittle A (2012) Community differentiation and kinship among Europe’s first farmers. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109(24):9326–9330

    Google Scholar 

  • Bickle P, Whittle A (eds) (2013) The first farmers of Central Europe—diversity in LBK Lifeways. Oxbow Books, Oxford and Oakville

    Google Scholar 

  • Bocherens H, Drucker D (2003) Trophic level isotopic enrichment of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen: case studies from recent and ancient terrestrial ecosystems. Int J Osteoarchaeol 13(1–2):46–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Bocherens H, Drucker DG, Billiou D, Geneste JM, van der Plicht J (2006) Bears and humans in Chauvet cave (Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, Ardeche, France): insights from stable isotopes and radiocarbon dating of bone collagen. J Hum Evol 50(3):370–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogaard A, Fraser R, Heaton THE, Wallace M, Vaiglova P, Charles M, Jones G, Evershed RP, Styring AK, Andersen NH, Arbogast RM, Bartosiewicz L, Gardeisen A, Kanstrup M, Maier U, Marinova E, Ninov L, Schafer M, Stephan E (2013) Crop manuring and intensive land management by Europe’s first farmers. Proc Natl Acad Sci 110(31):12589–12594

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollongino R, Nehlich O, Richards MP, Orschiedt J, Thomas MG, Sell C, Fajkošová Z, Powell A, Burger J (2013) 2000 years of parallel societies in stone age Central Europe. Science 342(6157):479–481

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonafini M, Pellegrini M, Ditchfield P, Pollard AM (2013) Investigation of the 'canopy effect' in the isotope ecology of temperate woodlands. J Archaeol Sci 40(11):3926–3935

    Google Scholar 

  • Bösl C, Grupe G, Peters J (2006) A Late Neolithic vertebrate food web based on stable isotope analyses. Int J Osteoarchaeol 16(4):296–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Braschler S, Schibler J (2009) Archäozoologische Auswertung der neolithischen Tierknochen aus der Fundstelle Mumpf AG-Kapf. Jahrbuch Archäologie Schweiz 92:38–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Burga CA (1998) Vegetation und Klima der Schweiz seit dem jüngeren Eiszeitalter : Vegetation and climate history in Switzerland during the later Pleistocene and Holocene. Ott Verlag, Thun

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger J, Kirchner M, Bramanti B, Haak W, Thomas MG (2007) Absence of the lactase-persistence-associated allele in early Neolithic Europeans. Proc Natl Acad Sci 104(10):3736–3741

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper CG, Lupo KD, Zena AG, Schmitt DN, Richards MP (2019) Stable isotope ratio analysis (C, N, S) of hair from modern humans in Ethiopia shows clear differences related to subsistence regimes. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11(7):3213–3223

    Google Scholar 

  • DeNiro MJ (1985) Postmortem preservation and alteration of invivo bone-collagen isotope ratios in relation to paleodietary reconstruction. Nature 317:806–809

    Google Scholar 

  • Desideri J, Besse M (2010) Swiss Bell Beaker population dynamics: eastern or southern influences? Archaeol Anthropol Sci 2(3):157–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Doppler T, Bleicher N, Hajdas I, Wacker L (2012) 14C-Datierung des endneolithischen Kollektivgrabes von Spreitenbach. In: Doppler T (ed) Spreitenbach-Moosweg (Aargau, Schweiz): Ein Kollektivgrab um 2500 v Chr. Basel, Urs Zuber AG, pp 85–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Doppler T, Gerling C, Heyd V, Knipper C, Kuhn T, Lehmann MF, Pike AWG, Schibler J (2017) Landscape opening and herding strategies: carbon isotope analyses of herbivore bone collagen from the Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeshore site of Zurich-Mozartstrasse, Switzerland. Quat Int 436:18–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Doswald C, Kaufmann B, Scheidegger S (1989) Ein neolithisches Doppelhockergrab in Zurzach. Archäologie der Schweiz 12(2):38–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Drucker DG, Bridault A, Hobson KA, Szuma E, Bocherens H (2008) Can carbon-13 in large herbivores reflect the canopy effect in temperate and boreal ecosystems? Evidence from modern and ancient ungulates. Palaeogeogr Palaeocl 266(1–2):69–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Dürrwächter C, Craig OE, Collins MJ, Burger J, Alt KW (2006) Beyond the grave: variability in Neolithic diets in Southern Germany? J Archaeol Sci 33(1):39–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Eberli U (2010) Urgeschichtliche Fischerei am Zugersee. Tugium: Jahrbuch des Staatsarchivs des Kantons Zug, des Amtes für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, des Kantonalen Museums für Urgeschichte Zug und der Burg Zug 26:83–89

