Isotopic reconstruction of human diet and animal husbandry practices during the Classical‐Hellenistic, imperial, and Byzantine periods at Sagalassos, Turkey

Abstract

An isotopic reconstruction of human dietary patterns and livestock management practices (herding, grazing, foddering, etc.) is presented here from the sites of Düzen Tepe and Sagalassos in southwestern Turkey. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were determined from bone collagen extracted from humans (n = 49) and animals (n = 454) from five distinct time periods: Classical-Hellenistic (400-200 BC), Early to Middle Imperial (25 BC-300 AD), Late Imperial (300-450 AD), Early Byzantine (450-600 AD), and Middle Byzantine (800-1200 AD). The humans had protein sources that were based on C(3) plants and terrestrial animals. During the Classical-Hellenistic period, all of the domestic animals had δ(13) C and δ(15) N signatures that clustered together; evidence that the animals were herded in the same area or kept in enclosures and fed on similar foods. The diachronic analysis of the isotopic trends in the dogs, cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats highlighted subtle but distinct variations in these animals. The δ(13) C values of the dogs and cattle increased (reflecting C(4) plant consumption) during the Imperial and Byzantine periods, but the pigs and the goats displayed little change and a constant C(3) plant-based diet. The sheep had a variable δ(13) C pattern reflecting periods of greater and lesser consumption of C(4) plants in the diet. In addition, the δ(15) N values of the dogs, pigs, cattle, and sheep increase substantially from the Classical-Hellenistic to the Imperial periods reflecting a possible increase in protein consumption, but the goats showed a decrease. Finally, these isotopic results are discussed in the context of zooarcheological, archeobotanical, and trace element evidence.

A bioarchaeological approach to the Iron Age in Switzerland: stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human remains

“…The technique of stable isotope ratio analysis is a frequently used tool to assess dietary habits, to obtain information about social stratification and mobility of past populations (Dupras and Schwarcz 2001;Fuller et al 2012;Jay et al 2013;Jay and Richards 2006;Katzenberg 2008;Knipper et al 2016;Lösch et al 2006).…”

Animal husbandry in the Early and Middle Neolithic settlement at Kopydłowo in the Polish lowlands. A multi-isotope perspective

“…7). The carbon isotope value cut-off for pure C 3 plant consumption according to O'Leary (1988) (based on global averages of plants) should be −22‰, with most researchers using > − 19‰ (see Fuller et al 2012 for discussion). Individuals with higher carbon isotope values would suggest the input of some C 4 plants in their diet.…”

“…C 4 plants are thought to be generally avoided by most animals, due to their poorer nutritional quality relative to C 3 plants (Heckathorn et al 1999), although these plants have been used as foddering by humans in the past (e.g. Copley et al 2003;Fuller et al 2012;Cucchi et al 2016). More modest sources of isotope variation are often the result of local conditions: temperature, rainfall, canopy effect of dense woodland and soil nutrient content (Tieszen 1991;Van der Merwe and Medina 1991;Glagoleva and Chulanovskaya 1992;Tieszen and Fagre 1993;Heaton 1999).…”

Earliest economic exploitation of chicken outside East Asia: Evidence from the Hellenistic Southern Levant

“…Significant proportions of chicken remains are observed in some first century B.C.E. locations in the Near East, such as in Sagalassos in Anatolia (43,44) and Petra in Jordan (45,46), and at Berenike (47) and Mons Claudianus (48) in Egypt. Indeed, the relative number of chicken remains in Berenike during Roman times is almost threefold that of the Ptolemaic period (49).…”