Marchenko Zh.V., Panov V.S., Grishin A.E., Zubova A.V.

RECONSTRUCTION AND DYNAMICS OF FOOD STRUCTURE OF THE ODINO PEOPLE IN THE BARABA FOREST-STEPPE AREA DURING THE 3^RD MILLENNIUM BC: ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ISOTOPIC DATA

The paper aims at reconstructing the paleodiet of the Early Bronze Age population in the Baraba forest-steppe area of Western Siberia (the Odino culture). The study is based on materials of three large necropoleis of Sopka 2/4A, Tartas 1 and Preobrazhenka 6. Two chronological groups of the Odino culture burials have been defined by radiocarbon dating which gives us an opportunity to research the structure and changes in the paleodiet during the 3^rd millennium BC. Reconstructions of the paleodiet are based on paleozoological determinations (including bone artifacts) and analyses of carbon (δ¹³С) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopes in human and faunal bones (including some modern faunal samples). Results of isotopic measurements indicate that fish had formed a basic food component in the subsistence of the Odino population throughout the 3^rd millennium BC. High values of δ¹⁵N in mushrooms (Boletaceae) do not exclude their important role along with fish in the human diet. A secondary food source for the Odino people was meat of herbivores and possibly also omnivores. The main game animal for the Odino population was an elk. Higher δ¹³С values in human bones in the last third of the 3^rd millennium BC indicate changes in food sources. Preliminary, we associate this signal with an increased consumption of animal products of more southern origins (steppe?) by Odino people, which might be a result of the emergence of domesticated animals in economy.

Key words: Baraba forest-steppe area, Bronze Age, 3^rd millennium BC, Odino culture, reconstruction of human paleodiet, isotopic analyses