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<\/p>\nRecent advances in biomolecular archaeology have transformed our understanding of prehistoric subsistence strategies, yet their implications for broader questions of mobility, environment and language dispersal remain insufficiently integrated. This presentation explores dietary practices among Corded Ware populations through a combination of stable isotope analysis, palaeoproteomics and organic residue analysis of ceramics.<\/p>\n
Stable isotope data provide a direct reconstruction of the human diet, revealing a consistent reliance on animal-derived resources, but also allow for indirect insights into the ecological context of livestock management. These patterns are further contextualised through lipid residue analysis, which enables the identification of processed foodstuffs and the relative contribution of major dietary categories, including ruminant and non-ruminant animal products. In parallel, proteomic analysis of dental calculus provides species-specific evidence of animal exploitation, directly linking human consumers to particular domesticated taxa.<\/p>\n
By integrating these complementary lines of evidence, the study reconstructs a nuanced picture of subsistence strategies that extends beyond simple distinctions between farming and pastoralism. The results are discussed in relation to emerging genetic and archaeological models of steppe populations, particularly those associated with the Yamnaya horizon and their role in the spread of Indo-European languages. In this context, biomolecular evidence for diet, especially the exploitation of secondary animal products such as milk, offers important insights into the economic foundations that may have facilitated large-scale mobility and demographic expansion.<\/p>\n
The presentation highlights the potential of biomolecular approaches to bridge scales of analysis, from individual dietary behaviour to macro-regional processes, and to contribute to ongoing debates concerning the relationship between subsistence, mobility and cultural transmission in prehistoric Eurasia.<\/p>\n
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