Dating the emergence of dairying by the first farmers of Central Europe using ¹⁴C analysis of fatty acids preserved in pottery vessels.

ABSTRACT: Direct, accurate, and precise dating of archaeological pottery vessels is now achievable using a recently developed approach based on the radiocarbon dating of purified molecular components of food residues preserved in the walls of pottery vessels. The method targets fatty acids from animal fat residues, making it uniquely suited for directly dating the inception of new food commodities in prehistoric populations. Here, we report a large-scale application of the method by directly dating the introduction of dairying into Central Europe by the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) cultural group based on dairy fat residues. The radiocarbon dates (n = 27) from the 54th century BC from the western and eastern expansion of the LBK suggest dairy exploitation arrived with the first settlers in

SUBMITTER: Casanova E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9618069 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature