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Germany [20,21] have been interpreted to suggest the

following:

Neolithic communities made little use of marine foods,

obtaining most of their protein from a combination of ter-

restrial animals and C3 plants

d

15

N values are generally consistent with a largely animal-based diet, suggesting that C3 plants played a limited die-

tary role (despite widespread archaeobotanical evidence

for cereal use)

While there has been lively debate over the interpretation of

these results as they relate to marine versus terrestrial re-

sources (e.g. [29,39,44]), the issue of terrestrial animal- versus

plant-based foods has received less attention. Durrwachter

et al. [21] have recently summarised a number of issues sur-

rounding the interpretation ofd15N as a reflection of the rela-

tive importance of plant- and animal-based foods. First,

isotope analysis of archaeological remains of mammals is

commonly undertaken on collagen separated from bone, andthe 15N-enrichment in bone collagen relative to dietary protein

values may be higher (e.g. up to 5&) than the commonly as-

sumed c. 3& [5,19]. Second, there is a lack of information

available on d15N in ancient plant remains, largely, according

to Durrwachter et al. [21], because they are generally not ad-

equately preserved to permit analysis. As a result, assump-

tions have to be made using generalised plant values and

archaeological herbivore bone collagen. Third, d15N may

tend to reflect the meat portion of the diet since animal foods

are generally richer in protein than plant foods, with the result

that d15N values are particularly insensitive to low or moder-

ate consumption of plant foods [21]. Durrwachter et al. [21]conclude, however, that d15N values can be used to distin-

guish heavy plant consumers from heavy animal consumers.

The aim of this paper is to begin exploring the potential

range of variability in plant d15N values, specifically those

for cultivated cereals, in order to set archaeological recon-

structions of human diet and crop husbandry practices on

a firmer foundation. Cereal stable isotope values may be af-

fected by alterations to the growing environment introduced

by ancient farmers; variation in d13C in cereals, for example,

has been related to water economy and irrigation in arid envi-

ronments (e.g. [3,4,47]). A factor that could directly affect ce-

real d15N values is manuring e the application of animal dung

to cultivation plots in order to restore nutrients and enhance

crop yields. High d15N values in animal manure largely result

from the preferential loss of 14N in volatile gaseous ammonia,

leaving residual ammonium relatively enriched in 15N. This

ammonium is subsequently converted to nitrate with high

d15N values, which is taken up by plants [28,35,37]. Nitrates

are the major source of nitrogen used for the biosynthesis of

plant amino acids, which eventually end up in the bone colla-

gen of consumers [58]. Previous studies suggest that the appli-

cation of animal manure raises d15N values in soil and plants

(e.g. [10,16,63,68,70,71]). Van Klinken et al. [67] note that

a manuring effect on plant values would have a significant

impact on d15

N in human consumers. These authors conclude,

Thus, there is a need to check for anthropogenic effects in the

archaeological food chain, which can be done by measuring

associated plant and animal remains [67, original italics].

In their study of Neolithic diet in central Europe, Durrwachter

et al. [21] have also stressed that isotopic information from an-

cient plant remains, especially crops, would serve to greatly

enhance the accuracy of human dietary reconstructions.Chemical and soil micromorphological studies of ancient

soils (palaeosols) can provide direct evidence for manuring

(e.g. [12,13,22,24,63]). In agricultural landscapes cultivated

over many centuries, however, such evidence is rarely pre-

served and the practice can only be inferred indirectly, from

spreads of sherds and other inorganic inclusions across the

landscape (e.g. [1,68]), or from ecological characteristics of

arable weeds associated with crop remains in archaeological

deposits (e.g. [33,34]). An archaeobotanical study of weed as-

semblages and crop husbandry practices in Neolithic central

Europe by Bogaard [6] concluded that manuring was a likely

cause of frequent high fertility, and similar inferences have

been made for south-east Europe [26]. Indeed, one readingof the Neolithic package of plant and animal domesticates

is that it was precisely such integration of plant and animal

(by-)products that enabled farming to successfully spread

across a range of environments [6,7,8]. From this perspective,

it is plausible that relatively high d15N values in Neolithic hu-

man remains from central Europe and elsewhere are due, at

least in part, to a manuring effect.

