RECONSTRUCTION OF DIET WITH TRACE-ELEMENTS OF BONE AT THE CHALCOLITHIC SITE OF PICO-RAMOS, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN

The trace elemental analysis of the skeletal remains from Pico Ramos, a funerary cave dated to the Chalcolithic period (C-14 4100 +/- 110-47 90 +/- 110 BP) is presented. Two hypotheses regarding their diet are f ormulated: 1) They consumed primary staples derived from domesticated plants, namely cereals, animal protein and dairy products; and 2) They consumed wild resources from the nearby estuary and sea with a comple ment of terrestrial protein, dairy products and plant matter (e.g. cer eals). The use of a multi-elemental profile and the univariate and mul tivariate treatment of the data supports the second hypothesis. Consid ering the close relationship between production and consumption it is suggested that sui generis modes of subsistence were prevalent in the Northern part of the Basque Country after the Neolithic period. (C) 19 97 Academic Press Limited.