Anglo-Saxon diet in the Conversion period: A comparative isotopic study using carbon and nitrogen

Abstract

Seventh-century Anglo-Saxon England is characterised by great social and religious change.The arrival of missionaries from Rome in AD 597 initiated the gradual process of conversion to Christianity. There is growing evidence for increasing hierarchy and social stratification in the archaeological record at this time, including prominent kingly burials. This paper investigates whether diet was influenced by social stratification and to a lesser extent religion in two seventh-century cemetery populations: Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, and Polhill, Kent.Analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from 116 human individuals was undertaken.Factors considered included age, sex, wealth and other notable grave features. Results showed that the diets of both populations were largely unaffected by these wider social processes, with negligible differences between social groups. The results were placed in the context of wider Anglo-Saxon dietary studies and highlight that Anglo-Saxon populations consistently display overwhelmingly similar ranges of carbon and nitrogen isotopes.

Reframing the first millennium AD in Ireland: archaeology, history, landscape

“…Isotopic analysis, for example, has been directed towards establishing the origins of individuals and intrusive groups in Ireland, rather than used to illuminate the effect of religious transformations on diet, subsistence or economy. The potential for this analysis is demonstrated elsewhere (Hannah et al 2018), where more engaged analysis of cemeteries and funerary archaeology has also shown the potential for broaching questions regarding religious specialists, gender, status and hierarchy, which require dedicated study (Livarda et al 2018;Wright 2015a;Sayer 2021). Similarly, the ability of geo-chemical and micromorphological analyses to nuance our understanding of the minutiae of burial ritual is established, but unfulfilled (Pickering et al 2018).…”

Reframing the first millennium AD in Ireland: archaeology, history, landscape

“…Isotopic analysis, for example, has been directed towards establishing the origins of individuals and intrusive groups in Ireland, rather than used to illuminate the effect of religious transformations on diet, subsistence or economy. The potential for this analysis is demonstrated elsewhere (Hannah et al 2018), where more engaged analysis of cemeteries and funerary archaeology has also shown the potential for broaching questions regarding religious specialists, gender, status and hierarchy, which require dedicated study (Livarda et al 2018;Wright 2015a;Sayer 2021). Similarly, the ability of geo-chemical and micromorphological analyses to nuance our understanding of the minutiae of burial ritual is established, but unfulfilled (Pickering et al 2018).…”

A Hierarchical Meta-Analytical Approach to Western European Dietary Transitions in the First Millennium AD

“…It is believed to be the first of its kind at this scale: previous studies have been smaller and more focused assessments of isotopic data (e.g. O'Connell & Hull, 2011;Mays & Beavan, 2012;Hannah et al, 2018). The aim is to better identify and assess the impact of major transitional events such as changes in agricultural practice and the 'Fish Event Horizon'.…”