In order to assess the potential impact of manuring on the

reconstruction of human diet, this paper considers new data

on d15N in cereals grown under manured and unmanured con-

ditions at two long-term experimental stations: Rothamsted,

Hertfordshire, England [23,57] and Bad Lauchstadt, Leipzig-Halle, Germany [36]. These data on cereals grown under

known conditions can be used to assess how far the d15N

values in cereal grain and chaff are affected by manuring,

and hence the impact that manuring in the past would theoret-

ically have on values in human bone collagen. This study is the

first of its kind to look at the effects of manuring on cereal

d15N values through time using long-term experimental data.

A second aim of this paper is to consider the impact of char-

ring on d15N cereal values, since charred grains and chaff rep-

resent the most widespread form of archaeobotanical evidence

for cultivation.

2. Materials and methods

Two long-term experiments of over one hundred years du-

ration, including one with archive cereal samples going back

to the first decade of the experiment, were selected in order

to assess the long-term effects of farmyard manure application

on d15N in cereals. Details of the two experiments are given in

Table 1.

The Broadbalk Wheat Experiment at Rothamsted, Hert-

fordshire studies winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultiva-

tion under various treatments. One plot (plot 22; previously

plot 2 or 2B) is treated only with farmyard manure. This

336 A. Bogaard et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 335e343
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plot receives annual dressings of cattle manure at the rate of

35 t (fresh weight) per hectare each year. Such a level of appli-

cation is equivalent to the annual manure production of about

three cattle over one hectare [56, cf. 41]. A control plot (plot 3)

has received no farmyard manure or mineral fertilizers since

1844.

The Bad Lauchstadt experiment consists of a four-course

crop rotation (including winter wheat, T. aestivum L.) and

two different manuring levels: 20 or 30 t of farmyard manure

(Stalldung, fresh weight) per hectare every second year inplots 12 and 6, respectively. A control plot (plot 18) receives

no inputs.

Samples of at least 20 whole wheat plants were collected

just before harvest time in 2004 from manured and control

plots in both experiments. Grain and rachis (the stalk seg-

ments to which spikelets are attached in the cereal ear) har-

vested from 20 plants were randomly subsampled (using

a riffle box) to provide bulk samples for analysis. All bulk sam-

ples analysed consisted of c. 20e30 grains or rachis segments.

The selection of rachis for measurement, in addition to grain,

is due to the fact that it is identifiable to species and is widely

preserved archaeologically (e.g. in charred form).Archive samples of grain and rachis from Rothamsted for

the years 1852, 1895, 1935 and 1965 were also subsampled

to provide bulk samples for analysis. These years were chosen

to provide spread across the period covered by the archive

(1844e2005). Additionally, unpublished measurements of ce-

real grain from the manured and control plots in 1991 were in-

cluded along with the new data (Smolinska, unpublished data

1991). The archives for Bad Lauchstadt consisted of grain

from recent years only; archive samples of wheat grain from

2001 to 2002 were subsampled to provide bulk samples for

analysis.

While the aim of bulk sampling was to explore variation

between treatments and variation through time, detailed sam-

pling of individual plants was conducted to enable investiga-

tion of variation in d15N within a single cereal ear and

between plants. Samples of grain and rachis from individual

spikelets of four cereal plants e two ears from two different

plants harvested in the 2004 control plot, and two ears from

two different plants harvested in the 2004 manured plot at

Rothamsted e were taken for analysis. Table 2 summarises

the individual grain and rachis samples analysed.

Random subsamples of material harvested from Rothamsted

and Bad Lauchstadt in 2004 were also subjected to charring in

order to ascertain the impact of this process on d15N values.

Subsamples of wheat grain and rachis (c. 20e

30 grains or

rachis segments) were charred in a low-oxygen atmosphere

(wrapped in aluminium foil) at 230 C for 2e24 h e conditions

that have proved suitable to reproduce undistorted archaeolog-

ical charred grain and rachis [M. Charles and G. Jones pers

comm.; cf. 65]. Charring was carried out at the Department

of Archaeology, University of Nottingham, in a digitally con-

trolled chamber furnace.

