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Understanding socioeconomic inequality is fundamental for studies of societal development in European prehistory. This article presents dietary (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) isotope values for human and animal bone collagen from Early Neolithic Osłonki 1 in north-central Poland (c. 4600–4100 cal BC). A new series of AMS radiocarbon determinations show that, of individuals interred at the same time, those with copper artefacts exhibit significantly higher δ¹³C values than those without. The authors’ results suggest a link between high-status goods and intra-community differences in diet and/or preferential access to the agropastoral landscape.

Barcın Höyük is one of the oldest Neolithic settlement sites in northwest Anatolia, with early layers of occupation radiocarbon dated to ca.6600 cal BC. The Neolithic phase at the site (ca.6600 – 6200 cal BC) has seven layers of occupation, and shows a number of affinities, in terms of structure and zooarchaeological remains, with contemporary sites in the coastal area near Istanbul (Özdoğan, 2013). The available zooarchaeological evidence suggests a diet of terrestrial fauna, with some inclusion from freshwater aquatic species. This study investigates the nature of human diet at Barcın Höyük through carbon and nitrogen analysis of human and animal bone collagen, and examines whether there is any isotopic evidence for a shift in diet after the re-organisation of the site at ca.6200 cal BC. Here we present 75 human and faunal analyses from the Neolithic layers at Barcın Höyük. Two new radiocarbon dates on human skeletons are also included in the study. 

This chapter outlines the results of stable isotope studies of the prehistoric populations of Ukraine across the earlier to middle Holocene, ca. 10,000–3500 cal BC. The data are consistent with the continued exploitation of fisher-hunter-forager subsistence strategies across the periods studied with variations occurring in the relative amount of freshwater proteins consumed across the Epipalaeolithic through to Eneolithic periods. During the Neolithic and later periods there is a clear increase in the frequency of domesticates in zooarchaeological assemblages, indicative of an increasing emphasis on pastoralism and animal husbandry. However, the visibility of domestic fauna in dietary isotope studies is difficult to determine due to the paucity of faunal remains available for analysis. The key exception to the dominant subsistence trends appears to relate to the Trypillia farming culture, where agro-pastoralism is evidenced, and in this context isotope data from the site of Verteba Cave in western Ukraine is discussed. The majority of isotope data considered here are obtained from the cemeteries located in the Dnieper River valley, particularly those focused on the rapids, and its tributaries.

Yasinovatka is one of around 30 number of prehistoric cemetery sites of hunter-fisher-foragers located along the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine. Dating to c. 5540 - 4930 cal BC, the skeletal remains at Yasinovatka suggest that around sixty-eight individuals were interred at the cemetery, during three broad phases of interment: A-type burials (c. 5540-4930 cal BC), Ƃ1 pit burials (c. 5550-4750 cal BC), and Ƃ2 pit burials (c. 4980-4460 cal BC). The burials are characterized, in part, by the inclusion of a number of Mariupol-type plates of boar tusk, in addition to deer tooth pendants, Unio shells, knife-like flint blades, Cyprinidae teeth, sherds of Neolithic pottery, and significant deposits of ochre in the later burial pits. Here we analyse δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values for 50 human bone collagen samples from the site.  The majority of the isotope results show a hunter-fisher-forager population reliant predominantly on freshwater aquatic proteins, which is in keeping with previous dietary isotope studies in the area. Two individuals however have δ¹⁵N values that are clearly depleted when compared to the main population; these reflect dietary protein intakes based on plant and animal terrestrial resources rather than the predominant focus on aquatic resources. Notably, the δ¹³C values of these anomalous individuals are not enriched compared to the fauna samples analysed from the region; this supports the possibility that they were incomers to the area, potentially from a nearby agrarian population.

In Europe the characterization of the Neolithic period is traditionally dominated by the advent of agro-pastoralism. Neolithic populations in the Dnieper Valley region of south-central Ukraine are notably divergent from this trend. From the Epi-Palaeolithic-Neolithic periods (ca. 10,000 - 6000 cal BC), evidence for the adoption of agro-pastoral technologies is absent from archaeological assemblages. It is not until the Eneolithic period (ca. 4500 cal BC) that we observe the beginnings of a transition to farming in the Dnieper region. One hypothesis suggests that spikes in aridity propagated a hunting crisis in Mesolithic populations, which prompted a delay in the transition and the reshaped of Mesolithic subsistence practices to focus on freshwater aquatic resources to supplement terrestrial herbivores such as boar and deer.

