How adoption of a new crop reshaped land use in Bronze Age Europe
A new study published in Science Advances reveals how Bronze Age communities in Central Europe adapted to changing environmental and social conditions by adopting broomcorn millet, a fast-growing, climate-resilient crop.
A new study published in Science Advances reveals how Bronze Age communities in Central Europe adapted to changing environmental and social conditions by adopting broomcorn millet, a fast-growing, climate-resilient crop.
The short version
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- Each proxy answers a different question: Carbon and nitrogen isotopes reflect a person's average diet over years, while oxygen and strontium isotopes reflect the geology and hydrology of the area where their food came from during tissue formation.
- Millet, however, was eaten by only part of the population.
What happened
The findings also highlight that "millet consumption was not restricted to a particular sex, age group or social status," says co-author Makarowicz from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland). Together with the strontium isotope evidence, these findings demonstrate that access to particular parts of the landscape, rather than social identity, was the determining factor shaping the adoption of this new crop within society.
Why it matters
Understanding these processes can contribute to current discussions about crop diversification and adaptation to changing environmental conditions.
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