The socio-cultural and economic developments that took place from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age are poorly understood, despite the fact that they were essential for the establishment of fully agro-pastoral economies in Europe. In this study, we aim to assess dietary changes in communities living in southern Italy during this period by examining stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios on human bone collagen. In particular, we investigated skeletal remains from seven sites in the southern Italian regions of Calabria (Grotta della Monaca, Grotta di Donna Marsilia and Grotta dell’Antenato), Basilicata (Murgia Timone, Grotta Funeraria and Toppo d’Aguzzo) and Apulia (Ipogeo dei Bronzi) to explore possible variations in diet between different geographic areas and periods. The results of the analysis on bone collagen extracts from 33 human and 12 faunal (sheep, dog, cattle and pigs) specimens attest that the diets of prehistoric southern Italians were mixed and based on the consumption of terrestrial resources, including generally moderate proportions of animal protein (e.g. meat and dairy products) and of C₃ plants (e.g. cereals and legumes). Minor differences in the proportion of consumed meat are mostly dependent on the nature of regional environments, with individuals from Basilicata relying more on animal protein than those from Calabria and Apulia. Our study provides insights into the dietary habits of southern Italian populations during the prehistoric period that witnessed an increase both in agriculture and in pastoralism.

尽管从新石器时代到青铜时代的社会文化和经济发展对于在欧洲建立全面的农牧经济至关重要，但人们对此知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们旨在通过检查人体骨骼胶原蛋白上稳定的碳和氮同位素比来评估意大利南部社区在此期间的饮食变化。特别是，我们调查了意大利南部卡拉布里亚地区（Grotta della Monaca，Grotta di Donna Marsilia和Grotta dell'Antenato），巴西利卡塔（Murgia Timone，Grotta Funeraria和Toppo d'Aguzzo）和Apulia（Ipogeo）七个地点的骨骼遗骸dei Bronzi）探讨不同地理区域和时期之间饮食的可能差异。₃种植物（例如谷物和豆类）。食用肉比例的微小差异主要取决于区域环境的性质，巴西利卡塔州的个体比卡拉布里亚和普利亚的个体对动物蛋白的依赖更大。我们的研究提供了对史前时期意大利南部人口饮食习惯的见解，见证了农业和牧民活动的增加。