TY - JOUR
T1 - Uniform diet in a diverse society
T2 - Revealing new dietary evidence of the Danish Roman Iron Age based on stable isotope analysis
AU - Jørkov, Marie Louise Schjellerup
AU - Jørgensen, Lars
AU - Lynnerup, Niels
PY - 2010/12
Y1 - 2010/12
N2 - A systematic dietary investigation during Danish Roman Iron Age (1-375AD) is conducted by analyzing stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in the collagen of human and animal bone. The human sample comprises 77 individuals from 10 burial sites. In addition 31 samples of mammals and fish were analyzed from same geographical area. The investigation characterizes the human diet among different social groupings and analyses dietary differences present between sex, age, and site phase groups. Diachronically, the study investigates the Roman influences that had an effect on social structure and subsistence economy in both the Early and Late Period. Geographically the locations are both inland and coastal. The isotopic data indicate extremely uniform diet both between and within population groups from Early and Late Roman periods and the data are consistent throughout the Roman Iron Age. Protein consumption was dominated by terrestrial animals with no differences among social status, age, sex, or time period, while terrestrial plant protein only seems to have contributed little in the diet. Furthermore, the consumption of marine or aquatic resources does not seem to have been important, even among the individuals living next to the coast.
AB - A systematic dietary investigation during Danish Roman Iron Age (1-375AD) is conducted by analyzing stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in the collagen of human and animal bone. The human sample comprises 77 individuals from 10 burial sites. In addition 31 samples of mammals and fish were analyzed from same geographical area. The investigation characterizes the human diet among different social groupings and analyses dietary differences present between sex, age, and site phase groups. Diachronically, the study investigates the Roman influences that had an effect on social structure and subsistence economy in both the Early and Late Period. Geographically the locations are both inland and coastal. The isotopic data indicate extremely uniform diet both between and within population groups from Early and Late Roman periods and the data are consistent throughout the Roman Iron Age. Protein consumption was dominated by terrestrial animals with no differences among social status, age, sex, or time period, while terrestrial plant protein only seems to have contributed little in the diet. Furthermore, the consumption of marine or aquatic resources does not seem to have been important, even among the individuals living next to the coast.
U2 - 10.1002/ajpa.21346
DO - 10.1002/ajpa.21346
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 20564524
SN - 0002-9483
VL - 143
SP - 523
EP - 533
JO - American Journal of Physical Anthropology
JF - American Journal of Physical Anthropology
IS - 4
ER -
