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Chronological and Dietary Aspects of the Human Burials from Ajdovska Cave, Slovenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

C Bonsall ,
M Horvat ,
K McSweeney ,
M Masson ,
T F G Higham ,
C Pickard  and
G T Cook
C Bonsall*
Affiliation:
Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, United Kingdom
M Horvat
Affiliation:
Archaeology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
K McSweeney
Affiliation:
Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, United Kingdom
M Masson
Affiliation:
Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, United Kingdom
T F G Higham
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University, Dyson Perrins Building, Oxford 0X1 3QY, United Kingdom
C Pickard
Affiliation:
Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, United Kingdom
G T Cook
Affiliation:
SUERC, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF, United Kingdom
*
Corresponding author. Email: C.Bonsall@ed.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Ajdovska Jama (The Pagan's Cave) in southeast Slovenia lies within the catchment of the River Sava, a major tributary of the Danube. The site is well known for its Neolithic burials and has been excavated to a high standard on various occasions since 1884. The human remains at the site occurred as distinct clusters of mainly disarticulated bones belonging to at least 31 individuals. Hitherto, dating of the burials has been based on the associated archaeological finds, including a few low-precision radiometric radiocarbon measurements on charred plant material. In the present study, bones from 15 individuals were subsampled for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and stable isotope analyses. These comprised adults and children from 3 of the clusters. The results of the study indicate that the burials all belong to a relatively short time interval, while the stable isotope data indicate a mixed diet based on C3 plant and animal food sources. These interpretations differ somewhat from those of previous researchers. The AMS 14C and stable isotope analyses form part of a wider investigation of dietary and demographic change from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age in the Danube Basin.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , 2007 , pp. 727 - 740
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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