SESSION 7

Developments in the study of human behaviour: Population movements and diet in the Quaternary period – Isotopy and multi-proxy comparisons

Merlin Méheut, Marina Di Giusto, Clément Bataille

 merlin.meheut@get.omp.eu

Isotopic analyses have emerged as key tools for studying human behavior throughout the Quaternary, offering a window into the interactions between populations and their environments. They make it possible to explore various dimensions, such as mobility, migration, and dietary practices, across a wide range of paleoenvironmental and archaeological contexts. These approaches complement more traditional methods, such as zooarchaeology or paleoecology. This session aims to bring together research that employs different isotopic approaches (e.g., C, N, O, Sr, Zn) or combines isotopic data with other proxies (e.g., zooarchaeology), in order to better understand human dynamics and strategies of adaptation and exploitation of natural resources. The session seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue around methodological advances, integrative approaches, and emerging interpretive challenges. By emphasizing both the development of isotopic techniques and their applications, it intends to showcase studies that explore how these tools can help reconstruct the relationships between humans and their environments throughout the Quaternary.

keywords: isotopic analysis, migrations, diet, zooarchaeology, human behavior