Dental calculus and isotopes provide direct evidence of fish and plant consumption in Mesolithic Mediterranean

Abstract

In this contribution we dismantle the perceived role of marine resources and plant foods in the subsistence economy of Holocene foragers of the Central Mediterranean using a combination of dental calculus and stable isotope analyses. The discovery of fish scales and flesh fragments, starch granules and other plant and animal micro-debris in the dental calculus of a Mesolithic forager dated to the end of the 8th millenium BC and buried in the Vlakno Cave on Dugi Otok Island in the Croatian Archipelago demonstrates that marine resources were regularly consumed by the individual together with a variety of plant foods. Since previous stable isotope data in the Eastern Adriatic and the Mediterranean region emphasises that terrestrial-based resources contributed mainly to Mesolithic diets in the Mediterranean Basin, our results provide an alternative view of the dietary habits of Mesolithic foragers in the Mediterranean region based on a combination of novel methodologies and data.

A multidisciplinary approach for investigating dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries, Rome, Italy)

“…This research aims to provide an in-depth analysis of diet, lifeways and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa, through the integration of isotopic analysis of bone proteins and cut-edge archaeobotanical and molecular technologies on dental calculus, both highly informative in palaeodiet reconstruction [e.g. [25][26][27][28]. Carbon isotopes are useful to distinguish the consumption of C 3 versus C 4 plants and the contribution of marine foods in the diet [29][30][31][32].…”

“…Dental calculus, or mineralized oral plaque, is a dense mineral matrix that adheres to tooth surfaces [27,[34][35]. This deposit develops from inorganic salts, deriving from saliva, which trap organic molecules belonging to oral microbiota, foods, and non-dietary microremains (e.g.…”

“…This deposit develops from inorganic salts, deriving from saliva, which trap organic molecules belonging to oral microbiota, foods, and non-dietary microremains (e.g. pollen grains), accidentally or intentionally inhalated/ingested during everyday activities (providing information on the surrounding environment) [27,36]. Dental calculus tends to be well preserved in archaeological contexts [34] and is increasingly recognised as a valuable resource to investigate past human diet and phytotherapeutic practices [22,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”

Investigating Plant Micro-Remains Embedded in Dental Calculus of the Phoenician Inhabitants of Motya (Sicily, Italy)

“…The body of evidence regarding ancient use of plant species is continually increasing. It demonstrates the key role that plants have represented for past communities, in food practices and cultural traditions [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, the contribution of plants to the human diet remains difficult to estimate by using dental calculus, due to archaeological matrix’s multifactorial aetiology.…”

Ferns as healing plants in medieval Mallorca, Spain? Evidence from human dental calculus

“…The organic matrix is composed of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and bacteria (Jin & Yip, ). In addition, trace amounts of food and environmental microdebris such as starch grains, phytoliths, pollen, and spores, as well as plant fibres and animal microremains, may also be incorporated (Afonso‐Vargas, La Serna‐Ramos, & Arnay‐De‐La‐Rosa, ; Blondiaux & Charlier, ; Cristiani et al, ; Hardy et al, ). The development of calculus, its composition and quantity, varies among people and is influenced by diverse factors such as oral hygiene, diet, age, biological sex, genetics, and bacterial composition (Jepsen et al, ; Lieverse, ).…”