Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jas Bronze Age diet and economy: New stable isotope data from the Central Eurasian steppes (2100-1700 BC) Bryan Hanks a,* , Alicia Ventresca Miller a,b,c , Margaret Judd a , Andrey Epimakhov d,e , Dmitry Razhev f , Karen Privat g,h a University of Pittsburgh, Department of Anthropology, Pittsburgh, 15260, USA b Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Human Development in Landscapes, Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Stable Isotope Laboratory, Johanna- Mestorf-Str. 2-6, 24118, Kiel, Germany c Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeology, Stable Isotope Group, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany d Southern Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, 454080, Russia e Institute of History and Archaeology, Urals Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 8 Marta St., Yekaterinburg, 620990, Russia f Tyumen Scientific Centre, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development, 86 Malygina St., Tyumen, 625026, Russia g Electron Microscope Unit, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, Kensington, UNSW, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia h PANGEA Research Centre, School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, 2052, NSW, Australia ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Pastoralism Bronze age Central Eurasia Sintashta culture Stable isotopes Prehistoric diet ABSTRACT This paper presents new stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope data obtained from human and animal remains from the Kamennyi Ambar 5 cemetery (KA-5) (Southeastern Urals, Russian Federation) and represents one of the largest stable isotope datasets from a single prehistoric site in the steppes of Central Eurasia. These results are compared with other regional faunal, botanical and archaeological datasets to examine late pre- historic trends in pastoralism and human dietary patterns. The findings of this research emphasize a subsistence regime consisting of broad-spectrum resources that include domestic and wild animal species, wild plants and fish. This study contributes to current knowledge regarding the diversity in isotopic values of human and animal remains and indicates that variation in subsistence was related to distinct local resource biomes and economic strategies. These results suggest a more complex model of late prehistoric subsistence trends in the steppes that emphasizes the need for enhanced micro-regional studies combining environmental, biological, and archae- ological datasets. The study presented here also provides information on the most detailed bioarchaeological study of human remains and stable isotopes to date related to the Sintashta archaeological pattern. 1. Introduction Recent research programs examining late prehistoric subsistence patterns in the Eurasian steppes have produced detailed zooarchaeo- logical, isotopic, botanical, and lipid residue results (Anthony et al., 2016; Schulting and Richards, 2016; Gerling, 2015; Motuzaite Matuzeviciute et al., 2015; Ventresca Miller et al., 2014a, 2014b; 2017; Spengler et al., 2013; Outram et al., 2010, 2012; Bendrey, 2011; Frachetti and Benecke, 2009). These data contribute to a growing body of literature that indexes variation in pastoral lifeways and economies, and builds on earlier studies documenting the use of fish and other wild resources by ancient steppe communities (Privat, 2002, 2004; O'Connell et al., 2003). The development of such empirically grounded studies is a crucial step if scholarship is to achieve more nuanced explanatory models to account for regional interaction processes and multi-scalar networks that facilitated the flow of ideas, technology, and resources across prehistoric Eurasia (Renfrew, 2002; Hanks, 2010; Frachetti, 2008, 2012; Potts, 2012). Recent archaeological research in the central steppes region has been increasingly focused on socio-cultural developments during the second millennium BC. One particular case study, relating to the ap- pearance of Sintashta culture communities in the Southeastern Urals peneplain, has stimulated significant debate (Fig. 1). The Sintashta pattern has been dated to 2050-1700 cal BC (Hanks et al., 2007; Epimakhov and Krause, 2013) and is represented by nucleated settle- ments with fortified enclosures, early spoke wheeled chariot tech- nology, and copper mining and metal production. These notable social and technological transitions have been debated in the context of https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2018.06.006 Received 2 June 2016; Received in revised form 7 May 2018; Accepted 13 June 2018 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: bkh5@pitt.edu (B. Hanks). Journal of Archaeological Science 97 (2018) 14–25 0305-4403/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T