Scythian people weren't just nomadic warriors, but sometimes settled
down
Varied diets and limited mobility challenge stereotypes of ancient steppe populations

Date:
March 10, 2021
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
New research finds that Scythian people of ancient Ukraine led
more complex lives than commonly assumed.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Scythian people of ancient Ukraine led more complex lives than commonly assumed, according to a study published March 10, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alicia R. Ventresca Miller of the University of
Michigan and colleagues.


==========================================================================
The Scythian people, who lived across the Pontic steppe around 700-200
BCE, are often portrayed as a culture of nomadic warriors. But this idea
is challenged by archaeological evidence that indicates a more complex
and varied culture at this place and time. In this study, researchers
employed isotopic analyses to investigate patterns of diet and mobility
in Scythian populations.

The authors measured isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium
in human teeth and bones from several Scythian-era burial sites in
Ukraine.

Isotopes that reflect diet, indicate that in some places there was a
varied diet including numerous domesticated crops, while isotopes that
reflect geologic surroundings indicate that most people did not travel
long distances during their lifetimes.

These results support the growing understanding that Scythian
populations were not a homogenous culture, but a more diverse group
which, in some places, lived more sedentary lives with a dependence
on agriculture. The authors suggest that future studies should expand
this work to compare multiple generations of people over more varied geographical locations. This work will help archaeologists move toward
a more complete idea of what it meant to be Scythian.

The authors add: "Our multi-isotopic study challenges romantic
notions of wide- ranging Scythian nomads. We show that while
some individuals from classic Scythian contexts traveled long
distances, the majority remained local to their settlements,
farming millet and raising livestock in mixed economic systems." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alicia R. Ventresca Miller, James Johnson, Sergey Makhortykh,
Claudia
Gerling, Ludmilla Litvinova, Svetlana Andrukh, Gennady Toschev,
Jana Zech, Petrus le Roux, Cheryl Makarewicz, Nicole Boivin,
Patrick Roberts.

Re-evaluating Scythian lifeways: Isotopic analysis of diet and
mobility in Iron Age Ukraine. PLOS ONE, 2021; 16 (3): e0245996 DOI:
10.1371/ journal.pone.0245996 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210310150420.htm

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