Millet is a highly adaptable plant whose cultivation dramatically altered ancient economies in northern Asia. The adoption of millet is associated with increased subsistence reliability in semi-arid settings and perceived as a cultigen compatible with pastoralism. Here, we examine the pace of millet’s transmission and locales of adoption by compiling stable carbon isotope data from humans and fauna, then comparing them to environmental variables. The Bayesian modelling of isotope data allows for the assessment of changes in dietary intake over time and space. Our results suggest variability in the pace of adoption and intensification of millet production across northern Asia.

The North Central Asia Isotopic Database (NCAID) is an open-access dataset of stable isotope measurements from archaeological remains, spanning from the Early Neolithic until present-day in North Central Asia. With 3,143 individual entries corresponding to data accumulated over more than 20 years of research, this comprehensive dataset encompasses measurements of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in organic fractions from archaeological humans, animals, and plants. NCAID incorporates diverse supporting information, providing geographical information, archaeological context descriptions, and chronology. This resource facilitates research into past human lifeways, paleoenvironments/climates, and animal management practices throughout North Central Asia and will be continually updated as more novel data is released. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )