Tales from the barrels: results from a multi-proxy analysis of a latrine from Renaissance Copenhagen, Denmark

Mette Marie Hald*, Jacob Mosekilde, Betina Inga Magnussen, Martin Jensen Søe, Camilla Haarby Hansen, Morten Fischer Mortensen

*Corresponding author af dette arbejde
3 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

The combined analyses of grains, seeds, fruits, pollen, animal bones and parasite eggs from a latrine dating from the late 1680s provides us with a detailed view of the diet in a Renaissance neighbourhood in Copenhagen. Analyses show that the residents had access to a varied diet of primarily fish, bread/porridge, and a range of fruits, nuts and herbs, including exotic products deriving from a global trade network. This study also shows that combining strands of evidence in a multi-proxy analysis of latrine deposits leads to much more nuanced results than with single-evidence analysis. Botanical evidence from seeds and pollen is combined here with results from previously published DNA analysis of plastids (Søe et al., 2018). Pollen of myrtle family, possibly cloves, as well as that of citrus family, have been observed, neither of which have been recorded archaeologically in Denmark before. Also, human tapeworm is recorded here for the first time in a Danish archaeological context.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftJournal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Vol/bind20
Sider (fra-til)602-610
Antal sider9
ISSN2352-409X
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2018

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