Mixed Livelihood Society in Iin Hamina – a Case Study of Medieval Diet in the Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland

Abstract

A stable isotope investigation of a large Medieval population buried in Iin Hamina, northern Finland, has been used to reconstruct palaeodiet. Iin Hamina is situated approximately 30 km away from the modern city Oulu, in close proximity to the Bothnian Bay coast and the river Ii. The material used in this study is human skeletal material from an Iin Hamina cemetery dated as 15 to 17th centuries AD and animal bones excavated in Northern Ostrobothnia from pre-industrial contexts. Stable isotope analysis of well-preserved collagen indicate that both freshwater and marine fish was the dominant protein source for the people buried at the Iin Hamina cemetery.

Source of strontium in archaeological mobility studies—marine diet contribution to the isotopic composition

“…Information about this period from Northern Ostrobothnia is sparse, and contrary to overall small findings from the area, the Iin Hamina site contains skeletal material from at least 260 individuals. The skeletal material is well preserved, making it the optimal material for isotope studies (Lahtinen 2017;Lahtinen and Salmi 2019;Lahtinen et al 2013;Kallio-Seppä et al 2010). Table 1 for data).…”

“…The diets of the people buried at the site have been intensively studied previously using the carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition analysis of bone and dentine collagen (Lahtinen 2017;Lahtinen and Salmi 2019). The main protein source was estimated to be marine and freshwater fish and based on serial sampling, it remained very constant during the lifetime of studied individuals.…”

Tangled Worlds: The Swedish, the Sámi, and the Reindeer

“…Samples taken for stable isotope and aDNA analysis and the results of stable isotope analysis (δ 13 C and δ 15 N). Stable isotope data from Lahtinen and Salmi (2018) (1-4), Oinonen 2017a, 2017b (5-9). Age estimations for long bone epiphyseal fusion Takken Table 3.…”

“…δ 13 C is indicative of terrestrial/marine components in the diet, as well as environmental factors, whereas δ 15 N can be used to assess the trophic level of the individual (Eriksson 2013). Analysis of samples 1-4 is described in detail in Lahtinen & Salmi (2018).…”

Buried in water, burdened by nature—Resilience carried the Iron Age people through Fimbulvinter

“…Sources of resilience were probably similar among the Levänluhta people: living on the boundaries of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems enabled the diverse livelihoods that allowed them to adapt their dietary routines under the climatic downturn carrying them over the Fimbulvinter. Such resilience was likely sustained in Ostrobothnia as diverse livelihoods have been also suggested for the Bronze Age [17] and by the isotopic evidence of human remains for the historical Little Ice Age [82]. The solid line is a moving average (m.a.)…”