Stable isotope data of Neolithic and Eneolithic populations in the Balkans, 6600 to 4000 BC

Aurélien Tafani; Cătălin Lazăr; Robert H Tykot

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2022.108114

Stable isotope data of Neolithic and Eneolithic populations in the Balkans, 6600 to 4000 BC

Data Brief. 2022 Apr 2:42:108114. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2022.108114. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Authors

Aurélien Tafani¹, Cătălin Lazăr², Robert H Tykot¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Archaeological Science and Technology (L.A.S.T.), Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SOC107, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
² ArchaeoSciences Division at Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB), University of Bucharest, 90 Sos. Panduri, 5th District, Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

Stable isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen performed on collagen and tooth enamel offer invaluable insight into the diet of ancient populations. In the northern Balkans, most of these isotopic data have been collected as auxiliary information of radiocarbon dates, to correct a potential marine reservoir effect. In order to facilitate the access of the academic community to these data, we present a set of isotopic carbon and nitrogen ratios of human collagen samples for 188 individuals from 12 previously published sites together with hitherto unreleased data for 24 individuals from 4 sites from the Neolithic and Eneolithic period in Bulgaria and Romania. This collection also includes previously published carbon isotopic ratio measurements on tooth enamel of 34 individuals.

Keywords: Carbon; Collagen (bone and dentine); Eneolithic; Neolithic; Nitrogen; Palaeodiet; Tooth enamel.