The consilience of historical and isotopic approaches in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean diet

During the Middle Ages, the economies of Europe, the religious directives involving dietary requirements, and the general human subsistence base were transformed. These complicated and intertwined issues are starkly revealed in an isotopic study of two inland Italian human populations that are separ...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Archaeological Science
Main Authors: M. Salamon, M. Mccormick, M. Rubini, R. Vargiu, N. Tuross, COPPA, Alfredo
Other Authors: M., Salamon, Coppa, Alfredo, M., Mccormick, M., Rubini, R., Vargiu, N., Tuross
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: ACADEMIC PRESS LTD ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD 2008
Subjects:
atlantic-mediterranean trade
castro dei volsci
collagen
diet
early medieval
italy
late medieval
marine resource
rome
stable isotopes
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11573/97586
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.015
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=000255790200019&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=0c7ff228ccbaaa74236f48834a34396a
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-42149134994&partnerID=65&md5=0a4d23cbca71089272f5bf3b943cc153
Description
Summary:During the Middle Ages, the economies of Europe, the religious directives involving dietary requirements, and the general human subsistence base were transformed. These complicated and intertwined issues are starkly revealed in an isotopic study of two inland Italian human populations that are separated by approximately 850 years in time. Stable carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) isotopic values observed in human dentin and bone collagen from the sites of early medieval Castro dei Volsci and late medieval Rome are consistent with diets that differed substantially. As the North Atlantic opened to fishing and food preservations methods improved, Mediterranean peoples increased their fish consumption dramatically, and in doing so, met the religious directives of the Catholic Church. By analyzing both teeth and bone collagen within individuals, long-term feeding behaviors are documented, and the utility of last erupted teeth collagen as sources of adult dietary information is established. This study offers the first physical evidence of this new economic reality linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean economies at the end of the Middle Ages. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Similar Items