Late Stone Age subsistence in the Tilemsi Valley, Mali: Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains from the site of Karkarichinkat Nord (KN05) and Karkarichinkat Sud (KS05)

The pathways leading to the adoption of cereal cultivation and pastoralism in West Africa are poorly understood. In order to elucidate the transition to food production during the Late Stone Age in Mali’s Tilemsi Valley samples of ancient and modern human and animal remains were selected for carbon and oxygen isotope analysis. Our results indicate the inhabitants of Karkarichinkat Nord (KN05) consumed considerable quantities (∼85%) of carbon derived from C4 plants, either directly in the form of C4 grasses such as wild Panicum sp. and possibly domestic Pennisetum sp. or indirectly through the consumption of C4 grazers such as Bos sp. and Ovis sp.