Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi, a Multi-Isotope Database for Medieval Europe

Cocozza, Carlo; Cirelli, Enrico; Groß, Marcus; Teegen, Wolf-Rüdiger; Fernandes, Ricardo

doi:10.1038/s41597-022-01462-8

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…The same applies to pigs. Similar regional disparities in agricultural practices and environmental conditions were observed in the rest of Italy, Iberia, and England 45 . This is associated with a high degree of economic and/or political fragmentation in Europe during the Middle Ages.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

A Bayesian multi-proxy contribution to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of late medieval Capitanata (southern Italy)

Cocozza

Teegen

Vigliarolo

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Medieval southern Italy is typically viewed as a region where political, religious, and cultural systems coexisted and clashed. Written sources often focus on elites and give an image of a hierarchical feudal society supported by a farming economy. We undertook an interdisciplinary study combining historical and archaeological evidence with Bayesian modelling of multi-isotope data from human (n = 134) and faunal (n = 21) skeletal remains to inform on the socioeconomic organisation, cultural practices, and demographics of medieval communities in Capitanata (southern Italy). Isotopic results show significant dietary differences within local populations supportive of marked socioeconomic hierarchies. Bayesian dietary modelling suggested that cereal production, followed by animal management practices, was the economic basis of the region. However, minor consumption of marine fish, potentially associated with Christian practices, revealed intra-regional trade. At the site of Tertiveri, isotope-based clustering and Bayesian spatial modelling identified migrant individuals likely from the Alpine region plus one Muslim individual from the Mediterranean coastline. Our results align with the prevailing image of Medieval southern Italy but they also showcase how Bayesian methods and multi-isotope data can be used to directly inform on the history of local communities and of the legacy that these left.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

A Bayesian multi-proxy contribution to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of late medieval Capitanata (southern Italy)

Cocozza

Teegen

Vigliarolo

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…This research potential has led to an exponentially increase of isotopic applications, and to recent efforts towards 'Big Isotopic Data' initiatives [50][51][52][53][54][55]. This novel approach operates at varying degrees of spatiotemporal resolution and has the potential to offer multilayered insights into past human and environmental phenomena [52,[56][57][58]. In combination with other sources of past evidence, large isotopic datasets may offer a wide range of historical information [52,59].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This novel approach operates at varying degrees of spatiotemporal resolution and has the potential to offer multilayered insights into past human and environmental phenomena [52,[56][57][58]. In combination with other sources of past evidence, large isotopic datasets may offer a wide range of historical information [52,59]. We present Isotòpia [60], an open-access database that compiles stable carbon (δ 13 C), nitrogen (δ 15 N), oxygen (δ 18 O), and sulphur (δ 34 S) isotope data, along with radiogenic strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and lead ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb, 208 Pb/ 204 Pb, 207 Pb/ 206 Pb, and 208 Pb/ 206 Pb) ratio measurements from human, animal, and plant remains dating to Classical Antiquity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Isotòpia includes a full bibliographic reference reported according to APA guidelines, link to the publication website, and DOIs for the original data sources. In alignment with its collaborative design, Isotòpia also includes fields that cite other isotopic databases, whenever data was collected from previous compilations [52, 59, 65].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Introducing Isotòpia: a stable isotope database for Classical Antiquity

Formichella,

Soncin,

Lubritto

et al. 2023

Preprint

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We present Isotòpia, an open-access database compiling over 36,000 stable isotope measurements (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, δ34S, 87Sr/86Sr, 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/206Pb, and 208Pb/206Pb) on human, animal, and plant bioarchaeological remains dating to Classical Antiquity (approximately 800 BCE - 500 CE). These were recovered from different European regions, particularly from the Mediterranean. Isotòpia provides a comprehensive characterisation of the isotopic data, encompassing various historical, archaeological, biological, and environmental variables. Isotòpia is a resource for meta-analytical research of past human activities and paleoenvironments. The database highlights data gaps in isotopic classical archaeology, such as the limited number of isotopic measurements available for plants and animals, limited number of studies on spatial mobility, and spatial heterogeneity of isotopic research. As such, we emphasise the necessity to address and fill these gaps in order to unlock the reuse potential of this database.

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Isotope data in Migration Period archaeology: critical review and future directions

Depaermentier

2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Early Mediaeval Archaeology was long influenced by traditional narratives related to so-called Völkerwanderungen. Based on the interpretation of ancient written sources, the “Migration Period” was traditionally perceived as a time of catastrophic changes triggered by the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and massive migration waves of “barbarian” groups across Europe. In the last decades, isotope analyses have been increasingly used to test these traditional narratives by exploring past mobility patterns, shifts in dietary habits, and changes in subsistence strategies or in socio-economic structures among early medieval societies. To evaluate the achievements of isotope studies in understanding the complexity of the so-called Migration Period, this paper presents a review of 50 recent publications. Instead of re-analysing the data per se, this review first explores the potentials and limitations of the various approaches introduced in the last decades. In a second step, an analysis of the interpretations presented in the reviewed studies questions to what extend traditional expectations are supported by isotope data from the Migration Period. Beside revising the concept of massive migrations, isotope data reveal so-far underestimated mobility patterns and open new perspectives in the investigation of early medieval world.

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Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi, a Multi-Isotope Database for Medieval Europe

Cited by 14 publications

References 90 publications

A Bayesian multi-proxy contribution to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of late medieval Capitanata (southern Italy)

A Bayesian multi-proxy contribution to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of late medieval Capitanata (southern Italy)

Introducing Isotòpia: a stable isotope database for Classical Antiquity

Isotope data in Migration Period archaeology: critical review and future directions

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