At the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Keyworth,

all samples were homogenised using a freezer mill, weighed

into tin capsules, and combusted in an elemental analyser(Thermo Finnigan Flash EA) on-line to an isotope ratio

mass spectrometer (Thermo Finnigan DeltaXL). Sample15N/14N ratios were calculated as d15N values versus atmo-

spheric N2, on the basis of comparison with samples of a lab-

oratory plant standard whose d15N value was determined by

comparison with IAEA-N-1 (assuming d15N of IAEA-N-

10.4& [31]).

3. Results

3.1. Within- and between-plant variations in grain andrachis d15N

The results for grain and rachis internodes from the individ-

ual spikelets of four wheat ears harvested in 2004 at Rotham-

steds Broadbalk experiment (two ears from two plants

harvested in the control plot, and two ears from two plants har-

vested in the manured plot) are shown in Fig. 1. Values for

grain were reasonably constant. The rachis displayed greater

variation, typically showing a decline in d15N from the basal

spikelet to the terminal spikelet.

Variations between individual plants must also be expected.

Thus, from the data in Fig. 1, average grain d15N values dif-

fered by only 0.1& between the two ears from the plants har-vested in the control plot (Plants 1 and 2), but by 1.3&

between the two plants harvested in the manured plot (Plants

Table 1

Details of the experimental plots samples for isotopic analysis

Experiment Location Period Cropping Manuring treatment(s) Soil type References

Broadbalk,

Rothamsted

Hertfordshire,

England

1844-

present

Winter wheat Cattle manure, 35

t/ha every year

Chromic luvisol;

flinty-silty clay loam

over clay-with-flints

[23,57]

Static fertilization

experiment,Bad Lauchstadt

Leipzig-Halle,

Germany

1902-

present

Sugar beet-spring

barley-potatoes-winter wheat

Cattle manure, 20

and 30 t/ha everysecond year

Haplic chernozem;

loess

[2,36]

Table 2

Summary of samples from individual plants harvested in 2004 at Rothamsted;

NIL control plot; FYM farmyard manure

Grain Rachis

Plant 1, ear 1 (NIL) 17 spikelets Not analysed

Plant 2, ear 2 (NIL) 19 spikelets 19 spikelets

Plant 3, ear 3 (FYM) 23 spikelets 23 spikelets

Plant 4, ear 4 (FYM) 21 spikelets 21 spikelets

Note: 1 grain and 1 rachis internode per spikelet were analyzed.

337A. Bogaard et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 335e343

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3 and 4). In another study, d15N values for whole wheat plants

(excluding roots) from plots treated with farmyard manure and

inorganically-fertilized plots ranged over 2& (1 SD 0.8 and

1.0& for two groups of n 5; Poulton unpublished data

1991).

3.2. Differences in grain and rachis d15N between

manured and control plots

Tables 3a and b and Fig. 2 summarise the results for bulk

samples per treatment and year. Elevated d15N values are asso-

ciated with manured versus control treatments at Rothamsted

and Bad Lauchstadt, and these differences are visible in both

grain and rachis.

Several points are worth noting from these results. First,

a manuring effect is evident from the earliest archive sam-

ples available at Rothamsted (1852), less than 10 years after

the experiment began (in 1844). Second, manured and control

values in both experiments remain fairly constant through

time. Third, rachis d15N values are consistently lower than

those in grain. It can also be noted here that d15N values in ce-

real straw and leaves are also lower than those in grain (Smo-

linska, unpublished data 1991). Fourth, grain and rachis from

the lower level of manure application at Bad Lauchstadt

A BROTHAMSTEDwithin-ear variation. NIL, plant 1

-5.0

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

+1.0

-5.0

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

+1.0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Spikelet position

d15NvsA

IR

Grain

ROTHAMSTED

within-ear variation. NIL, plant 2

Spikelet position

d15NvsA

IR

Grain Rachis

Grain RachisGrain Rachis

C DROTHAMSTED

within-ear variation. FYM, plant 3

-1.0

0.0

+1.0

+2.0

+3.0

+4.0

+5.0

+6.0

+7.0

+8.0

-1.0

0.0

+1.0

+2.0

+3.0

+4.0

+5.0

+6.0

+7.0

+8.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25

Spikelet position

d15NvsAIR

ROTHAMSTED

within-ear variation. FYM, plant 4

Spikelet position

d15NvsAIR

Fig. 1. d15N values for grain and rachis internodes from the individual spikelets of four wheat ears: (a) plant 1, control plot at Rothamsted; (b) plant 2, control plot

at Rothamsted; (c) plant 3, manured plot at Rothamsted; and (d) plant 4, manured plot at Rothamsted. Rachis from plant 1 was not measured.