  • Fernández-Crespo T, Schulting RJ, Ordoño J, Rojo-Guerra MA, Sesma-Sesma J, García-Gazólaz J, Altuna J, Mariezkurrena K, Arias P (2019) Isotopic evidence of strong reliance on animal foods and dietary heterogeneity among Early-Middle Neolithic communities of Iberia. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11(10):5463–5481

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser RA, Bogaard A, Schafer M, Arbogast R, Heaton THE (2013) Integrating botanical, faunal and human stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values to reconstruct land use and palaeodiet at LBK Vaihingen an der Enz, Baden-Wurttemberg. World Archaeol 45(3):492–517

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller BT, Fuller JL, Harris DA, Hedges REM (2006) Detection of breastfeeding and weaning in modern human infants with carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. Am J Phys Anthropol 129(2):279–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller BT, Fuller JL, Sage NE, Harris DA, O'Connell TC, Hedges RE (2004) Nitrogen balance and delta15N: why you're not what you eat during pregnancy. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 18(23):2889–2896

    Google Scholar 

  • Furtwängler A, Rohrlach AB, Lamnidis TC, Papac L, Neumann GU, Siebke I, Reiter E, Steuri N, Hald J, Denaire A, Schnitzler B, Wahl J, Ramstein M, Schuenemann VJ, Stockhammer PW, Hafner A, Lösch S, Haak W, Schiffels S, Krause J (2020) Ancient genomes reveal social and geneticstructure of Late Neolithic Switzerland. Nature Communications 11:1915. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-155

  • Gerling C, Doppler T, Heyd V, Knipper C, Kuhn T, Lehmann MF, Pike AWG, Schibler J (2017) High-resolution isotopic evidence of specialised cattle herding in the European Neolithic. PLoS One 12(7):e0180164

    Google Scholar 

  • Goude G, Balasescu A, Reveillas H, Thomas Y, Lefranc P (2015) Diet variability and stable isotope analyses: looking for variables within the Late Neolithic and Iron Age human groups from Gougenheim site and surrounding areas (Alsace, France). Int J Osteoarchaeol 25(6):988–996

    Google Scholar 

  • Goude G, Fontugne M (2016) Carbon and nitrogen isotopic variability in bone collagen during the Neolithic period: influence of environmental factors and diet. J Archaeol Sci 70:117–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Goude G, Rey L, Toulemonde F, Cervel M, Rottier S (2016) Dietary changes and millet consumption in northern France at the end of prehistory: evidence from archaeobotanical and stable isotope data. Environ Archaeol:1–15

  • Goude G, Salazar-García DC, Power RC, Terrom J, Rivollat M, Deguilloux M-F, Pemonge M-H, Le Bailly M, Andre G, Coutelas A et al (2018) A multidisciplinary approach to Neolithic life reconstruction. J Archaeol Method Theory

  • Guiry EJ (2012) Dogs as analogs in stable isotope-based human paleodietary reconstructions: a review and considerations for future use. J Archaeol Method Theory 19(3):351–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Haak W, Brandt G, de Jong HN, Meyer C, Ganslmeier R, Heyd V, Hawkesworth C, Pike AWG, Meller H, Alt KW (2008) Ancient DNA, strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105(47):18226–18231

    Google Scholar 

  • Haak W, Lazaridis I, Patterson N, Rohland N, Mallick S, Llamas B, Brandt G, Nordenfelt S, Harney E, Stewardson K, Fu Q, Mittnik A, Bánffy E, Economou C, Francken M, Friederich S, Pena RG, Hallgren F, Khartanovich V, Khokhlov A, Kunst M, Kuznetsov P, Meller H, Mochalov O, Moiseyev V, Nicklisch N, Pichler SL, Risch R, Rojo Guerra MA, Roth C, Szécsényi-Nagy A, Wahl J, Meyer M, Krause J, Brown D, Anthony D, Cooper A, Alt KW, Reich D (2015) Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe. Nature 522(7555):207–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Hafner A, Heitz C, Stapfer R (2014) Pile-dwellings of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in Switzerland. Long-term research and future tasks. In: Carnap-Bornheim C (ed) Quo vadis? Status and future perspectives of long-term excavations in Europe. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster/Hamburg, pp 59–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Hafner A, Suter PJ (2004) Vom Spät- zum Endneolithikum. Wandel und Kontinuität um 2700 v. Chr. in Mitteleuropa. - Vom Endneolithikum zur Frühbronzezeit: Wandel und Kontinuität zwischen 2400 und 1500 v.Chr. Varia neolithica III. Langenweissbach. p 213–249

