Diferentes modos de vida, diferentes dietas. Caries e isótopos estables en dos poblaciones burgalesas medievales

Abstract

Se comparan dos poblaciones burgalesas medievales con cementerios excavados en roca: Palacios de la Sierra (siglos IX-XIII), núcleo con economía basada principalmente en ganadería y explotación maderera en un entorno frío y montañoso, y Santa María de Tejuela (siglos VIII-XI), con economía fundamentalmente agrícola en una planicie y clima más cálido. La hipótesis del estudio es que deberían existir diferencias en su dieta. Se han analizado los isótopos estables de C y N de 101 individuos y la patología máxilo-dentaria de 79. Palacios de la Sierra, muestra una dieta con un elevado consumo de proteínas animales, superior al de Santa María de Tejuela, y menor patología dental en general. Las diferencias son estadísticamente significativas entre ambos sexos en Palacios, donde destaca un elevado consumo de proteínas animales y una menor tasa de patología dental entre las mujeres. Los resultados obtenidos están en consonancia con la hipótesis del estudio.

North and South in Medieval Iberia: A historical and environmental estimate through isotopic analyses

“…The diet of the outlier (TE 26) indicates a major consumption of C 4 type plants. These data are not at odds with the average δ 13 C in bone collagen samples of -18.6 ± 0.6‰ (VPDB) previously calculated for the same cemetery [ 57 ], which pointed to a substantial dietary contribution of C 3 plants while not excluding a possibly lesser consumption of C 4 species. Similar values are encountered at San Baudelio, although the sexes significantly differed at this site, where the females showed a higher consumption of C 4 plants.…”

“…Finally, δ 13 C en values for the six females at Palacios suggest that they shared a C 3 -based diet with the possible occasional intake of C 4 plants. The mean δ 13 C col (bone collagen) value of -19.4 ± 0.5‰ (VPDB) in Palacios [ 57 ] is consistent with the intake of C 3 plants. Interestingly, the lowest mean values were found in the males at San Baudelio and females at Palacios ( Table 3 ), which are at the highest altitudes and would therefore have experienced colder climates.…”

“…The local economy, determined by the high altitude and climate, centered on stockbreeding and the exploitation of forest resources [ 54 – 56 ]. According to epigraphs on the tombs and absolute dating values [ 53 , 57 ], the cemetery was occupied from the 9 th to 13 th centuries, i.e., between the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the period of transition to the Little Ice Age [ 5 – 7 ]. Samples were taken from 6 females [ 48 ].…”