1. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of the Middle/Late Bronze individuals from Bezdanjača Cave, Lika region, CroatiaMario Carić, Emily Zavodny, Mario Novak, Ivor Janković, Siniša Radović, Sarah B. McClure, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Almost immediately upon its discovery in 1965, the Middle-Late Bronze Age cave site of Bezdanjača was recognized as one of the earliest, largest, and most important cemeteries in the Lika region of Croatia. Yet, despite its significance, not much is known about the people who were buried there. By combining bioarchaeological and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of a subset of the burial population, this study aims to (i) systematically reconstruct the diet and health of these individuals, (ii) investigate possible differences in dietary habits within this community based on sex and age, and (iii) contextualize results from Bezdanjača with other Bronze Age assemblages from the surrounding area.
Keywords: Bronze Age, Necropolis, cave, diet, millet, childhood health
Published in RUP: 01.04.2026; Views: 615; Downloads: 15
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2. Shifting tin imports into the broader Eastern Mediterranean region during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 2000-900 BC)Wayne Powell, K. Aslihan Yener, Cemal Pulak, Ryan Mathur, Gojko Barjamovic, Boris Kavur, Martina Blečić Kavur, Nicola Ialongo, David Gilman Romano, Jay Stephens, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Lacking substantial local tin deposits after 2000 BC, the Eastern Mediterranean depended on the importation of large quantities of tin from extraneous sources. Situated roughly equidistant (ca. 3000 km) between the large tin deposits of Western Europe and Central Asia, both localities have been proposed as potential sources of tin metal used in Eastern Mediterranean bronze production. However, such speculation must be substantiated. Herein, we assert that the application of a central-tendency-based approach to the comparison of tin isotope analyses of artifact assemblages with those of tin ores is an effective approach to differentiating between Central Asian and European tin sources in both pure tin metal and tin alloys. We apply the TIA approach to the reinterpretation of existing tin isotope analyses of tin ingots and introduce a large body of new evidence drawn from tin isotopes analysis of ancient (2000-900 BC) bronze artifacts from the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, Tell Atchana in the Amuq Valley of Turkey, the eastern part of the northern Adriatic/Istria and Kvarner (Croatia), Egypt and Peloponnese, Greece. A general chronological trend from high δSn in artifacts dating to 2000-1600 BC to moderate values in the Early Iron Age (1100-900 BC) indicate a gradual shift from tin dominated by Central Asian imports to tin derived from European deposits. These changes in the movement of tin are mirrored in other traceable commodities such as Baltic amber and glass.
Keywords: Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Bronze Age, Iron Age, tin
Published in RUP: 20.02.2026; Views: 862; Downloads: 14
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4. Isotope and archaeobotanical analysis reveal radical changes in mobility, diet and inequalities around 1500 BCE at the core of EuropeClaudio Cavazzuti, Anikó Horváth, Anett Gémes, Kristóf Fülöp, Tamás Szeniczey, János Gábor Tarbay, Ashley McCall, Beatriz Gamarra Rubio, Magdolna Vicze, Annamária Bárány, Mario Novak, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: The transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age (around 1500 BCE) in the Carpathian Basin was parallel by drastic cultural changes in Central-Europe, which strongly influenced the dynamic of prehistoric Europe. The cultural fragmentation of the Middle Bronze Age (2000 − 1500 BCE) Carpathian Basin was followed by a more homogeneous development at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (1500 − 1300 BCE), with the appearance of the Tumulus culture. In the beginning of this period, the long-used tell-settlements were abandoned, furthermore new pottery styles and metal types appeared. Whether these changes were caused by immigration, or a local adaptation to external influxes, has long been a matter of debate. Our study investigates this transition from the point of view of diet and mobility from several key-sites of Hungary. Our results show (1) low migration rates and a shift of migration trajectories; that (2) the beginning of the systematic consumption of Panicum miliaceum was from 1540 − 1480 BCE; that (3) the decrease of average animal protein intake was parallel by an increase of cereal consumption and a tendency to less unequal diet. Overall, our results shed new light on the dynamics of complex change in Bronze Age Europe.
Keywords: Bronze Age, Hungary, stable isotopes
Published in RUP: 26.08.2025; Views: 766; Downloads: 8
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