  • Heaton THE (1999) Spatial, species, and temporal variations in the13C/12C ratios of C3 plants: implications for palaeodiet studies. J Archaeol Sci 26(6):637–649

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedges REM, Reynard LM (2007) Nitrogen isotopes and the trophic level of humans in archaeology. J Archaeol Sci 34(8):1240–1251

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrscher E, Le Bras-Goude G (2010) Southern French Neolithic populations: isotopic evidence for regional specificities in environment and diet. Am J Phys Anthropol 141(2):259–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Hüster-Plogmann H, Leuzinger U (1995) Fischerei und Fischreste in der jungsteinzeitlichen Seeufersiedlung in Arbon (TG). Archäologie der Schweiz 18(3):109–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacomet S (2006) Plant economy of the northern Alpine lake dwellings—3500–2400 cal. BC Environ Archaeol 11(1):65–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacomet S, Ebersbach R, Akeret Ö, Antolín F, Baum T, Bogaard A, Brombacher C, Bleicher NK, Heitz-Weniger A, Hüster-Plogmann H, Gross E, Kühn M, Rentzel P, Steiner BL, Wick L, Schibler JM (2016) On-site data cast doubts on the hypothesis of shifting cultivation in the late Neolithic (c. 4300–2400 cal. BC): landscape management as an alternative paradigm. The Holocene 26(11):1858–1874

    Google Scholar 

  • Jørkov ML, Heinemeier J, Lynnerup N (2009) The petrous bone—a new sampling site for identifying early dietary patterns in stable isotopic studies. Am J Phys Anthropol 138(2):199–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerdy M, Chiquet P, Schibler J (2019) Hunting, husbandry, and human-environment interactions in the Neolithic lakeshore sites of Western Switzerland. Eur J Archaeol 22(1):3–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Knipper C, Mittnik A, Massy K, Kociumaka C, Kucukkalipci I, Maus M, Wittenborn F, Metz SE, Staskiewicz A, Krause J, Stockhammer PW (2017a) Female exogamy and gene pool diversification at the transition from the Final Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in central Europe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114(38):10083–10088

    Google Scholar 

  • Knipper C, Pichler SL, Rissanen H, Stopp B, Kühn M, Spichtig N, Röder B, Schibler J, Lassau G, Alt KW (2017b) What is on the menu in a Celtic town? Iron Age diet reconstructed at Basel-Gasfabrik, Switzerland. J Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9:1307–1326

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Bras-Goude G, Herrscher E, Vaquer J (2013) Funeral practices and foodstuff behaviour: what does eat meat mean? Stable isotope analysis of Middle Neolithic populations in the Languedoc region (France). J Anthropol Archaeol 32(3):280–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Lightfoot E, Liu X, Jones MK (2013) Why move starchy cereals? A review of the isotopic evidence for prehistoric millet consumption across Eurasia. World Archaeol 45(4):574–623

    Google Scholar 

  • Longin R (1971) New method of collagen extraction for radiocarbon dating. Nature 230(5291):241–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösch S, Grupe G, Peters J (2006) Stable isotopes and dietary adaptations in humans and animals at pre-pottery Neolithic Nevali Cori, southeast Anatolia. Am J Phys Anthropol 131(2):181–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Lüning J. 1996. Erneute Gedanken zur Benennung der neolithischen Perioden. p 233-237

  • Manolagas SC (2000) Birth and death of bone cells: basic regulatory mechanisms and implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of osteoporosis*. Endocr Rev 21(2):115–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall JD, Brooks JR, Lajtha K (2007) Sources of variation in the stable isotopic composition of plants. In: Michener R, Lajtha K (eds) Stable isotopes in ecology and environmental science, 2nd edn. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester, pp 22–60