Table 3a

Results for the analysis of bulk samples from Rothamsted (na material not

available for analysis; nd not determined; NIL control plot; Fym farm-

yard manure)

Year d15N %N

Grain Rachis Grain Rachis

Nil FYM Nil FYM Nil FYM Nil FYM

1852 2.7 5.8 na na 1.8 2.0 na na

1895 2.9 7.8 0.6 5.0 1.9 1.8 nd nd

1935 4.0 8.3 0.4 7.1 1.8 nd 0.6 0.6

1965 0.7 7.4 2.5 5.3 2.0 2.3 0.3 0.8

1991 0.6 8.6 na na 1.5 2.0 na na

2004 0.8 6.6 2.6 3.4 1.5 1.9 nd nd

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(FYM1) is associated with lower d15N values than the higher

level (FYM2). The even higher rate of yearly manure applica-

tion at Rothamsted is associated with the highest d15N values,

though it should be noted that the control plot values at Roth-

amsted also tend to be higher than those at Bad Lauchstadt.

Overall, it is clear that manuring has a distinct impact on

d15N values in both cereal grain and rachis. Moreover, the

low levels of natural variation within and between plants re-

viewed above would not obscure the manuring effect ond15N values.

3.3. The impact of charring on d15N values in wheat

grain and rachis

Work by DeNiro and Hastorf [18] on charred plant remains

(seeds and tubers) from Peruvian archaeological sites showed

that d15N in charred plant material was similar to that in mod-

ern counterparts, suggesting that charring did not bias the sig-

nature. Fig. 3 shows the results of preliminary analyses on the

impact of charring, with d15N values in wheat grain (Fig. 3a)

and rachis (Fig. 3b) harvested in 2004 from the manured andcontrol plots at Rothamsted and Bad Lauchstadt, and charred

at 230 C under low-oxygen conditions for up to 24 h.

Fig. 3a indicates that charring causes only minor distortion

of d15N values in grain and that the manuring effect is not

obscured. The distortion of d15N values in rachis is more

marked (Fig. 3b), and the relative position of the control plots

at the two experiments is reversed after 2 h charring, but the

contrast between manured and control plots remains intact.

4. Discussion

With enrichment of c. 3& from one trophic level to the

next, the conventional wisdom is that bone collagen from hu-

mans having a largely plant-based diet would have d15N values

of c. 6& (assuming plant values of c. 3&), while a diet

based on herbivores should result in values of c. 9& (assum-

ing herbivore values of c. 6&). A mixed diet in which both

plants and animals played a major role would lie between

6 and 9& (e.g. [52]). Neolithic values for human bone col-

lagen recently reported from southern Germany, Denmark, the

west coast of Scotland and southern Britain (Table 4) have

been interpreted as evidence that diets were largely animal-

based (southern German sites, Danish sites, western Scottish

sites, some Hambledon Hill samples, Parc le Breos) or, in

some cases in southern Britain (Hazleton, West Kennet,some Hambledon Hill samples), a mixed diet of plant- and

animal-based foods.

The d15N values of Neolithic crops, however, could have

a major impact on the interpretation of such results. The

Table 3b

Results for the analysis of bulk samples from Bad Lauchstadt (namaterial not available for analysis; NIL control plot; FYM1 biennial 20 t/ha,

FYM2 biennial 30 t/ha)

Year d15N %N

Grain Rachis Grain Rachis

Nil FYM1 FYM2 Nil FYM1 FYM2 Nil FYM1 FYM2 Nil FYM1 FYM2

2001 1.0 4.1 5.7 na na na 1.2 1.1 1.3 na na na2002 0.1 2.7 4.1 na na na 1.4 1.4 1.5 na na na

