Scientists from the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the University of cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Warsaw found out what ate the people that inhabited the southern part of modern Poland in the Neolithic period and bronze age.
Using isotope analysis, scientists examined the bones of people and animals of the relevant period, found in the South-East of Poland. The results of the analysis showed that the main diet of ancient people in this region were plant food — it was about half of their diet. The second half consisted, apparently, of dairy products and very small amounts of meat.
The vegetable part of the diet comprised mainly barley and some wheat species in various proportions. As for Pets, they are, according to Professor Krzysztof Szostek, was used primarily as a source of milk and skin — the meat was not a priority product of Neolithic farming. Further confirmation of these findings was the study of the teeth of ancient people — their effacement is characteristic for a predominantly plant-based diet.
Scientists were also able to establish that this almost vegetarian diet remained the inhabitants of the region at least for five millennia — in the analysis of the remains of different age, no statistically significant changes in diet over this long period was found.
The uniqueness of the research lies in the fact that the results of the isotope analysis was combined with data archaeobotanic.
“Until now, isotopic studies, aimed at the reconstruction of dietary habits was not taken into account archaeobotanical analysis. This means that the nutrition of ancient people was incomplete, some models even showed that they ate mostly meat, but it’s actually not at all,” says Professor of Shostak.
