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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Scientific Reports

The initial pathways of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) into Europe based on AMS dates and stable carbon isotope data

  • Kyriaki Karanikola1
  • Margaux L. C. Depaermentier1
  • Tom Maltas2,3
  • John Meadows4,5
  • Dragana Filipović6,7
  • Soultana-Maria Valamoti8
  • Michael Kempf1,9
  • Andrew Fairbairn10
  • Michaela Vychronová11,12
  • Goce Naumov13
  • Sophia Koulidou14
  • Clémence Pagnoux15
3 more authors
  • Hanna Aleksandrova16
  • Tzvetana Popova16
  • Giedrė Motuzaite-Matuzeviciute1
16 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
  2. 2Keble College, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PG UK
  3. 3School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG UK
  4. 4Leibniz-Zentrum Für Archäologie, Schloss Gottorf, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
  5. 5Leibniz Laboratory for AMS Dating and Stable Isotope Research, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Max-Eyth-Strasse 11–13, 24118 Kiel, Germany
  6. 6ICArEHB, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
  7. 7DAE Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
  8. 8LIRA Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, School of History and Archaeology and PlantCult Lab CIRI, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
  9. 9Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
  10. 10School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
  11. 11The Institute of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
  12. 12Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
  13. 13Center for Prehistoric Research-Skopje, Goce Delčev University, Shtip, North Macedonia
  14. 14Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria, Greek Ministry of Culture, Katerini, Greece
  15. 15BioArch, CNRS–MNHN–Inrap, UMR 7209, CP 56, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
  16. 16National Archaeological Institute With Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria
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Abstract

Research on broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) has significantly improved our understanding of its introduction and dispersal across Europe during the second millennium BCE. However, its arrival into regions such as Southeastern Europe and Anatolia remains poorly understood. In the present study, we combine directly AMS-dated archaeobotanical millet grains with published stable carbon isotope data to investigate the chronology and dispersal routes of millet into Europe. The study integrates 70 radiocarbon dates obtained from charred millet grains, including 16 newly generated AMS dates, and re-evaluates previously published data using Bayesian chronological modeling. An extensive stable carbon isotopic dataset from human and animal remains is integrated in this review. The results confirm that the earliest secure evidence for millet in Europe currently derives from the western Pontic Steppe, while subsequent appearances are synchronously documented in the Carpathian Basin, Southeastern Europe, and the Caucasus. In contrast, archaeobotanical and isotopic evidence from Anatolia consistently supports a later introduction of millet in this region. These results reveal millet dispersal pathways into Europe and highlight the importance of direct radiocarbon dating and interdisciplinary approaches to study prehistoric crop dispersal and dietary practices.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-70250-w.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{karanikola2026initial,
  title = {{The initial pathways of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) into Europe based on AMS dates and stable carbon isotope data}},
  author = {Kyriaki Karanikola and Margaux L. C. Depaermentier and Tom Maltas and John Meadows and Dragana Filipović and Soultana-Maria Valamoti and Michael Kempf and Andrew Fairbairn and Michaela Vychronová and Goce Naumov and Sophia Koulidou and Clémence Pagnoux and Hanna Aleksandrova and Tzvetana Popova and Giedrė Motuzaite-Matuzeviciute},
  journal = {Scientific Reports},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-70250-w},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-70250-w},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The initial pathways of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) into Europe based on AMS dates and stable carbon isotope data
AU  - Kyriaki Karanikola
AU  - Margaux L. C. Depaermentier
AU  - Tom Maltas
AU  - John Meadows
AU  - Dragana Filipović
AU  - Soultana-Maria Valamoti
AU  - Michael Kempf
AU  - Andrew Fairbairn
AU  - Michaela Vychronová
AU  - Goce Naumov
AU  - Sophia Koulidou
AU  - Clémence Pagnoux
AU  - Hanna Aleksandrova
AU  - Tzvetana Popova
AU  - Giedrė Motuzaite-Matuzeviciute
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/01
JO  - Scientific Reports
DO  - 10.1038/s41598-026-70250-w
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-70250-w
AB  - Research on broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) has significantly improved our understanding of its introduction and dispersal across Europe during the second millennium BCE. However, its arrival into regions such as Southeastern Europe and Anatolia remains poorly understood. In the present study, we combine directly AMS-dated archaeobotanical millet grains with published stable carbon isotope data to investigate the chronology and dispersal routes of millet into Europe. The study integrates 70 radiocarbon dates obtained from charred millet grains, including 16 newly generated AMS dates, and re-evaluates previously published data using Bayesian chronological modeling. An extensive stable carbon isotopic dataset from human and animal remains is integrated in this review. The results confirm that the earliest secure evidence for millet in Europe currently derives from the western Pontic Steppe, while subsequent appearances are synchronously documented in the Carpathian Basin, Southeastern Europe, and the Caucasus. In contrast, archaeobotanical and isotopic evidence from Anatolia consistently supports a later introduction of millet in this region. These results reveal millet dispersal pathways into Europe and highlight the importance of direct radiocarbon dating and interdisciplinary approaches to study prehistoric crop dispersal and dietary practices.  Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-70250-w.
SN  - 2045-2322
ER  -