2004 0.8 3.2 3.4 -1.3 0.9 2.2 1.1 1.3 1.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

A B

1852 1895 1935 1965 1991 2004-4.0

-2.0

0.0

+2.0

+4.0

+6.0

+8.0

+10.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

+2.0

+4.0

+6.0

+8.0

+10.0

years sampled

d15Nvs

AIR

FYM grNIL gr

FYM raNIL ra

2001 2002 2003 2004

years sampled

d15NvsAIR

FYM2 grFYM1 grNIL gr

FYM2 raFYM1 raNIL ra

Fig. 2. d15N values for bulk samples of grain and rachis from (a) Rothamsted and (b) Bad Lauchstadt. NIL control plot; FYM farmyard manure (annual 35t/ha);

FYM1 biennial 20t/ha, FYM2 biennial 30t/ha.


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data from modern experiments reported here suggest that

a diet largely based on manured cereals could result in Neo-

lithic humans having fairly high d15N values e i.e. resembling

those resulting from a largely animal-based diet, or a mixed

plant- and animal-based diet. Thus, with trophic enrichment

of c. 3&, the bulk samples of manured cereal grain from Roth-

amsted (c. 6 to 8&) would be expected to yield values of

c. 9 to 11& in consumers (resembling a largely animal-

based diet), with the lower levels of biennial manuring at

Bad Lauchstadt (grain values of c. 3 to 6&) yielding values

of c. 6 to 9& in consumers (resembling a mixed plant- and

animal-based diet).If Neolithic farming in southern Germany, Denmark and

Britain was of the permanent, small-scale and intensive type

resembling gardening [6,7,8,26; cf. 9], long-term manuring

comparable to the applications at Rothamsted (equivalent to

the manure of c. 3 cattle per hectare each year) is not implau-

sible. It is likely that manure inputs, along with other labour-

intensive measures, varied somewhat from year to year

depending on a range of factors (labour, livestock, weather,

etc.) [26,27; cf. 59]. Thus, variation among human d15N values

at well-sampled sites such as Hambledon Hill could reflect

variability in crop growing conditions through time or among

households, rather than diets ranging from mixed plant/animal

to largely animal-based [52].

The measurement of d15N in associated faunal remains is

widely accepted as a critical factor in the interpretation ofhuman d15N values. Values for domestic cattle and sheep from

the Neolithic sites in Germany and Britain are shown in Table 4.

Interpretation of some human d15N values as indicative of

A

0.0

+1.0

+2.0

+3.0

+4.0

+5.0

+6.0

+7.0

+8.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

d15NvsAIR

Roth Nil

Roth FYM

BadL NIL

BadL FYM1

BadL FYM2

Roth Nil

Roth FYM

BadL NIL

BadL FYM1

BadL FYM2

B

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

+1.0

+2.0

+3.0

+4.0

+5.0

+6.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (hours)Time (hours)

d15NvsAIR

Fig. 3. The effect of charring at 230 C and its duration on d15N in grain and rachis (0 h uncharred): (a) grain; (b) rachis. Roth Rothamsted; BadLBad

Lauchstadt.

Table 4

Summary of Neolithic d15N values from bone collagen of humans (adults), domestic cattle and sheep (excluding juvenile animals) in southern Germany, Denmark

and Britain; n number of samples

Site Period Human

d15N min

Human

d15N max

Human

d15N average

n Cattle

d15N

n Sheep

d15N

n Interpretation Reference

Herxheim, Germany LBK 7.8 12.1 9.9 21 7.0 1 Animal-based diet [20,21]

Trebur, Germany Hinkelstein-

Grossgartach

8.5 10.5 9.7 40 5.7 (ave) 5 6.2 (ave) 5 Animal-based diet [20,21]

Ostrup, StoreAmose, Denmark TRB

9.9

10.0

10.0 2 Animal-based diet [55]

Undlose, Store

Amose, Denmark

TRB 8.2 1 Animal-based diet [55]

Bodal, Store

Amose, Denmark

TRB 8.0 1 Animal-based diet [55]

Aldersro, Denmark TRB 7.5 9.3 8.4 6 Animal-based diet [55]

Carding Mill Bay Earlier Neolithic 8.8 10.0 9.3 9 Animal-based diet [62]

