All things bright: copper grave goods and diet at the Neolithic site of Oslonki, Poland

Understanding socioeconomic inequality is fundamental for studies of societal development in European prehistory. This article presents dietary (delta C-13 and delta N-15) isotope values for human and animal bone collagen from Early Neolithic Osonki 1 in north-central Poland (c. 4600-4100 cal BC). A new series of AMS radiocarbon determinations show that, of individuals interred at the same time, those with copper artefacts exhibit significantly higher delta C-13 values than those without. The authors' results suggest a link between high-status goods and intra-community differences in diet and/or preferential access to the agropastoral landscape.