This research presents 300+ human and faunal samples (including 80 unpublished results), using multi-disciplinary techniques such as DNA analysis and various isotope applications, alongside osteological analysis, to provide holistic individual life histories. The results show long-term continuation of ܪshing practices from the Epi-Palaeolithic to Neolithic periods - no distinct shift from hunting to ܪshing practices took place. DNA results show the predominance of indigenous hunter-gatherers, with limited genetic inclusions from proximal Anatolian farming populations. Thus, despite the availability of plentiful dietary resources and the westward inܫuence of extra-local farming populations, the prehistoric communities of the Dnieper region remained resistant to change and resilient in terms of their subsistence strategies, with freshwater resources providing a ‘buffer’ against any perceived impacts from climate variability.

This paper outlines the results of twenty-eight years of collaborations between the authors and colleaguesin Kiev, initiated when the first author began PhD research at Sheffield University under the supervision of the late Professor Marek Zvelebil in 1992. From the outset of this doctoral research Professor Dmitri Telegin, to whom this paper is dedicated, and Dr. Inna Potekhina, were fundamental not only to the success of the original research programme, but in terms of the considerable generosity, insight and friendship that was extended to the lead author as he navigated his way through the earlier Holocene parts of Ukrainian prehistory. The current study is as much a result of the work of the currentauthors as it is of collaboration and collegiality ofthese colleagues. 

The topics considered throughout this paper focus around the key observations and themes that have been developed since the research began. It also aims to highlight those areas where inconsistencies occur, and whereclarification is deemed warranted due to the activities of researchers who have failed to fully appreciate the nuances of Ukrainian prehistory and multi-disciplinary research agendas. It is apparent that, in light of arecent «gold rush» to claim ownership of the materials available in Ukraine, at prehistoric sites of all periods, there is clearly a need for a considered and careful approach to the data generated from dietary isotope and related studies. Furthermore, our research since the early 1990s has shown that misidentification of fragmentary or isolated bone in both primary and secondary contexts can lead to erroneous interpretations and occasional «flights of fancy». This paper will outline a number of the issues identified, and also explore issues around data use and representation in an attempt to offer some balance to discussions of prehistoric diet and chronology in Ukraine.

This chapter presents the results of radiocarbon analysis at a number of Dnieper cemeteries and associated sites, undertaken by the authors since the early 1990s. These cemeteries primarily span the earlier to middle Holocene period, between ca. 10,000–3500 cal BC (the Epipalaeolithic to Eneolithic periods), although a number of sites include burials from later periods. To date, the key sites that have been subjected to systematic analysis are the cemeteries that are located along the Dnieper River and, in particular, those at the Dnieper Rapids. The radiocarbon dating of these sites, and the cemeteries themselves, form the basis of the analysis outlined in Chapters 7 and 8. Despite in excess of two decades of analysis the identification of a potential freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) has perhaps proven to be one ofthe most significant results from this extended period of study (Lillie et al. 2009). This and other aspects of the research agenda are considered.

This volume covers the Prehistory of Ukraine from the Lower Palaeolithic through to the end of the Neolithic periods. This is the first comprehensive synthesis of Ukrainian Prehistory from earliest times through until the Neolithic Period undertaken by researchers who are currently investigating the Prehistory of Ukraine. At present there are no other English language books on this subject that provide a current synthesis for these periods. The chapters in this volume provide up-to-date overviews of all aspects of prehistoric culture development in Ukraine and present details of the key sites and finds for the periods studied. The book includes the most recent research from all areas of prehistory up to the Neolithic period, and, in addition, areas such as recent radiocarbon dating and its implications for culture chronology are considered; as is a consideration of aDNA and the new insights into culture history this area of research affords; alongside recent macrofossil studies of plant use, and anthropological and stable isotope studies of diet, which all combine to allow greater insights into the nature of human subsistence and cultural developments across the Palaeolithic to Neolithic periods in Ukraine. It is anticipated that this book will be an invaluable resource for students of prehistory throughout Europe in providing an English-language text that is written by researchers who are active in their respective fields and who possess an intimate knowledge of Ukrainian prehistory.