Dating Charred Remains On Pottery And Analyzing Food Habits In The Early Neolithic Period In Northeast Asia

This study reconstructs food habits through carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and C/N analysis of charred residues inside pottery from Amur River sites in Russia (Goncharka 1 site, Novotroitskoe 10 site, Kondon 1 site) and in Hokkaido, Japan (Taisho 3 site, Yachiyo A site). We obtained dates from 12,330 to 7920 BP for these sites. There are major differences in the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios between the Taisho 3 site (delta C-13: -21.7 to -24.1 parts per thousand; delta N-15: 11.9-14.7 parts per thousand) and the other sites (delta C-13: -22.0 to -27.1 parts per thousand; delta N-15: 7.1-13.1 parts per thousand), suggesting that the people of the Taisho 3 site made use of anadromous fish such as salmonids and some species of trout, as well as marine resources. The dates from the other sites except Taisho 3 were assumed to be from a mixture of marine foods, C-3 plants and terrestrial animals, and freshwater fish. The food boiled in the pots also indicated a high dependence on marine resources during the initial stages of the emergence of pottery.