Data for: "More than bones alone": organic residue analysis of Early Iron Age ceramics from KwaZulu-Natal

This dataset comprises the analytical results of organic residues preserved in Early Iron Age and early Later Iron Age ceramics from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A total of 218 potsherds from six sites — Enkwazini, Mzonjani, Inanda Quarry, Msuluzi Confluence, KwaGandaganda and Mpambanyoni — were sampled from the collections of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, spanning approximately eight centuries (c. 340–1285 cal CE) over the Mzonjani, Msuluzi, Ndondondwane, Ntshekane and Blackburn ceramic facies. Lipids were extracted using an acidified methanol protocol (Correa-Ascencio and Evershed, 2014) and analysed by gas chromatography–flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A subset of 29 samples meeting quality criteria was analysed by gas chromatography–combustion–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) at three laboratories (Bristol, York and Hohenheim). Two files are included: KZN_EIA_ceramics_GCMS_lipid_yields.csv — one row per sherd (n = 218), giving sample identifier, site and ceramic facies, sample mass, lipid and phthalate contamination yields (µg/g), whether the sample met the 5 µg/g yield threshold, the GC-MS instrument used, date of analysis, and chromatographic method parameters. KZN_EIA_ceramics_compound_specific_isotopes.csv — compound-specific carbon isotope results (n = 29), giving δ¹³C values for palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) acids, the Δ¹³C offset (δ¹³C₁₈:₀ − δ¹³C₁₆:₀), temporal group, and analysing laboratory. All values are reported relative to V-PDB and are corrected for the methyl carbon introduced during acidified methanol extraction. These data support: Loftus, E., Whitelaw, G., Armbruster, W., Whelton, H.L., Hammann, S. "More than bones alone": organic residue analysis of Early Iron Age ceramics from KwaZulu-Natal and the role of cattle in first-millennium CE southern Africa.