Poland’s Prehistoric Diet Analyzed

WARSAW, POLAND—According to a Science in Poland report, researchers led by Krzysztof Szostek of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University analyzed the skeletons of people buried in southern Poland over a period of about 5,000 years, and compared the isotopes in those remains with the composition of animal bones and grains recovered from the archaeological sites. “Until now, isotope research on diet reconstruction was performed without taking archaeobotanical analyses into account,” Szostek explained. The comparison suggests that people ate little meat during the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. Instead, Szostek said, their diet was made up of about 50 percent plants. “The use of animals was maximized, for example, to obtain milk or skins,” he added. “Obtaining meat from animals was not a priority.” To read about vessels used in Neolithic Poland for cheese-making, go to "A Prehistoric Cocktail Party."