Direct Demonstration of Milk as an Element of Archaeological Economies

Abstract

The stable carbon isotope (δ 13 C) compositions of individual fatty acid components of remnant fats preserved in archaeological pottery vessels show that dairying was a component of archaeological economies. Characteristic δ 13 C values arise from biases in the biosynthetic origins of the C 18:0 fatty acids in milk and adipose fat. Milk and adipose fat from animals raised on similar pastures and fodders have distinct isotopic signatures.