A multidisciplinary approach to prehistoric mobility and migration: The Yamnaya expansion in view of radiogenic and stable isotopes

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

The project will focus on analyzing the Yamnaya expansion by spatially modelling radiocarbon dates obtained from Yamnaya burials (in pits with wooden structures under kurgans, supine with flexed legs, with ochre and organic mats being commonly used), as well as investigating the δ18O (obtained by microdrilling the surface of the enamel, which is analyzed with an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer at the Chronology Laboratory of the Museum of Natural History), 87Sr/86 Sr, and 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb (which will be measured with the soon to be operational Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer in the FIRI FINTIMS-laboratory), isotopic signals from enamel of the teeth of individuals buried in these graves from the modern territories of Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. These ratios translate into the enamel through food and water. δ18O is correlated with temperature (0.69‰/◦C), while 87Sr/86 Sr ratios and Pb-isotopes reflect provenance and types of bedrock. Thus, we can establish the climatic and geologic settings of individuals’ habitats. The research questions are related to the origins and magnitude of the Yamnaya expansion, as well as to determining whether the individuals buried in Yamnaya graves were locals or not and how mobile they were.