JoVE - Journal of Visualized Experiments
JoVE Visualize
Contact Us

Isotope and archaeobotanical analysis reveal radical changes in mobility, diet and inequalities around 1500 BCE at the core of Europe

  • 0Department of History and Culture, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2, Bologna, 40124, Italy. claudio.cavazzuti3@unibo.it.
Scientific reports +

|

May 20, 2025

Abstract

The transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age (around 1500 BCE) in the Carpathian Basin was parallel by drastic cultural changes in Central-Europe, which strongly influenced the dynamic of prehistoric Europe. The cultural fragmentation of the Middle Bronze Age (2000 - 1500 BCE) Carpathian Basin was followed by a more homogeneous development at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (1500 - 1300 BCE), with the appearance of the Tumulus culture. In the beginning of this period, the long-used tell-settlements were abandoned, furthermore new pottery styles and metal types appeared. Whether these changes were caused by immigration, or a local adaptation to external influxes, has long been a matter of debate. Our study investigates this transition from the point of view of diet and mobility from several key-sites of Hungary. Our results show (1) low migration rates and a shift of migration trajectories; that (2) the beginning of the systematic consumption of Panicum miliaceum was from 1540 - 1480 BCE; that (3) the decrease of average animal protein intake was parallel by an increase of cereal consumption and a tendency to less unequal diet. Overall, our results shed new light on the dynamics of complex change in Bronze Age Europe.

Keywords:

Related Concept Videos

Global Climate Change 01:50

24.1K

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.

Past Periods of Warming and Cooling

In...

The Fossil Record 02:56

24.9K

The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...

Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating 02:48

32.8K

Radioactivity is a spontaneous disintegration of an unstable nuclide and is a random process, as all the nuclei in the sample do not decay simultaneously. The number of disintegrations per unit time is called the activity (A), which is directly proportional to the number of nuclei in the sample. The decay constant (λ) is an average probability of decay per nucleus in unit time.

The SI unit for activity is the becquerel, which is one disintegration per second. Another unit of activity is the...

Mass Spectrometry: Isotope Effect 01:13

1.9K

Most elements exist in nature as a mixture of isotopes. The isotopes differ in weight due to their respective number of neutrons. The molecular weight of a molecule is different depending on the specific isotope of its elements involved. As a result, the mass spectrum of the molecule exhibits peaks from the same fragment at multiple positions. The positions of these mass signals depend on the difference between the molecular mass. Furthermore, the intensity of these signals is dependent on the...

What is Evolutionary History? 02:35

36.1K

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.

Phylogenetic trees illustrate the evolutionary relationships among these organisms. Scientists infer organisms’ common ancestry by evaluating shared morphological and genetic characteristics....