  • Masotti S, Varalli A, Goude G, Moggi-Cecchi J, Gualdi E (2017) A combined analysis of dietary habits in the Bronze Age site of Ballabio (northern Italy). 1–19 p

  • Mathieson I, Lazaridis I, Rohland N, Mallick S, Patterson N, Roodenberg SA, Harney E, Stewardson K, Fernandes D, Novak M, Sirak K, Gamba C, Jones ER, Llamas B, Dryomov S, Pickrell J, Arsuaga JL, de Castro JMB, Carbonell E, Gerritsen F, Khokhlov A, Kuznetsov P, Lozano M, Meller H, Mochalov O, Moiseyev V, Guerra MAR, Roodenberg J, Vergès JM, Krause J, Cooper A, Alt KW, Brown D, Anthony D, Lalueza-Fox C, Haak W, Pinhasi R, Reich D (2015) Genome-wide patterns of selection in 230 ancient Eurasians. Nature 528:499–503

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer C, Alt KW (2012) Anthropologische Untersuchung der menschlichen Skelettfunde aus dem endneolithischen Kollektivgrab von Spreitenbach: osteologischer Individualbefund und Populationscharakteristik. In: Doppler T (ed) Spreitenbach-Moosweg (Aargau, Schweiz): Ein Kollektivgrab um 2500 v Chr. Basel, Urs Zuber AG, pp 104–157

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer C, Lohr C, Gronenborn D, Alt KW (2015) The massacre mass grave of Schöneck-Kilianstädten reveals new insights into collective violence in Early Neolithic Central Europe. Proc Natl Acad Sci 112:11217–11222

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller NF, Spengler RN, Frachetti M (2016) Millet cultivation across Eurasia: origins, spread, and the influence of seasonal climate. The Holocene 26:1566–1575

    Google Scholar 

  • Moghaddam N, Müller F, Hafner A, Lösch S (2016) Social stratigraphy in Late Iron Age Switzerland: stable carbon, nitrogen and Sulphur isotope analysis of human remains from Münsingen. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 8(1):149–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Moinat P, Stöckli WE (1995) Gluabe und Grabriten. In: Stöckli WE, Niffeler U, and Gross-Klee E, editors. Neolithikum - Néolithique - Neolitico SPM II. Basel. p 231–258

  • Motuzaite Matuzeviciute G, Staff R, Hunt H, Liu X (2013) The early chronology of broomcorn millet (Panicum Miliaceum) in Europe. Antiquity 87(338):1073–1085

    Google Scholar 

  • Münster A, Knipper C, Oelze VM, Nicklisch N, Stecher M, Schlenker B, Ganslmeier R, Fragata M, Friederich S, Dresely V, Hubensack V, Brandt G, Döhle HJ, Vach W, Schwarz R, Metzner-Nebelsick C, Meller H, Alt KW (2018) 4000 years of human dietary evolution in Central Germany, from the first farmers to the first elites. PLoS One 13(3):e0194862

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete V, Colonese AC, Tornero C, Antolín F, Von Tersch M, Eulàlia Subirà M, Comes P, Rosell-Melé A, Saña M (2017) Feeding management strategies among the Early Neolithic pigs in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula. Int J Osteoarchaeol 27(5):839–852

    Google Scholar 

  • Nehlich O (2015) The application of sulphur isotope analyses in archaeological research: a review. Earth-Sci Rev 142:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Nehlich O, Montgomery J, Evans J, Schade-Lindig S, Pichler SL, Richards MP, Alt KW (2009) Mobility or migration: a case study from the Neolithic settlement of Nieder-Morlen (Hessen, Germany). J Archaeol Sci 36(8):1791–1799

    Google Scholar 

  • Nehlich O, Richards MP (2009) Establishing collagen quality criteria for sulphur isotope analysis of archaeological bone collagen. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 1:59–75

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell TC, Kneale CJ, Tasevska N, Kuhnle GGC (2012) The diet-body offset in human nitrogen isotopic values: a controlled dietary study. Am J Phys Anthropol 149(3):426–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Oelze VM, Nehlich O, Richards MP (2012) ‘There’s no place like home’—no isotopic evidence for mobility at the Early Bronze Age cemetery of Singen, Germany. Archaeometry 54(4):752–778

