Direct Demonstration of Milk as an Element of Archaeological Economies

Abstract

The stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C) compositions of individual fatty acid components of remnant fats preserved in archaeological pottery vessels show that dairying was a component of archaeological economies. Characteristic δ¹³C 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.