Dietary Practices at the Onset of the Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean Revealed Using a Combined Biomarker and Isotopic Approach

Impressed/Cardial Wares are thought to have spread simultaneously with domesticates through the Western Mediterranean at the onset of the Neolithic. Their function is often associated with processing domestic animal and plant products, although this has never been investigated, thus excluding the possibility that a wider range of resources was used, including wild animals and marine foods. To test this, organic residue analysis (ORA) was carried out to characterise the content, hence function of a wide selection of Impressed/Cardial Ware vessels excavated from 14 early farming sites across the Western Mediterranean. The results obtained using chromatographic and isotopic techniques are hereby presented.