    Google Scholar 

  • Oelze VM, Siebert A, Nicklisch N, Meller H, Dresely V, Alt KW (2011) Early Neolithic diet and animal husbandry: stable isotope evidence from three Linearbandkeramik (LBK) sites in Central Germany. J Archaeol Sci 38(2):270–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppliger J, Studer J, Besse M (2014) Les poissons des stations palafittiques Neuchâteloises de Saint-Blaise/Bains des Dames (Néolithique final) et d'Hauterive-Champréveyres (Bronze final)*. Jahrbuch Archäologie Schweiz : Annuaire d'Archéologie Suisse = Annuario d'Archeologia Svizzera = Annual review of Swiss. Archaeology 97:51–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinhasi R, Fort J, Ammerman AJ (2005) Tracing the origin and spread of agriculture in Europe. PLoS Biol 3(12):e410

    Google Scholar 

  • Price TD, Wahl J, Bentley RA (2006) Isotopic evidence for mobility and group organization among neolithic farmers at Talheim, Germany, 5000 BC. Eur J Archaeol 9(2–3):259–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramstein M, Lösch S (2014) Der Dolmen von Oberbipp, Kanton Bern (Schweiz). Archäologie in Deutschland AiD Ulm: AiD p 2

  • Rey F, Gobet E, van Leeuwen JFN, Gilli A, van Raden UJ, Hafner A, Wey O, Rhiner J, Schmocker D, Zünd J, Tinner W (2017) Vegetational and agricultural dynamics at Burgäschisee (Swiss Plateau) recorded for 18,700 years by multi-proxy evidence from partly varved sediments. Veg Hist Archaeobot 26(6):571–586

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards MP, Schulting RJ, Hedges REM (2003) Archaeology: sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic. Nature 425(6956):366–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Quinto F, Malmström H, Fraser M, Girdland-Flink L, Svensson EM, Simões LG, George R, Hollfelder N, Burenhult G, Noble G, Britton K, Talamo S, Curtis N, Brzobohata H, Sumberova R, Götherström A, Storå J, Jakobsson M (2019) Megalithic tombs in western and northern Neolithic Europe were linked to a kindred society. Proc Natl Acad Sci 116(19):9469–9474

    Google Scholar 

  • Schibler J (2006) The economy and environment of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC in the northern Alpine foreland based on studies of animal bones. Environ Archaeol 11(1):49–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Schibler J (2017) Zooarchaeological results from Neolithic and Bronze Age wetland and dryland sites in the Central Alpine Forelandeconomic, ecologic, and taphonomic relevance. In: Albarella U, Rizzetto M, Russ H, Vickers K, Viner-Daniels S (eds) . Oxford University Press, The Oxford handbook of zooarchaeology, pp 83–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Schibler J, Jacomet S (2010) Short climatic fluctuations and their impact on human economies and societies: the potential of the Neolithic lake shore settlements in the Alpine foreland. Environ Archaeol 15(2):173–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Schibler J, Schäfer M (2017) Von Hand aufgelesene Tierknochen. In: Bleicher N, Harb C (eds) Zürich-Parkhaus Opéra Eine neolithische Feuchtbodenfundstelle Band 3: Naturwissenschaftliche Analysen und Synthese. Zürich, Amt für Raumentwicklung

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoeninger MJ, DeNiro MJ (1984) Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone-collagen from marine and terrestrial animals. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48(4):625–639

    Google Scholar 

  • Schutkowski H (2008) Thoughts for food: evidence and meaning of past dietary habits. Between biology and culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarcz HP, Schoeninger MJ (1991) Stable isotope analyses in human nutritional ecology. Yearb Phys Anthropol 34:283–321

    Google Scholar 

  • Siebke I (2019) In life and death—osteological and biochemical analyses of Neolithic human remains from Switzerland. University of Bern: Bern

  • Siebke I, Campana L, Ramstein M, Furtwängler A, Hafner A, Lösch S (2018) The application of different 3D-scan-systems and photogrammetry at an excavation—a Neolithic dolmen from Switzerland. Digit Appl Archaeol Cult Heritage 10:e00078

    Google Scholar 

  • Siebke I, Steuri N, Furtwängler A, Ramstein M, Arenz G, Hafner A, Krause J, Lösch S (2019) Who lived on the Swiss plateau around 3300 BCE?—analyses of commingled human skeletal remains from the Dolmen of Oberbipp. Int J Osteoarchaeol 29:786–796. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2791

  • Sjögren K-G, Price TD, Kristiansen K (2016) Diet and mobility in the corded ware of Central Europe. PLoS One 11(5):e0155083

