Diet and mobility during the Christian conquest of Iberia: The multi-isotopic investigation of a 12th–13th century military order in Évora, Portugal (original) (raw)
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Diet and dynamic of Christians and Muslims – A picture of Évora in the 8th-13th AD
Thirteen medieval skeletons excavated from the Museu de Évora (Portugal) cellars were studied through the stable isotopic analysis of carbon and nitrogen ratios in the bones using EA-IRMS (Elemental Analysis - Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) and the trace elements in their tooth enamel and dentine using LA-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry) to reconstruct diet and understand social status between and within two distinct populations. Two individuals from the Islamic Period were found to have diets mainly based on C3 plants with some C4 or marine resource influences. The Medieval Christian adults, thought to be an elite order of knights who protected the city after the Reconquest of Portugal, displayed varied diets with mostly C3 plants and high levels of protein, probably marine-based. This supports historical documentation of restricted eating habits within the Order of Évora and also of the diverse origins of the order’s members. The concentrations of Ba and Sr relative to Ca in the tooth enamel were considered as additional paleodietary indicators. The extent of diagenesis was assessed in the bones using ATR-FTIR (Attenuated total reflection- Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) to measure crystallinity and collagen content, and collagen quality was assessed by carbon to nitrogen ratios in the elemental analyser. Skeletons from Survey 50 were found to be in a poorer state of preservation than those from the other zones. Diagenetic alteration in the teeth was evaluated with LA-ICP-MS by measuring U and rare earth element (REE) concentrations, and lead ingestion was identified in the enamel of two individual, one being the Muslim adult female and the other a young Medieval Christian adult.
This dissertation research is a bioarchaeological investigation of Late Neolithic through Early Bronze Age (3600-1800 BC) burial populations from the Portuguese Estremadura. In this project macroscopic and isotopic analyses of skeletal and dental materials are used to gather information pertaining to diet, health status, and inter-lifetime mobility patterns for individuals interred at different burials within a small geographic area with the goal of evaluating the level of social differentiation in the region. The archaeological record for the transition between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Portugal demonstrates clear evidence of the rise of a socially-complex, non-state society. During the Early Bronze Age, however, this region underwent a period of social ‘devolution’ which cumulated in widespread settlement abandonment. To date, it is unclear to what extent sociopolitical or environmental factors contributed to this social collapse. This study seeks to expand our knowledge of social differentiation in the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age of the Estremadura region of Portugal and provide insight into social structure during the emergence and collapse of early complex societies in Iberia. The results of this study found that there were statistically significant differences in dietary, mobility and demographic patterns between burials that suggest socially distinct populations were interred at different sites. In particular, one burial site, Cova da Moura, diverged significantly from the other sampled burial populations. However, based upon the data presented here, it was not possible to tie these biological markers of differentiation to particular aspects of Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age social organization. Therefore, while this study successfully identified differences between burial populations, at this time, it is not possibly to relate these to particular hierarchical structures. It is suggested that aspects of burial practices in the region confound biologically-based investigations of social organization in a similar way that they have impeded researchers’ abilities to identify elite versus non-elite individuals through grave goods alone. Nonetheless, despite these obstacles, this work provides strong evidence of population heterogeneity in the region, and has implications for our understanding of the evolution of complex societies in the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere.
Plos ONE, 2024
In around 716 AD, the city of Santaré m, Portugal, was conquered by the Berber and Arab armies that swept the Iberian Peninsula and went on to rule the region until the 12 th century. Archaeological excavations in 2007/08 discovered an Islamic necropolis (Avenida 5 de Outubro #2-8) that appears to contain the remains of an early Muslim population in Santaré m (8 th-10 th century). In this study, skeletal material from 58 adult individuals was analysed for stable carbon (δ 13 C col ; δ 13 C ap), nitrogen (δ 15 N) and sulphur (δ 34 S) isotope ratios in bones, and stable oxygen (δ 18 O), carbon (δ 13 C en) and radiogenic strontium (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) isotopes in tooth enamel. The results of this study revealed a dietary pattern of predominantly C 3-plant and domestic C 3-fed herbivore consumption during adulthood (δ 13 C col and δ 15 N, respectively) but a higher proportion of C 4-plant input during childhood (δ 13 C en) for some individuals-interpreted as possible childhood consumption of millet porridge, a common practice in North Africa-in those with unorthodox burial types (Groups 1 and 2) that was not practiced in the individuals with canonical burials (Group 3). In this first mobility study of a medieval Muslim population in Portugal, δ 18 O DW values revealed greater heterogeneity in Groups 1 and 2, consistent with diverse origins, some in more humid regions than Santaré m when compared to regional precipitation δ 18 O data, contrasting the more homogenous Group 3, consistent with the local precipitation δ 18 O range. Ancient DNA analysis conducted on three individuals revealed maternal (mtDNA) and paternal (Y-chromosome) lineages compatible with a North African origin for (at least) some of the individuals. Additionally, mobility of females in this population was higher than males, potentially resulting from a patrilocal social system, practiced in Berber and Arab communities. These results serve to offer a more detailed insight into the ancestry and cultural practices of early Muslim populations in Iberia.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2019
This paper presents the first bioarchaeological study of Islamic diet and lifeways in medieval Portugal. Stable isotopes of δ 13 C and δ 15 N and osteological and paleopathological analyses are combined to explore the diet and health status of 27 humans buried within São Jorge Castle, Lisbon (eleventh to twelfth century), interpreted as a high status population. Human isotopic data are considered alongside an animal baseline comprised of 30 specimens sampled from nearby Praça da Figueira, including the main domesticates and fish. Isotopic data indicate an age-and sex-related difference in diet among the population, suggesting a difference in food access between females and children compared to males. Palaeopathological analysis indicates a low prevalence of non-specific stress indicators such as Harris lines (HL), linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) and cribra orbitalia (CO) in this population in comparison to other medieval populations. LEH is only present in adults. These results suggest the presence of socio-cultural patterning relating to the organisation of the Islamic family, where women and men occupied different places in the household and society. This paper demonstrates the utility of a combined osteological and isotopic approach to understand the lifeways of Islamic populations in Medieval Iberia, as well as illuminates the lifeways of understudied segments of the population.