Crarae Earlier Neolithic 9.1 9.5 9.2 3 Animal-based diet [62]

Hambledon Hilla Earlier Neolithic 7.0 10.5 9.5 56 5.5 (ave) 6 5.0 (ave) 2 Animal-based (10)

or mixed (7 to 9)

[52]

Parc le Breos Earlier Neolithic 8.9 10.4 9.7 8 Animal-based diet [52]

Hazletonb Earlier Neolithic 7.3 8.4 7.9 5 4.6 (ave) 3 Mixed diet [52]

West Kennetb Earlier Neolithic 8.1 8.5 8.3 3 Mixed diet [52]

a Mostly adults according to Richards [52]; approximate values derived from scatter plot [52, Fig. 12.2].

b Adult status of human remains uncertain [52].


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a largely animal-based diet rests on the fact the human samples

tend to appear one trophic level higher (c. 3& higher) than

associated herbivores (Table 4). The manuring of cereals in

an intensive cultivation regime, however, provides an alterna-

tive explanation for this discrepancy, assuming that humans

were the primary consumers of grain. Moreover, if arboreal

vegetation (leafy or branch hay) provided an important sourceof fodder as has often been suggested for Neolithic central and

western Europe (e.g. [25,38,49,50,51]), the low d15N associ-

ated with forest ecosystems (e.g. [30,46,69]) would tend to dis-

tinguish plant consumption between livestock and humans in

terms of their d15N values. Furthermore, the results for rachis

values from Rothamsted and Bad Lauchstadt suggest that

d15N values in chaff tend to be lower and more variable than

in grain, as is the %N content of chaff. Measurements of

d15N in cereal straw and leaves likewise suggest that these

are low relative to grain (Smolinska, unpublished data 1991).

Even if livestock diets were supplemented with fodder consist-

ing of the chaff by-products of manured cereals, therefore, the

impact on their d15N would be reduced in comparison withhuman consumers of manured grain.

One methodological issue to be addressed concerns the

measurement of whole grain versus protein d15N values in ma-

nured and unmanured cereals. It has been assumed thus far

that changes in d15N values caused by manuring largely reflect

changes in protein N isotope ratios. While this assumption ap-

pears justified from previous work on d15N values in proteins

[11], further work is needed to confirm that wholegrain and pro-

tein compound-specific d15N values show a similar manuring

effect. A related methodological point, raised by Durrwachter

et al. [21], is the need to characterise nitrogen stable isotope

values for individual amino acids from bone collagen, in or-der to narrow down their potential dietary sources. Finally,

the preliminary charring results are promising for the reliable

measurement of d15N values in charred archaeobotanical

material, but further work is needed to explore the full range

of relevant crops and charring conditions, as well as to

address issues of diagenesis and contamination in archaeo-

logical burial environments.

5. Conclusions

The results of the analyses presented here support previous

suggestions (e.g. [21,67]) that information on plant d15N

values e and in particular those of potential staples e is crit-

ical for accurate assessment of animal- and plant-based foods

in the human diet. The suggestions made here regarding alter-

native interpretations of Neolithic d15N values, however, must

remain speculative until reliable measurements of archaeolog-

ical plant d15N values are available. Archaeological plant

values from Neolithic sites in north-west Europe would help

to resolve the problem of equifinality between a diet based

largely on animal products and one based on manured cereals.

Plant values may also be useful for the interpretation of similar

d15N values from human samples in later periods (e.g.

[32,45,48]).

Acknowledgements

This research was made possible by a grant-in-kind from

the NERC Isotope Geosciences Facilities Steering Committee.

We thank the Lawes Trust for access to the archived Roth-

amsted samples and Ursula Smolinska for the 1991 Broadbalk

data. Rothamsted Research receives grant-aided support fromthe Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

of the UK. We thank the UFZ Centre for Environmental Re-

search Leipzig-Halle for providing the plant samples of the

Static Fertilization Experiment Bad Lauchstadt and for alloca-

tion of archived grain samples. Finally, the authors are grateful

to Oliver Craig, Glynis Jones, Rick Schulting and two anony-

mous reviewers for insightful comments on the paper.

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