Conference presentation
English

Where you grew up written in bones: renewed vision of early alpine agro-pastoral societies through the analysis of lifestyles and peopling dynamics

Presentation date2023-09-01
Abstract

The Swiss Alps are an exceptional territory, as much by its position at the crossroads of various spheres of influence as by the discoveries of major importance for the understanding of ancient periods. Our project concerns the study of neolithic societies across the Swiss Alps using an interdisciplinary approach by combining isotope geochemistry, dental nonmetrics, aDNA analysis and palaeopathology to understand the evolution of diets, subsistence practices and mobility of these human groups. While the studies are still in progress, we present here some of the results on mobility through the analysis of dental nonmetrics and isotopes analysis. A study on dental morphology supports the idea of a certain mobility starting mostly during the Final Neolithic and developing during the Bell Beaker period in this region. A mobility that seems to come from Western Europe according to dental nonmetrics. Samples were additionally analysed for isotope values. The results obtained are consistent with those provided by the dental morphology, supporting the increase of individuals mobility during the late Neolithic in the Alps. In addition, these results reveal interesting elements about the individuals identified as having changed "geological residence" during their lifetime. More than 30% of the Late Neolithic population is outside the local values and this concerns adults and immatures. Nearly 30% of the Bell Beakers are outside the local values, but this is only for adults.

Keywords
  • Neolithic
  • Swiss Alps
  • Dental nonmetrics
  • Isotope geochemistry
  • Mobility
Citation (ISO format)
DESIDERI, Jocelyne, ROSSELET-CHRIST, Déborah. Where you grew up written in bones: renewed vision of early alpine agro-pastoral societies through the analysis of lifestyles and peopling dynamics. In: EAA 2023 - Session 350 Bio-arch methodologied to assess mobility in the past: the need for interdisciplinary and multi-proxy investigations. 2023.
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accessLevelPublic
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  • PID : unige:172500
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