Interdisciplinary study of human remains from the Early Iron Age cemetery at Zagorje ob Savi (Slovenia)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of interdisciplinary investigations of human remains, discovered in 2011 at the Early Iron Age cemetery at Zagorje ob Savi (Cesta Borisa l(jdrica) in Slovenia. The present study is a part of a larger isotopic and osteological investigation of Bronze/Iron Age (14th-4th centuries BC) skeletal assemblages from Croatia and Slovenia. The osteological analysis of the six individuals uncovered on this site indicates that they represent the remains of two adult males, two adult females and two infants of unknown sex. The results of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis on the bone and dentine collagen extracted from these six individuals is strongly indicative of a terrestrial based diet, including animal-based protein (meat and/or dairy) and a mix of C3 and C4 plants.