Abstract:
Yasinovatka is one of around 30 prehistoric cemetery sites of fisher-hunter-foragers located along the Dnieper River in southern
Ukraine. Dating to c. 5540–4930 cal BC, the skeletal remains at Yasinovatka suggest that around sixty-eight individuals were
interred at the cemetery, during three broad phases of interment: A-type burials (c. 5540–4930 cal BC), Ƃ1 pit burials (c. 5550–
4750 cal BC), and Ƃ2 pit burials (c. 4980–4460 cal BC). The burials are characterized, in part, by the inclusion of a number of
Mariupol-type plates of boar tusk, in addition to deer tooth pendants, Unio shells, knife-like flint blades, Cyprinidae teeth, sherds
of Neolithic pottery, and significant deposits of ochre in the later burial pits. Here we analyse δ13C and δ15N values for 50 human
bone collagen samples from the site. The majority of the isotope results show a fisher-hunter-forager population reliant predominantly on freshwater aquatic proteins, which is in keeping with previous dietary isotope studies in the area. Two individuals
however have δ15N values that are clearly depleted when compared with the main population; these reflect dietary protein intakes
based on plant and animal terrestrial resources rather than the predominant focus on aquatic resources. Notably, the δ13C values of
these anomalous individuals are not enriched compared with the fauna samples analysed from the region; this supports the
possibility that they were incomers to the area, potentially from a nearby agrarian population.
