The Catacomb cultures of the North-West Caspian steppe: C-14 chronology, reservoir effect, and paleodiet

For the Bronze Age Catacomb cultures of the North-West Caspian steppe area in Russia, there is a conflict between the traditional relative archaeological chronology and the chronology based on radiocarbon dates. We show that this conflict can be explained largely by the fact that most dates have been obtained on human bone material and are subject to C-14 reservoir effects. This was demonstrated by comparing paired 14C dates derived from human and terrestrial herbivore bone collagen. In addition, values of stable isotope ratios (delta C-13 and delta N-15) and analysis of food remains from vessels and the stomach contents of buried individuals indicate that a large part of the diet of these cultures consisted of fish and mollusks, and we conclude that this is the source of the reservoir effect.