The Iapodians in Iron Age Europe: a Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Dating Program in Northern Croatia

Summary

In this paper, we report results from ongoing research on the Iapodian culture, a distinct group centered in the Lika region of modern-day Croatia. Despite excavations in the area since the late 1880s, the scope of Iapodian involvement in regional interaction spheres, larger trade networks, and the general Iron Age world is unclear, and has yet to be systematically analyzed with modern methods. Preliminary isotopic results from Iapodian samples demonstrate an increase in millet consumption, unusual for this time period in other parts of Europe, and a decline in overall dietary quality over time. Using new radiocarbon dates and stable isotope analyses, we seek to understand the role of millet in Iapodian subsistence and the timing of its appearance in archaeological contexts alongside other changes in material culture. We conclude with a consideration of where and how millet may have traveled to Lika, and what implications this may have for characterizing contact, trade, and exchange between the Iapodians and their neighbors.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

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