Biological histories of an elite: Skeletons from the Royal Chapel of Lugo Cathedral (NW Spain)
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2021
This study aims to reconstruct the biological histories of the people buried at the Royal Chapel of Lugo Cathedral, an important religious center of NW Spain, by using anthropological, geochemical, and historical perspectives. We conducted a macroscopic and radiographic study on 955 skeletal elements, a multi-isotope (δ 13 C col , δ 15 N, δ 34 S col , δ 13 C ap , δ 18 O ap) analysis of human (n = 12) and animal (n = 4) samples, and the study of 1407 documents from the cathedral archives. There was a minimum of 15 individuals, including six subadults (<7 years), seven mature males, and one possible female. Several traumatic healed injuries, a pelvis osteochondroma, and a case of DISH have been detected. Males were enriched in 15 N (up to 15.7‰, Δ humananimal avg = 5.1‰) suggesting consumption of animal protein including freshwater fish. Cathedral documents reflect fora payments in the form of rye, eggs, poultry, sheep, pigs, and eels as well as the hiring of two physicians. All individuals, except one, lived between the 14 th and the early 15 th centuries and show characteristics of high standard of living. Males were likely members of the cathedral-chaplains, administrators, sacristans, but not bishops-or noblemen relatives of the former according to preserved documents. Isotopic and paleopathological study suggest that they had an active and traveling life and at least one of them had connections with Central Spain. Children were local and possibly connected to the nobility. Lugo Cathedral is a prime example about the possibilities of transdisciplinary research in the identification of lifestyle in past populations.
This paper investigates the diets of neighboring Christians and Muslims in late medieval Spain (here 13th–16th centuries) through the analysis of the stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in adult human and animal bone collagen. Twenty-four Christians and 20 Muslims are sampled from two adjacent and contemporaneous settlements in the township of Gandía on the Mediterranean coast, together with the remains of 24 animals. Statistical differences in both δ13C and δ15N reveal that the diets of the two faith communities differed, despite living side-by-side. These differences may relate to inequalities in their access to foodstuffs, particularly to C3/C4 grain and/or possibly terrestrial meat sources, though cultural preferences are also highlighted. Isotopic values for animals were also found to vary widely, both between and within species, and this provides a window into the local livestock economy
Medieval Spain presents a unique opportunity to examine the archaeology of a multifaith society, first under Muslim and later under Christian rule. Unlike other areas of Europe, Spain has been neglected in archaeological studies of medieval diet. This paper presents a preliminary case study of a Christian population in Jaca, north-east Spain. Stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope ratios were measured in adult human bone collagen. Initial results suggest that the majority of Christians in the city in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries ad consumed similar foodstuffs to Muslims in the nearby urban centre of Zaragoza two centuries before. Possible migrants have been identified with a significant proportion of C 4 in their diet, as opposed to the C 3 -based diet of the majority. Data from contemporaneous animal bone is essential to understand further trends observed in this preliminary study.
Current Anthropology, 2007
TheAldaietacemetery(6th–7thcenturyAD,BasqueCountry) provides an excellent opportunity for analysing the relationships between biology and culture. Culturally it presents material features whose origins lie in the Northern Pyrenean Frankish kingdom, while genetically it reveals greater affinity to the present-day populations of the northern Iberian Peninsula. This raises the question of the degree of influence exerted by the large European kingdoms that emerged after the fall of the Roman Empire over the populations located on the fringes of their expansion. An analysis of the genetic constitution, both patrilineal (Y-chromosome) and matrilineal (mitochondrial DNA), of the individuals buried in the cemetery,togetherwithdemographicandculturaldata,points to a stratified or hierarchical society in which certain lineages were linked to family groupsof highersocialand/oreconomic status. This higher status, which seems to have been transmitted through family members, may have been attained by individuals who were involved in military activities with the Frankish army. It may be suggested that the major European kingdoms of Late Antiquity had not only a cultural influence but also some influence on the biosocial behaviour of the populations located on their peripheries.