    Google Scholar 

  • Spangenberg JE, Jacomet S, Schibler J (2006) Chemical analyses of organic residues in archaeological pottery from Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland—evidence for dairying in the late Neolithic. J Archaeol Sci 33(1):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Spangenberg JE, Matuschik I, Jacomet S, Schibler J (2008) Direct evidence for the existence of dairying farms in prehistoric Central Europe (4th millennium BC). Isot Environ Health Stud 44(2):189–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Steuri N, Siebke I, Furtwängler A, Brunner M, Szidat S, Krause J, Lösch S, Hafner A (2019) Multiple radiocarbon dating of human remains: clarifying the chronology and sequences of burials in the Late Neolithic dolmen of Oberbipp (Switzerland). Radiocarbon:1–13

  • Stöckli WE (2009) Chronologie und Regionalität des jüngeren Neolithikums (4300 - 2400 v. Chr.) im Schweizer Mittelland, in Süddeutschland und in Ostfrankreich : aufgrund der Keramik und der absoluten Datierungen, ausgehend von den Forschungen in den Feuchtbodensiedlungen der Schweiz. Basel

  • Styring A, Maier U, Stephan E, Schlichtherle H, Bogaard A (2016) Cultivation of choice: new insights into farming practices at Neolithic lakeshore sites. Antiquity 90:95–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Szidat S, Vogel E, Gubler R, Lösch S (2017) Radiocarbon dating of bones at the LARA laboratory in Bern, Switzerland. Radiocarbon 59(3):831–842

    Google Scholar 

  • Terberger T, Burger J, Lüth F, Müller J, Piezonka H (2018) Step by step—the neolithisation of Northern Central Europe in the light of stable isotope analyses. J Archaeol Sci 99:66–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Klinken GJ (1999) Bone collagen quality indicators for palaeodietary and radiocarbon measurements. J Archaeol Sci 26(6):687–695

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Klinken GJ, Richard MP, Hedges REM (2000) An overview of causes for stable isotopic variations in past European human populations: environmental, ecophysiological, and cultural effects. In: Ambrose SH, Katzenberg MA (eds) Biogeochemical approaches to paleodietary analysis. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp 39–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Varalli A, Desideri J, David-Elbiali M, Goude G, Honegger M, Besse M (2019) Should I stay or should I go? Assessing residential mobility in Bronze Age Switzerland through the isotopic evidence. Am J Phys Anthropol 168(68):255–256

    Google Scholar 

  • Varalli A, Desideri J, Goude G, David-Elbiali M, Honegger M, Besse M (2018) Changing times, changing diet? Isotopic investigation of adult and childhood feeding practices in switzerland in late prehistory. 20th Annual Conference of the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO). Cranfield: Poster

  • Vika E (2009) Strangers in the grave? Investigating local provenance in a Greek Bronze Age mass burial using delta S-34 analysis. J Archaeol Sci 36(9):2024–2028

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The stable isotope analyses of the skeletal remains were funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (CR31I3L_157024); the palaeogenetic analyses were founded by the German Research Foundation (KR4015/4-1). Special thanks go to the Swiss Archaeological Services of the Canton of Bern, the Canton of Aargau, the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, the Canton of St. Gallen, the Swiss National Museum, and the Archaeological service of Singen (DE) for providing the material and supporting the study. The authors also thank Anthony Denaire from the Department of history of arts and Archaeology, University of Burgundy, and Bernadette Schnitzler from the Museum of Archaeology Strasbourg for providing access to the Alsace samples. We would also like to thank Stephan Margreth from the Department of Environment, Solothurn, for his support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Inga Siebke & Sandra Lösch

  2. Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Anja Furtwängler & Johannes Krause

  3. Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Noah Steuri & Albert Hafner

  4. Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Albert Hafner

  5. Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Marianne Ramstein

  6. Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany

    Johannes Krause

  7. Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Johannes Krause

Authors
  1. Inga Siebke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anja Furtwängler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Noah Steuri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Albert Hafner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marianne Ramstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Johannes Krause
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  7. Sandra Lösch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra Lösch.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 39.1 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Siebke, I., Furtwängler, A., Steuri, N. et al. Crops vs. animals: regional differences in subsistence strategies of Swiss Neolithic farmers revealed by stable isotopes. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 12, 235 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01122-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01122-1

Keywords