Segregated food culture? Bronze Age (1250–500 cal BCE) dietary practices in northern Estonia

Abstract

• Multi-proxy study reveals Bronze Age diet in Estonia was plant-based. • C3 plants were staple food across all social groups. • Meat and fish intake increased after 800 cal BCE. • No dietary differences between stone-cist and hilltop groups. • Regional dietary differences begin to emerge across the Eastern Baltic. The Bronze Age (2000/1750–500 BCE) in the Eastern Baltic has been considered a period for increased social stratification. While previous research has focused on material culture and settlement patterns to explore socio-cultural hierarchies, this study is the first to test the social stratification hypothesis through multi-proxy dietary analysis. We reconstructed the diet of three previously archaeologically and chronologically defined social groups: Middle Bronze Age single far