The Proof is in the Pudding: Crop Isotope Analysis Provides Direct Insights into Agricultural Production and Consumption

Stable isotope analysis of crop remains complements conventional isotope analysis of human and faunal bones, permitting a more holistic insight into subsistence practices in the past. Here, we demonstrate the insights that can be gained from crop isotope analysis by synthesising crop, faunal and human isotopic data from Linearbandkeramik villages, Late Neolithic lakeshore settlements and Early Iron Age sites in southwest Germany. As well as demonstrating the central role that plants played in the human diet, extensive stable isotope analysis of crop remains provides evidence for a strong interrelationship between crop production and consumption practices, which often belies a purely ecological motivation behind the differential treatment of crops.