Early Neolithic diet and animal husbandry: stable isotope evidence from three Linearbandkeramik (LBK) sites in Central Germany

The first appearance of the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) in Central Germany occurred during the 6th millennium BC. However, though LBK sites are abundant in the German loess areas, there are only a few studies that reconstruct the diet of these first farmers using biochemical methods. Here we present the largest study undertaken to date on LBK material using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen to reconstruct human diet and animal husbandry strategies. We analyzed the bone collagen of 97 human individuals and 45 associated animals from the sites of Derenburg, Halberstadt and Karsdorf in the Middle Elbe–Saale region of Central Germany. Mean adult human values are −19.9 ± 0.4‰ for δ13C and 8.7 ± 0.8‰ for δ15N. The δ13C values are typical for terrestrial, temperate European regions, whereas the δ15N values fall within an expected range for farming societies with a mixed diet consisting of products from domestic animals and plants. The consumption of unfermented dairy products is unlikely as there is direct palaeogenetic evidence of lactose intolerance available for one of the sites. There are no clear indications for dietary differences in sex. Young children under three years of age are enriched in δ15N due to breastfeeding indicating that weaning likely occurred around the age of three years. The fauna exhibit mean δ13C values of −20.9 ± 0.8‰ and mean δ15N values of 7.0 ± 0.9‰ respectively. Variation in the δ13C and δ15N in the domestic animals is probably caused by different livestock managements.