Stable isotope analysis and differences in diet and social status in northern Medieval Christian Spain (9th–13th centuries CE)

Pérez-Ramallo, Patxi; Lorenzo-Lizalde, José Ignacio; Staniewska, Alexandra; López, Belén; Alexander, Michelle; Marzo, Sara; Lucas, Mary; Ilgner, Jana; Chivall, David; Grandal-d’Anglade, Aurora; Roberts, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103325

Cited by 8 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Future work, including single compound amino acid analysis, may help to definitively resolve this. The observed pattern does, however, stand in stark contrast to datasets from Medieval western Europe where clear isotopic distinctions between different elite and urban groups, and commoners, have been observed [4].…”

Section: Plos Onecontrasting

confidence: 98%

“…Future research should focus on a more comprehensive reconstruction of dietary behaviours and variation by including individuals from broader geographic regions and time periods, as well as representing different strata of the society, such as magnates, clergy and individuals belonging to different confessions. Nevertheless, the data provides an important counterpoint to existing research from western Europe that appears to demonstrate more stark differences between rural and urban settings and between elite individuals and commoners [4].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

“…Another theme that was widely debated in terms of Medieval temporal trends was the adoption and growing role of Christianity, which in dietary terms would be expected to be reflected in a popularity of fish consumption [2,4,5,42]. The data in this study do not support any significant reliance on aquatic resources, despite the assertion that fasts were kept very strictly in these lands [32], despite water resources being abundant in the north of Belarus [7,40], and despite fishing equipment appearing among archaeological finds here [39].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Medieval period of Europe witnessed a series of major economic, political, and social changes, including the rise of Christian states, the expansion of urban networks together with facilitated disease transmission, the intensification of hierarchies and wealth inequality, and increased access to non-local resources [1][2][3][4]. While these broader processes are well-documented historically and archaeologically, their impacts on local populations in different parts of Europe are often more obscure, particularly given that archival records are often biased towards elite communities [1,4,5]. In particular, eastern Europe, located beyond the geographic scope of Roman Christianisation, has also received less attention and is often considered to be poorer, less developed, and less "European" [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Expanding isotopic studies in western and north-western Europe have demonstrated the role of religious prescription, status, and political upheaval in shaping diets and economies [3,4,16,17]. However, this technique has been rarely applied in an eastern European Medieval context [5], despite its potential to answer similar, albeit more region-specific, questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Medieval and early modern diets in the Polack region of Belarus: A stable isotope perspective

Haponava

Kots²,

Lucas³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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In western and north-western Europe there has been a growing focus on exploring how major economic, political, and social changes during the Medieval period impacted the lived experience of different populations and sectors of society. Stable isotope analysis has proven particularly powerful in this regard, providing direct insights into the long-term diets of individuals and communities. Despite experiencing similarly dramatic social reconfigurations and changes, eastern Europe has, however, received far less attention in this regard. The territory of Belarus has, especially, so far remained a relative blank spot on the bioarchaeological map of Europe, though cities such as Polack emerged rapidly as key nodes within a growing economic and religious network. To gain direct insight into the diets of inhabitants of the Polack region of Belarus in the 11-18th centuries, we applied stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to bone and dentine collagen from human (n = 143) and animal (n = 105) individuals from the city of Polack and surrounding rural sites. Results indicate a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources, which did not differ between sexes and showed limited variation over time. Contrary to expectations, it appears that animal products were commonly consumed by rural dwellers, but no significant reliance on fish resources or millet consumption is found. In contrast to examples from western Europe, we argue that the diets in the city and the surrounding villages remained broadly similar for the majority of the population, and similar to commoners analysed in Poland and Lithuania, perhaps suggestive of slightly different economic changes operating in this part of the Medieval world.

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Section: Plos Onecontrasting

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Medieval and early modern diets in the Polack region of Belarus: A stable isotope perspective

Haponava

Kots²,

Lucas³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Well supplied in life, set aside in death: A multi‐isotope study of Justinian plague victims fromSaint‐Doulchard(France, 7th–8th centuriesAD)

Vytlačil,

Durand,

Kacki

et al. 2024

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesJustinian plague and its subsequent outbreaks were major events influencing Early Medieval Europe. One of the affected communities was the population of Saint‐Doulchard in France, where plague victim burials were concentrated in a cemetery enclosure ditch. This study aimed to obtain more information about their life‐histories using the tools of isotope analysis.Materials and MethodsDietary analysis using carbon and nitrogen isotopes was conducted on 97 individuals buried at Le Pressoir in Saint‐Doulchard, with 36 of those originating from the enclosure ditch. This sample set includes all individuals analyzed for plague DNA in a previous study. Mobility analysis using strontium isotope analysis supplements the dietary study, with 47 analyzed humans. The results are supported by a reference sample set of 31 animal specimens for dietary analysis and 9 for mobility analysis.ResultsThe dietary analysis results showed significantly different dietary behavior in individuals from the ditch burials, with better access to higher quality foods richer in animal protein. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are similar for both studied groups and indicate a shared or similar area of origin.DiscussionThe results suggest that the ditch burials contain an urban population from the nearby city of Bourges, which overall had a better diet than the rural population from Saint‐Doulchard. It is implied that city's population might have been subjected to high mortality rates during the plague outbreak(s), which led to their interment in nearby rural cemeteries.

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Globalization and the Historical Evolution of Japanese Fisheries

Hudson¹

2022

The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation

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Stable isotope analysis and differences in diet and social status in northern Medieval Christian Spain (9th–13th centuries CE)

Cited by 8 publications

References 50 publications

Medieval and early modern diets in the Polack region of Belarus: A stable isotope perspective

Medieval and early modern diets in the Polack region of Belarus: A stable isotope perspective

Well supplied in life, set aside in death: A multi‐isotope study of Justinian plague victims fromSaint‐Doulchard(France, 7th–8th centuriesAD)

Globalization and the Historical Evolution of Japanese Fisheries

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