A landmark compilation of stable isotope data from archaeological contexts in the post-Soviet space

Abstract

This dataset encompasses stable isotope data from 3,191 samples, including hominins (Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis), animals, plants, and ceramics (organic residues), collected from 409 archaeological sites across regions formerly part of the Soviet Union, such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan. Compiled from 100 publications, including many originally in local languages like Russian, the dataset spans the Late Pleistocene to the Modern era. The dataset sheds lights on mobility patterns and dietary practices in this region, positioned at the crossroads of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. It addresses a notable gap in the IsoArcH repository and, more broadly, in most isotope repositories, enriching its collection with data from this historically significant region.

Keywords

• Diet
• Mobility
• Carbon
• Nitrogen
• Oxygen
• Strontium
• Asia
• Bioarchaeology