Diet Isotope Analysis and Related Studies in Prehistoric Ukraine: Fact, Fiction and Fantasy

• Дата: 2020
• Автори: Lillie, M.C., Budd, C.E.
• Формат: Стаття
• Мова: English
• Опубліковано: Інститут археології НАН України 2020
• Назва видання: Археологія і давня історія України
• Теми: Антропологія
• Онлайн доступ: http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/187394
• Назва журналу: Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
• Цитувати: Diet Isotope Analysis and Related Studies in Prehistoric Ukraine: Fact, Fiction and Fantasy / M.C. Lillie, C.E. Budd // Археологія і давня історія України: Зб. наук. пр. — К.: ІА НАН України, 2020. — Вип. 4 (37). — С. 251-267. — Бібліогр.: 82 назв. — англ.

This paper outlines the results of twenty-eight years of collaborations between the authors and colleagues in Kiev, initiated when the first author began PhD research at Sheffield University under the supervision of the late Professor Marek Zvelebil in 1992. From the outset of this doctoral research Professor Dmitri Telegin, to whom this paper is dedicated, and Dr. Inna Potekhina, were fundamental not only to the success of the original research programme, but in terms of the considerable generosity, insight and friendship that was extended to the lead author as he navigated his way through the earlier Holocene parts of Ukrainian prehistory. The current study is as much a result of the work of the current authors as it is of collaboration and collegiality of these colleagues. The topics considered throughout this paper focus around the key observations and themes that have been developed since the research began. It also aims to highlight those areas where inconsistencies occur, and where clarification is deemed warranted due to the activities of researchers who have failed to fully appreciate the nuances of Ukrainian prehistory and multi-disciplinary research agendas. It is apparent that, in light of a recent «gold rush» to claim ownership of the materials available in Ukraine, at prehistoric sites of all periods, there is clearly a need for a considered and careful approach to the data generated from dietary isotope and related studies. Furthermore, our research since the early 1990s has shown that misidentification of fragmentary or isolated bone in both primary and secondary contexts can lead to erroneous interpretations and occasional «flights of fancy». This paper will outline a number of the issues identified, and also explore issues around data use and representation in an attempt to offer some balance to discussions of prehistoric diet and chronology in Ukraine.